Story
The war took its toll on Walwin Ashford. He had been working as a draper when he first enlisted with the 1st Dorsets at Blandford in December 1915. But the conflict impacted heavily on his life. He was discharged, no longer fit for war service, he came back to his father's home in Poole, so affected that he was, at first at least, unable to earn a living. He had served for one year and 205 days. Evidently shell-shocked, Pte Ashford was suffering not only from dysentery but also neurasthenia, insomnia and delusions and had lost weight. He was 36 years when he first joined up. Weighing 9st. 6lb., blue-eyed with fair hair, a fair complexion, he had a pulse of 72 and a 35.5in. chest. He was mobilised on 20 March 1916. In July, he was posted to the British Expeditionary Force in France. During his service in France he suffered bouts of sickness in the field and was eventually diagnosed as suffering from dysentery. On 19 Feb 1917 Pte Ashford was transferred back to England from Etaples on board the Hospital Ship Brighton. He was taken at first to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth but sent to a dysentery 'depot' at Barton-on-Sea. In early June 1917, the case of Private Ashford, whose pre-war home was in Market Street, Blandford, came before a medical board and he was judged permanently unfit for war service. His dysentery condition was the result of active service, when he was exposed to infection. So, too, was the neurasthenia. His medical records show that he suffered persistent insomnia, was the victim of various phobias, depression following adverse conditions and he was delirious. (They also mention a family history of mental ill-health on his mother Alice's side.) Although his appetite was generally good, he had suffered weight loss and his health was generally impaired. It was said that he would require out-patient treatment after discharge and had a total inability to earn a living. The disabilities of Pte Ashford, Regimental number 17007, however, were not considered permanent but the probable minimum duration was six months. He was discharged to Shirley, Parkstone Road, Poole (where his father lived up to 1935.) In November 1917, a gratuity was awarded to him of £25 plus £2.10s. Walwin's character was described as 'good'. He was born in Blandford on 18 February 1879 and had, then, two older sisters and a younger sister was born when he was three. He was a linen draper at 25 Market Place, Blandford, which he rented from his father, Charles. After the war, he was registered as an elector in 1919 while still living in Parkstone Road but the good news is that soon afterwards he was able to return to his drapery business in Blandford. The 1939 Register shows him to be still single, working as a draper and living in Robert Louis Stevenson Avenue, in Westbourne, Bournemouth. He died in Bournemouth in 1970 at the ripe old age of 91. * Please contact us if you wish to suggest an amendment or have additional information.