Everything happens for a reason Hobbit Author found in our Hospital Records Did you know that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings might owe their existence to an insect? While transcribing name records for our MH106: ‘Military Hospitals Admission and Discharge Registers World War 1’ collection, a member of our Data Entry Team came across a familiar name: J R R Tolkien! It seems that the iconic author, who served with the 11th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers at the Somme in the Great War, was referred to No 11 Casualty Clearing Station from the 75th Field Ambulance with ‘Pyrexia of Unknown Origin’ (the generic term for a fever) on 28th October 1916. Trench fever was caused by the bites of body lice. Tolkien was treated for two days, then transferred to Number 22 Ambulance Train before being sent back home to ‘Blighty’. His regiment had been decimated by the fighting, and following his transfer the Battalion’s ‘D’ Company Headquarters was hit by German mortar fire, wounding a number of personnel, followed by a massive bombardment of their front line. Had Tolkien not been bitten by the humble louse, it is quite possible that he would have died and these incredible, atmospheric works of literature would never have been written.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 23:37:59 +0000
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