For the next 12 month Frederick Churchill Peach fought in France with the New Zealand Division in the NZFA 1st Brigade 3rd Battery The next thing on Pops military records shows that he went on leave to England on the 20 August 1917 staying there 2 weeks He rejoined the 3rd Battery on the 3 Septeber 1917 then on the 5 November 1917 he was Transfered back to his original Battery number 1 On the 16 January 1918 Pop was awarded 14 days Field Punishment No 2 While on active Service he Trespassed on a railway line contrary to orders
Field Punishment was a common punishment during World war 1 A commanding officer could award field punishment for up to 28 days, while a court martial could award it for up to 90 days, either as Field Punishment Number One or Field Punishment Number Two. Field Punishment Number One consisted of the convicted man being placed in fetters ( chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner usely around the ankles ) or handcuffs and attached to a fixed object, such as a gun wheel or a fence post, for up to two hours per day. During the early part of World War I, the punishment was often applied with the arms stretched out and the legs tied together, This was applied for up to three days out of four, It was usually applied in field punishment camps set up for this purpose a few miles behind the front line, but when the unit was on the move it would be carried out by the unit itself. Field Punishment should not be applied in such a way as to cause physical harm but in practice abuses were commonplace. In Field Punishment Number Two, the prisoner was placed in fetters and handcuffs but was not attached to a fixed object and was still able to march with his unit. This was a relatively tolerable punishment. In both forms of field punishment, the soldier was also subjected to hard labor, made to march in full order with packs and rifles twice daily, usually morning and afternoon. The soldier’s rifle equipment was inspected and if not satisfactory would be further punished. Soldiers under field punishment no.2 were not allowed to smoke or drink any rum; pay was also lost during this time The prisoners were only allowed blankets at night and had to sleep on the ground This form of punishment was a form of public humiliation and was made visible to the rest of the unit. Field Punishment Number One was eventually abolished in 1923
field punishment no1 https://en.wikipedia.org
On April 9th 1918 while fighting in France with the 1st Battery Frederick Churchill Peach was wounded in action Churchill’s injuries included Shrapnel in arm and leg Different records show different injures Gunshoot Wounds Right Leg Left Arm or Right Arm Left wrist and Leg
After the war Pop tried to find Scotty Sim a Blacksmith / saddler of the 1st battery NZFA who Pop said picked him up when his horse was killed and he was wounded.
On Pops Military records it has him going from 1 New Zealand Field ambulance then being transferred to number 56 casualty clearing station. I dont know if Mr Sims was in the 1 New Zealand Field ambulance or with Pop at the time of his injures
A Field Ambulance was not a vehicle but a front-line unit of around 250 personnel who treated mens injured in battle. Stretcher bearers collected men from the battlefield and carried them to first-aid posts near the front lines, where they were hurriedly treated by regimental medical officers. Another team of stretcher-bearers would carry them to a dressing stations. There, treatment was also quiet limited. Bleeding was stopped, splints were applied, wounds were quickly stitched, shock was treated as well as possible and badly shattered limbs were removed. Morphia and other anaesthetics would be given only in small doses, if at all. The use of penicillin for fighting infection had not yet been developed.
The wounded who requiring further treatment were then taken to the relative safety of casualty clearing stations, which were often a few miles from the dressing station. Ambulances (motorised or horse-drawn) and stretcher-bearers carried those who could not walk. Surgical teams made up of a surgeon, anaesthetist, sister and orderly worked at clearing stations, along with other medical staff, orderlies, chaplains and the stretcher-bearers.
The day after his injury he went from 56 casualty clearing station to 55 General Hospital in Boulogne where he was admitted
He was evacuated to England on the HS Jan Breydel on the 14 April 1918 where he spent many months in 1 General hospital in Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst Hospital was taken over by the New Zealand authorities from the War Office in June, 1916. Brockenhurst had previously been a hospital used for Indian soldiers.Thousands of wounded soldiers of the N Z Division were sent here from field hospitals in France and a second general hospital was established at Walton on thames Surrey
Brockenhurst consisted of the main section known as the Lady Hardinge Hospital, and two minor sections, Balmerlawn and Forest Park all administered by the Officer Commanding No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital, by which name the whole establishment was known after During 1918 there were occasions when nearly 1,600 patients were accommodated there. This number included 100 officers located at Forest Park, and about twenty officers at Lord Manner's Convalescent Home a few miles away
The main surgical work was performed at the Lady Hardinge hospital. As with other hospitals during the war the local people came forward and offered their help
Pop was on Casualty List number 836/9 and on the 9 May 1918 he was classified as unfit for active service due to his injures “ Shell wounds Left wrist, Right thigh and Left Leg” by the Medical Board and placed on NZ Roll On the 31 September 1918 he started his joiney back to New Zealand , first being transported to Southhampton then boarded the Hospital ship Number 2 Marama at Marseilles, he sailed home via Port Said,Colombo , Albany and arriving in Auckland later in the year
Hospital ship Number 2 “SS Marama” Builder: Caird & Co Greenock Scotland 6437 gross tons Dimensions: 128 m long, 16.1 m wide, 6.9 m draft Top speed: 16 knots Passengers: 270 first class, 120 saloon ans 100 (200 men) fore-cabin passengers Crew: 140 conventional reciprocating steam engines and a single funnel
Churchill Frederick Peach 2 Mrs Ngaire Hyde
297008 IMG 1473 Men at Arms The New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War 1 By Wayne Stack Page 8
56789 Ancestry.com New Zealand Army WW1 casualty lists 1914 to 1919 23 April 1918
How was Pop hurt , this is only a guess but from his injures im thinking maybe im correct If the blast had been behind him he would have had more injures on his back and his horse even though he may have been badly hurt wouldnt have died straight away The same if the blast had been to either side most of pops injures would have been mostly on the side it hit and pop would have been hit harder by the blast ( less protection from the body of the horse ) The blast im thinking was in front of him ..Shrapnel would have hit the horse head on and caused the horse to raise into the air taking all the blast and died straight away but protecting pop from the main blast... some shrapnel would have gone down either side of the horse causing leg and arm damage but not much on his body or head ,this is consistent with his injures Pop was found on the ground away from his dead horse ...the blast would have through him backwards but his injures prevented him from moving , his legs were hurt and his arm was also damaged