A Christmas Gift from a Reader

A lovely letter has just turned up in my post box, almost like a Christmas gift, from a reader named Laurie Gallop who knew Nigel Boulton.

Naturally I had to ring him straight away to say thank you. Laurie's nephew recently bought him a copy of Brothers in Arms: The Great War Letters of Captain Nigel Boulton, R.A.M.C. & Lieut Stephen Boulton, A.I.F., having heard Laurie reminisce so fondly about his old family doctor, 'Dr Boulton'. Laurie thinks many more old patients of Dr Boulton's at Ryde would love to read this book, if only they knew of its existence.

Dr Nigel Boulton

Although he is 85 years old, Laurie also enclosed with his letter his own drawing of the Old Bank House at Ryde, copied from a picture in the paper. He says this building, on the corner of Church St & Victoria Rd, housed the Bank of New South Wales until 1914 and included a hitching rail for horse-drawn vehicles. Dr Boulton purchased the building in 1922 and practised there until after the Second World War. He then moved to a new home and practice in Blaxland Rd, opposite the tram terminus.

Old Bank Building, Ryde, drawn by Laurie Gallop, 2017

Laurie drew this picture especially for me, as a gift to keep. At this time of year, it's a Christmas gift. Drawing is his hobby, he says, as his health status means he doesn't get out much. He was never an artist himself but his father made his living teaching art at the East Sydney Technical College, a.k.a. the National Art School at Darlinghurst. Coincidentally, this means that my mother Julia Woodhouse was an art student of Laurie's father, around 1940.

On the phone Laurie described Dr Boulton as quiet and gentlemanly, but not without humour, and very well-trained as a doctor. Here's Laurie's letter:

Dear Louise 

I must congratulate you on your fine book BROTHERS IN ARMS. It has meant a lot to me, as it has filled a void in the life of Dr Nigel Boulton. 

Dr Boulton and Nurse Lane were present at my birth on the xxxxxx 1931. The now faded Birth Certificate has one error. The Register Clerk mispelt Dr Boulton's name as Dr Boutton. O well! 

I have some very close memories of Dr Boulton and I must say they are part of my regular reminiscent moments in life. I kept in touch with Dr Boulton up until his death, spanning over 35 years. He was a fine and capable surgeon, especially as a setter of broken bones. His concern for the welfare of his patients was legendary. 

I have always wondered about the family life of Dr Boulton in particular. BROTHERS IN ARMS says it all. It is so interesting to read those beautiful letters between their mother and her two heroic sons. Without BROTHERS IN ARMS many people like myself would never have known very much about the Boultons and what a loss that would have been. 

My parents were married in 1920 and they set up home in Meadow Crescent, Meadowbank, and there they raised five children. We were all born at home except my sister Clare who was born at Wollongong. Dr Boulton was no doubt assisted by nurse Black or nurse Lane on the other occasions. 

The whole family were treated by Dr Boulton at one time or another. He got me through pneumonia with the trusty sulphur drugs, along with home care from my good mother. This was during the Second World War. He also removed a Half Penny from my stomach, without surgery in 1934. I was playing with coins laying down on the floor. I threw them up without care, at age three. Down the Half Penny went. Dr Boulton arrived at Ryde Hospital in no time, and I remember this event as if it was only yesterday. [On the phone to me, Laurie said he remembered choking and foaming at the mouth, a white sheet being placed over his head, and an overnight stay in hospital, so he assumes he was chlorofomed and the coin was extracted from his throat with a long instrument of some kind.]

Dr Boulton took over some of Dr Gordon Smith's patients at his retirement, about 1935. I can remember the old Bank House about this time. Dr Boulton had some of his wartime souvenirs on the picture ledges in the waiting room. He later moved to nearby Blaxland Rd opposite the tram terminus. It was a two story brick building and he remained there for the rest of his life. 

Dr Boulton loved his aeroplane. He was reported flying it, "Barnstorming" the railway bridge and going under it one Sunday afternoon, to the thrill of the picnic crowds in the park. This was some time in the 1930s. [Note - This story came to Laurie from his parents. My research shows that Nigel obtained his licence to fly a Gypsy Moth from the Royal Aero Club of NSW in 1928 and he flew a B.J. Monoplane on the Sydney to Melbourne leg of the East-West Air Race to Perth in 1929. His brother-in-law Cleon Dennis knew the Kingsford-Smith family.]

Gypsy Moth Plane, picture from en.Wikipedia.org

I worked and lived in Ryde for 55 years, and I remember the good Doctor doing his rounds in his 1946 Ford MERCURY. It was a big powerful car and it suited his tall lean stature.

1946 Ford Mercury, picture from www.hireoldcar.com

BROTHERS IN ARMS has given us a wonderful insight into the Boulton family. It has added a rich chapter into the history of Ryde and its people. 

Cheerio for now 

Laurie

NOTE: The book Brothers in Arms: The Great War Letters of Captain Nigel Boulton, R.A.M.C. & Lieut Stephen Boulton, A.I.F. recently rated very highly among all the books read by members of the Athenaeum Book Club in Melbourne during 2017. Hearing of that verdict was like another Christmas gift to me. The book's available in Australia via BookPOD and internationally via the online sources such as Amazon and Book Depository which are mentioned on my website. I hope everyone reading this post will enjoy some equally unexpected pleasures this Christmas and that the year to come, 2018, will be loving, healthy, safe and happy for you.

