Allen Borman Phillips after a serious illness or being wounded in 1918
Whilst the writing on the back of the photograph say it was in Egypt in 1918 after a serious illness I have been assured that the brickwork at the back is Flemish. Research tends to confirm that. It certainly does not look Egyptian
A picture of Flemish Brickwork is below! This may tie up with the fact that we know Sgt Phillips was in the 5th Ypres Battle at Kemmel Hill around the 5th September 1918 with his brother in law Sgt George Arrowsmith and that they had been together in the 1st/1st Herefordshire's from 1916/17 up until that time.
The Picture shows Sgt Phillips in uniform with Worcestershire Regiment collar badges and his WW2 Medal Ribbons (medals were not issued until 1920). This is presumably after his hospital stay.
In the closing months of the war, a terrifying pandemic swept the globe, devastating populations already coping with the losses of war. Known as the Spanish Flu, or Influenza, it appeared early in 1918, and reached a climax in October and November of that year. Victims of this virus showed many of the same symptoms of milder flu – headache, fever, nausea and respiratory problems. Mortality rates, however, were significantly higher, and unlike other flu outbreaks (where children, the elderly and the weak were most vulnerable), it particularly affected young, healthy adults. Many died of Pneumonia caused by the intensity of the Flu Bug (H1N1).
I am therefore inclined to believe that this was why Allan was in Hospital. It was very common for personnel to change Regiment for many reasons. It is likely that by the time he left hospital the 1st/1st Herefordshire Regiment had moved on and he would have been reassigned - in his case to the Worcestershire Regiment. Research suggests this was either the 4th or 17th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.
Flemish Brick work
