When Death Could be a Welcome Relief ?

[Mervyn Mitton]

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(Battle Honours to 1899)

[Mervyn Mitton]

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The Royal Scots Fusiliers

[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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1914-15 Star to Tpr. J. Tulip. Royal Scots Fusiliers

[Mervyn Mitton]

We all know what a WW1 Trio consists of - so, I haven't gone into multiple pictures, I really want to use

this as a chance to have us talk about the dreadful injuries that were inflicted in the War - far worse and in

greater numbers then any previous conflict.

Trooper J. Tulip was with the 6/7th Royal Scots Fusiliers (an amalgamated unit due to heavy casualties to both Battalions in

earlier conflict). On the 31 July 1917 his Bn. was with the 45th Brigade - together with 8 other Scottish Battalions.

This date was the start of the 3rd. Battle for Ypres - and carried on to become Passchendaele - one of the worst

conflicts of the War.

The total British casualties for the Battles were over 300,000 - for the Germans - app. 260,000.

It finally worked out to 35 men killed for every metre of ground gained.

The Royal Scots Fusiliers are one of our most famous Regiments - and are credited with being one of the first

Regiments made. During WW1 they consisted of 3 Regular Battalions and 16 Auxiliary Battalions. 8 of these

served overseas.

Now - a little about Trooper Tulip. His daughter brought these medals to me and so, I was able to get much more information

then is usual. He was born in 1898 - on the 1st. of June. The total I have given above is quite frightening -

a part of the young British men who could never be replaced. However, I have been unable to find the total of

seriously injured men - who probably number even more ?

I am not sure on which date he was injured - most casualties seem to have been quite early. He was hit by

shrapnel from an exploding shell and his right leg was blown off. Just as seriously, his body was riddled with

shrapnel.

He was left paralysed and was not to walk again for 12 years - the total of operations came to 51 ! Eventually,

as his daughter said, through sheer courage and persistance he made himself learn to walk again. However,

for the rest of his life - even to the year he died in 1970, at age 72 - shrapnel kept emerging and had to be

removed with smaller operations.

Had he known what was to happen with pain and operations in the following 53 years might he not have wished

to have been a KIA ? Personally, I don't think so - he was obviously a very brave man - but in other cases the

wish might have been different. What do you think ?

[Mervyn Mitton]

Stewart - my apologies for deleting your question on where was the article ? I was just about to post this so took out the question. Mervyn

[Graham Stewart]

Hi Mervyn - just wondered what was going on, as apart from the attachments nothing made sense. Now for a correction - James Tulip was a Private in the R.S.F. not a 'Trooper' - Troopers is Donkey Wallopers, not infanteers.

[Brian Wolfe]

Mervyn,

Great post and I could not agree with you more regarding his will to live.

When I was a young man I spoke with a good number of WWI Vets at the local Royal Canadian Legion Branch of which I was a member.

Those who had suffered a great deal of battle injury were all too tough and knew the value of life to ever have wished anything except survival.

Regards

Brian

[dmiller8]

Mervyn,

Great post and I could not agree with you more regarding his will to live.

When I was a young man I spoke with a good number of WWI Vets at the local Royal Canadian Legion Branch of which I was a member.

Those who had suffered a great deal of battle injury were all too tough and knew the value of life to ever have wished anything except survival.

Regards

Brian

Given the relatively primitive state of medicine in those days, it was remarkable that Private Tulip survived at all, much less lived to a relatively full lifespan. The men of WWI must have been made of much sterner stuff than we can even imagine.

[Mervyn Mitton]

I agree with you - they had led harder lives and also, they were fighting for a Cause and for their King. I am afraid

that today there are different sets of priorities in place.

I had in my mind that this would be a topic for different points of view - sadly, like so many posts members seem to

be unwilling to comment. This rather 'stops' things. Don't be cautious in commenting - after all in this collecting

field you never stop learning new things. Mervyn

[peter monahan]

Your account of Pte. Tulip is exactly the sort of thing I tried to teach to the young men and women in my classes. "300,000" is just a number to most of us. Putting the results of one shell burst together with the life of one man is a far more effective description of the cost of war than any table of killed/wounded/missing can ever be!