2537 Private Harold William Parkinson was a patient at Beechland House in 1917. He was there not due to wounds but due to sickness. His entry
in Nurse Oliver’s album reads:
Rifleman Harold Parkinson
Post Office Rifles
Better known as
Bronchial Billy. Feb 28th 1917
[ha’penny stamp stuck in book]
By gum
Its stuck. HP
There is also a group photo of hospital patients pasted onto this page and it is possible
that Harold is one of the many unidentified patients there. Nurse Oliver is certainly
pictured (back row, third from left) as is the matron, Miss Marshall, who sits at the front with a small dog on her lap.
Harold Parkinson enlisted on 9th September 1914 and arrived in France
with the Post Office Rifles (the 1/8th London Regiment) on 18th March 1915. He
was overseas for just over one year, returning to England
on 22nd March 1916, presumably as a result of sickness. He was discharged due
to sickness on 22nd April 1917 having served a total of two years and 226 days with the 8th Londons.
His reference to bronchial problems may indicate that he was gassed – he would certainly
have been exposed to clouds of gas at the Battle of Loos in which the 1/8th London Regiment took part, and probably after
that as well.
The National Archives gives two army numbers for him; the second one: 370722, (which was
allocated to him when the Territorials were re-numbered in early 1917), falls within the range of numbers allotted to the
Post Office Rifles.
Seven pages of Harold’s service record survive in the WO 364 pension series at the
National Archives, but they don’t actually tell us why he was in hospital. His
attestation papers (E.501) note that when he joined the 2/8th London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) on 9th September 1914 he
had already served for four years with the battalion. His home address is given as 10
Elm Park Avenue, South Tottenham and his age as 22. He
was five feet, eight and a half inches tall.
He was appointed acting corporal on 26th September 1914 but by the time he transferred
to the 1/8th Battalion on 10th February 1915, his rank his noted as rifleman.
On 11th April 1917, Harold was awarded a pension of 13 shillings and ninepence a week for
26 weeks. No other pension information survives in his file. Two weeks later he received the Silver War Badge and certificate and on 9th January 1919, still living
at Elm Park Avenue, he received the King’s Certificate. His military character
is noted on his papers as “Very Good”.
Sources and Acknowledgements
- The National Archives: Medal Index
Card reference: WO 372/15
- The National Archives: Medal Roll:
1914/15 Star: Roll TP/40 B: Page 39: WO 329/2866
- The
National Archives: Medal Roll: British War & Victory Medals: Roll TP8/101B Page 67: WO 329/1918
- The National Archives: WO364 pension
record for Harold Parkinson
- The National Archives: Silver War Badge: Roll TP/1147: WO 329/3162