Wounded Soldiers

There's a pleasing review of my book Brothers in Arms ... in the latest edition of Reveille, the bi-monthly journal of RSL New South Wales (Vol 90, No 1, January-February 2017, p 39). The reviewer from the Returned and Services League (RSL) clearly read the book in its entirety, something which authors always appreciate, as many commentators about books take short cuts and simply rehash the back cover blurb. Thank you, Reveille.

Review of 'Brothers in Arms' in 'Reveille'

The Boulton brothers' letters to their mother in Sydney tell the day-to-day life story of a family living through four of the most horrendous years of the twentieth century. Without detracting from the suffering of the soldiers in that appalling Great War, and those who survived it damaged in mind and body, I felt a bit like a 'wounded soldier' myself as I compiled 'Brothers in Arms'.

This is me, sitting on the couch through the autumn of 2015, recovering from an operation on my right leg, one which involved sawing a bone spur off my heel and snipping my achilles tendon. It took months to recover.

How Louise Wilson wrote 'Brothers in Arms'

The computer mouse ran around busily on the tray on my right hand side. I got a crick in my neck checking the typed copies of the letters (on the pillow to my left) against the OCR scan of those letters previously loaded into my laptop. Every now and then I took a break and hoisted myself up to make a cup of tea.

Computerised scanning of the output of a 1920s typewriter created a huge number of transcription errors, as everyone who uses the National Library of Australia's wonderful Trove system will affirm. Luckily, as Stephen served with the Australian artillery, his letters were already digitised by the Australian War Memorial so, from my couch, I could easily cross-check the typed verson to the originals. I marked out all the places where the typed version of Nigel's letters did not quite make sense and later visited Canberra to view the originals, not digitised because he served as a doctor with the British forces. Sitting on the couch I could also Google various World War 1 history sites including the digitised unit diaries on the Australian War Memorial's website, thereby obtaining the information I needed for the linking paragraphs between the letters.

In case you didn't realise, the Boulton authors of that moving set of letters also feature in Margaret Flockton: A Fragrant Memory.  My book about the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney's famous botanical artist was published by Wakefield Press in November 2016. She was Nigel and Stephen's much-loved 'Aunt Mog'.

'Brothers in Arms': Among the best first-hand accounts in print

So says former Warrant Officer Class One (Regimental Sergeant Major) Bob Dixon, RAMC. He joined the UK's Regular Army in 1991, trained as a Combat Medical Technician, moved frequently between the major garrisons in England and Germany, was deployed on operations in Northern Ireland, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan primarily with front line units, and took part in overseas exercises in Kenya, Canada, USA, Belize, Jamaica, South Africa and Gibraltar. Bob also received the Meritorious Service Medal in the 2014 New Year's Honours Awards.

WO1 Bob Dixon (RSM),
Source Wirral Globe, photo by Geoff Davies

He has recently retired from the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) and is actively pursuing an interest of his since 2004, as a military researcher working part-time with the Museum of Military Medicine. He was proud to discover the grave of Staff Sergeant Wilfred Brooke, one of the Great War's most decorated RAMC medics, being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Bar, Military Medal, Mentioned in Despatches and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Aged 39, Brooke was originally buried in an unmarked grave at Wallasey's Rake Lane Cemetery in July 1920, after he succumbed to injuries sustained during the war. Realising Brooke had not been commemorated with a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone, Bob Dixon requested an official review of the case. The Wirral Globe newspaper subsequently reported on the special ceremony placing an official headstone on Brooke’s grave 95 years after his death and also featured on BBC North West Tonight and in the Liverpool Echo.

Given Bob Dixon’s extensive background experience, I’m very pleased to report his response to:

Brothers in Arms, compiled and edited by Louise Wilson

A thoroughly interesting book written from the first-hand accounts of two brothers of their experiences during the Great War.  The book dispenses with long-winded introductions, which I generally ignore, and goes straight into the story.  The letters have been carefully compiled and presented wonderfully and I simply couldn’t put the book down. Both men took a different route into and through the war, with the details of their movements, experiences and observations of the war through their eyes being openly translated to family back home in Australia.

One line that sticks out is “if only Steve had lived for six more hours”.  As if by cruel fate it was the last action that Stephen’s unit took part in, if only, what might have been if he had survived that fateful day. A terrible loss for the family especially being so far away and not having the immediate opportunity to visit his grave.  Dora Boulton departed Australia in 1928 alone to visit her son’s grave on what must have been an emotional 20,000 mile round trip by a devoted mother to close the chapter in her own mind, knowing he truly was at rest. 

I have read many books detailing the first-hand accounts of Generals, Officers and the ordinary Rank and File at the front and certainly rate Brothers in Arms amongst the best in print.  It was very moving to read and as a former career soldier I felt an affiliation with these men. I go to France regularly and next time I'm over there I will head over to Roisel Cemetery and place a Poppy Cross on Stephen's grave.

I would recommend this book to any who have the slightest interest in life in the Great War.

The 11 pages of contents is unusual; however, as a researcher, it makes life especially easy by not having to trawl through a 30-page chapter to find a particular piece of information and has altered my view on how I’m going to present my own book for print.

Bob Dixon

The Museum of Military Medicine in England now holds a copy of this book. For details of where to purchase 'Brothers in Arms: the Great War Letters of Captain Nigel Boulton, RAMC, & Lieut Stephen Boulton, AIF', see  Louise Wilson's website