432259 Cpl D Worthington, Duke of Lancaster's own Yeomanry and Royal Engineers (57th west Lancashire Divisional Signal Company) - suffered from Neurasthenia

432259 Cpl D Worthington, Duke of Lancaster's own Yeomanry and Royal Engineers (57th west Lancashire Divisional Signal Company) - suffered from Neurasthenia

Douglas Worthington was born circa 1889, most probably in Marton or Great Marton, Blackpool, being provisionally identified as the son of Henry Worthington, architect and surveyor, and his wife Frederica. In the 1911 census this family were living at 4 Waterloo Road, Blackpool, Douglas being employed as a clerk to a builder. It is not known what prompted Douglas' choice of a Manchester-based Yeomanry regiment to join, but he would very probably have seen the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry from occasions such as the Royal Visits to Blackpool in 1912 and 1913, where the DLOY provided a Guard of Honour and Escort and been drawn by their smart appearance and, as a son of an architect, the social cachet of the yeomanry. He enlisted on 9 December 1914 and initially served with the Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry under the regimental number 3855, possibly in the role of regimental Signaller or similar. He then transferred to the Royal Engineers (Territorial Force), receiving the new number 7723;  possibly about the same time (20 March 1915) that Preston man 7704 (and later 432250) Cpl Herbert Webster of the same unit enlisted at St Helens*. The formation of the 57th (2/1st West Lancashire) Signal Company RE in mid-1915 took place around the time of the formation of the division, a second line Territorial unit, at Canterbury. At this time the Company, known as the 2/1st, was still attached to the 1/1st for training purposes, instruction focusing on cable drill, visual signalling, station work and combined schemes. It was based at Old Park Camp and, later, Wingham. As of 8 September 1915 its strength was 8 officers and 160 men, as well as 24 horses, 5 mules, 12 wagons and a cart. There was also at this time a 3/57th DSC engaged in providing drafts for the first and second line units. The Division remained in the Canterbury area until mid-1916, where it formed part of Second Army, and was quartered in Canterbury, Maidstone and Ashford. In July 1916, the division, by now renamed the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division, was transferred from Central Force around Canterbury, to join the Emergency Reserves, Aldershot Command, and moved into quarters at Rushmore, Bourley, Mytchett, Deepcut, and Blackdown. In October the division's quarters were changed to Blackdown, Woking, Pirbright, Deepcut and Crookham.

Douglas probably went overseas in February 1917, which would accord with his medals showing his six-digit post-January 1917 TF service number 432259 and the five months' service with the field force in his extant hospitalisation record. He appears to have gone overseas in the rank of Corporal upon the strength of the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division, Divisional Signal Company. The 57th did not go overseas until early in 1917, the division being declared ready for overseas service on 5 January 1917, and crossing to France and disembarking at Le Havre between 7 and 22 February. It seems quite likely that Cpl Worthington was with the headquarters section, which disembarked in two groups at Havre on 12 and 13 February respectively.

The division completed its concentration in the Merris area by 23rd February, 1917 and on 25 February took over a section of the Front Line under the command of II ANZAC Corps, the right sector of the Corps, north of Le Tilleloy (SE of Amiens). Subsequently the division moved sectors, the Signal Company moving down and taking over the divisional signal office at Sailly from 25 February 1917 onwards, following an advanced party which had been sent on 17 February to make preparations for taking over from the New Zealand Division there. Tasks whilst in the sector involved manning the divisional signal office, cable laying (including 2000 yards of 6ft buried cable on 6 March, 350 yards poled cable on 10 March, and 1400 yards 6ft buried concentric cable on 13 March), supervising infantry working parties and, for the men of the sections allocated to brigades, repairing line breaks under fire. Schemes were also put in hand to suspend telephonic and telegraphic communications periodically to test other methods. The Company also suffered its first fatal casualty on active service, one other rank dying on 30 March of serious wounds incurred at Ploegsteert on 28 March, possibly one of a party of 7 despatched there on 14 March to assist II ANZAC Corps to bury cable.

About this time Cpl Worthington began to suffer from Neurasthenia (lit.,- 'weakness of the nerves'), passing down the casualty chain in April and May 1917. On 25 April at 10am, as noted in the war diary, he was admitted to an unspecified Field Ambulance. At this time the Company was still at Sailly-sur-la-Lys, and it is most likely that he was admitted to the 2/2nd Wessex, then also at Sailly, one of 260 sick admitted during the month. (The other divisional field ambulances were the 2/3rd Wessex, seemingly operating the Divisional Rest Station and Main Dressing Station at Nouveau Monde, and 3/2nd West Lancashire, at that time at Fort Rompu but in the process of taking over the Main Dressing Station at the Ecole de Filles, Armentieres and Advanced Dressing Station at Houplines.) He was probably at this point labelled “Not Yet Diagnosed (Nervous)”, as Medical Officers were being instructed not to use the term 'shell shock'. Although the precise details of his ailment are not accessible, Stefanie Linden's  'They Called it Shell Shock' describes the symptoms of Neurasthenia (also described as 'anxiety-neurosis') as including "anxiety, exhaustion, pain, palpitations and digestive problems...presumed to be caused by extraordinary hardship - leading to physical and mental exhaustion". Interestingly, this was considered a  different class of symptoms from the predominantly hysterical group ("functional paralyses, trembling and shaking, functional seizures and gait disorders" - p.94) which were more commonly attributed to shell-shocked NCOs and Other Ranks (although it is notable that Linden goes on to cite practice at the National Hospital, Queen's Square in May 1917, where it was described as "general practice to diagnose officers and NCOs with 'neurasthenia'... the lower ranks... were labelled with 'hysteria' (pp.115-6)). The trigger for Cpl Worthington's illness is not known but may have been due to the general pressure of duty or he may have been caught up in the Ploegsteert incident. From the Field Ambulance he would most probably have proceeded to a Casualty Clearing Station, prior to transport via a sick convoy to a more permanent place of treatment. He is recorded in the books of No. 4 Stationary Hospital, Arques as undergoing treatment for Neurasthenia, joining the hospital from an unrecorded sick convoy on 15 May 1917 and leaving on transfer to other hospitals (in his case No. 10 Stationary Hospital, situated in the Pensionnat Saint Joseph in nearby Saint-Omer) on 31 May 1917. Whilst not recorded as such, it seems likely that he was referred to the specialist "Not Yet Diagnosed - Nervous" unit embedded with 4th Stationary for the rapid treatment of 1st and 2nd Army Shell-Shock casualties, which had as its special purpose ‘early and special treatment in order to secure the return of all possible cases to their units and the employment on useful work [of] as many as possible of the rest’ - reflecting the belief that men with this condition were best treated close to the front. If so, he was one of 3580 men who passed through the centre at Arques during its 10 months of operation, and one of 19% of men transferred to base hospitals from this facility. The centre was under Dudley William Carmalt-Jones and followed his views on dealing with shell-shock through a regime of treatment which involved rest, hot food and a programme of graduated exercise, culminating in route marches, although application of heat and cold to the head was also employed as was electrical treatment ('faradization') in certain specialised cases. Carmalt-Jones personally studied 946 shell-shock cases and noted after the war that 40% were sent back to duty, 40% to light duty or prolonged rest previous to duty and 20% to base hospitals, informing his conclusion that cases of shell shock had a good prognosis if they were given sufficient time to recover. It is possible that Cpl Worthington was one of the men Carmalt-Jones personally treated.

It is not clear whether, possibly after a further stay in a convalescent camp, Cpl Worthington returned to his unit at the front; if so, he could have  taken part in the following operations:

Second Battle of Passchendaele 26 October–7 November 1917 (under XIV Corps, then XIX Corps)

Second Battle of Arras (under XVII Corps):

Battle of the Scarpe 28–30 August 1918

Battle of Drocourt-Queant Line 2–3 September 1918

Battles of the Hindenburg Line (under XVII Corps):

Battle of the Canal du Nord 27 September–1 October 1918

Battle of Cambrai 8–9 October 1918

Capture of Cambrai 9 October 1918

Final Advance in Artois and Flanders 15 October–1 November 1918 (under IX Corps):

Occupation of Lille 17 October 1918

Cpl Worthington was discharged from the Royal Engineers 20th T.F. Depot (or, according to another, later corrected, source, the Bedford Signal Depot) on 1 February 1919, aged 30. Discharged owing to sickness (possibly for the same condition of Neurasthenia for which he was admitted to hospital in France) under paragraph 392 xvi of King's Regulations, he was entitled to Silver War Badge number B124656, which he would probably have received in March 1919. His postwar address was 16 Regent Road, Blackpool.

A Douglas Worthington of 63 or 83 Marton Drive, presumably the same man, died on 20 April 1962 at Blackpool. A former head storekeeper, municipal transport (according to the 1939 Register), he left his effects of just over £2000 to his widow, Maud.

* see also 7678/432235 Harold Smout, enlisted St Helens, 15 March 1915 and 7750/432270 Edward Peter Farrell, an Old Contemptible, who was embodied at St Helens just over a month later, on 18 April 1915

Image: First Army Front: British (upper) and German (lower) front line trenches east of Picantin and le Tilleloy. The German entrenchments shown are 'Nut'/'Novel' trenches and the 'Sugar Loaf' salient, June 1916./RE Signal Company at work on the Western Front/Royal Engineers bringing up telephone wire during the battle of Poelcappelle/57th Divisional symbol.

D Worthington's medals/Medal Index Card/Transcript of hospitalisation record/image of 10th General Hospital, St-Omer

First Name:

D

Surname:

Worthington

Age:

28

Index Number of Admission:

27300

Rank:

Corporal

Service Number:

432259

Years Service:

2 years 6 months

Months With Field Force:

5 months

Ailment:

Neurasthenia

Date Transferred to Other Hospitals:

31/05/1917

Date of Transfer From Sick Convoy:

15/05/1917

Notes written in the Observations Column:

No. 10 Stationary Hospital.

Religion:

Church of England

Regiment:

Royal Engineers

Battalion:

57th Divisional Signals Company (Why is this important?)

Other unit info:

27th Division, 1st Army [Sic: should be 57th]

Archive Reference:

MH106/1473 MH106/1473 can be found at The National Archives in Kew, and contains First World War Representative Medical Records of No. 4 Stationary Hospital: Arques, 04/05/1917-18/05/1917. Book 84 Shelf 4. Serial No. 26781-24722, Tr No. 2086-2135. British O.R., R.N.D.