While exploring the Carr-Ellison collection, in connection to John Campbell Carr-Ellison, I came across a series of photographs showing military officers alongside women of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). Some of the images showed brief moments of happiness and distraction away from the horrors of war. But who were these women, and how did they cross paths with John “Jock” Carr-Ellison?
To begin answering those questions, I first needed to uncover more about John’s wartime service. The only information I had was that John Carr-Ellison was the only child of Ralph Henry and Alice Carr-Ellison – both diligent and committed to their work with the military.
Beginning the Search
Many families have a relative who served during the First World War, yet tracing their experiences can seem daunting. It is important to gather as much information beforehand. Most of these records are available digitally on Find My Past and Ancestry with physical records kept at The National Archives.
My search began with his name and date of birth and thanks to John’s relatively uncommon name, his records stood out. The British Army Lists confirmed that he served with the 1st (Royal) Dragoons, while his Medal Index Card recorded his service in France and promotion from Lieutenant to Captain.
Unfortunately, John’s service record doesn’t survive along with 60% of these records that were destroyed during the Second World War when German bombing caused a fire at the War Office in London.
With his service record lost, the regiment’s war diaries became a key source for reconstructing his wartime journey, searchable and accessible online at The National Archives.
Following John’s Wartime Journey
References to 2nd Lieutenant J. C. Carr-Ellison first appear in the war diary in March 1917. His Medal Index Card shows that he arrived in France in January 1917, joining the 1st Royal Dragoons during one of the most demanding periods of the war.
On 5 April 1917, John was posted to the regiment’s Dismounted Party, serving on foot rather than horseback. Soon afterwards, he took part in the Battle of Arras before moving into the trenches around Épehy in northern France.
There, he experienced the realities of front-line warfare. His duties likely included trench maintenance, observation work, supervising working parties and carrying out patrols into No Man’s Land. These patrols, usually conducted under cover of darkness, gathered intelligence on enemy positions and movements across a landscape scarred by years of shellfire, with the constant risk of running into other enemy patrols.
It may have been during this period that John showed an aptitude for signalling. In January 1918, he attended a six-week signalling course at Yzeux, near Amiens, where he received specialist training in battlefield communications, including the use of field telephones, morse code and communication cables.
On completing the course, he was confirmed in the rank of Lieutenant and, by April 1918, had become Regimental Signalling Officer near Amiens during the German Spring Offensive. In this role, he supervised teams responsible for maintaining communications between front-line troops, battalion headquarters and higher command. Telephone lines were frequently damaged by shellfire, making the work both demanding and dangerous.
John continued in this role throughout the Hundred Days Offensive, the series of Allied operations that brought the war to an end. His regiment continued to advance, following the breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line and communication systems had to move with it. Telephone cables were laid across shell-damaged ground, damaged lines repaired, and new headquarters connected. Although less visible than front-line combat, the work of signallers was vital in keeping information flowing during a rapidly changing campaign.
By the final months of 1918, John had witnessed some of the most significant events of the war’s closing stages. On 11 November 1918, the day the Armistice came into effect, he was likely serving with his regiment at Tournai. As Regimental Signalling Officer, he may have been involved in receiving or passing on the simple but momentous message: “Hostilities will cease at 11.00 today.” For a man whose wartime duties centred on battlefield communications, it would have been a message unlike any other.
The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
Within John’s photo albums are several photographs of women serving with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) in France. Founded in 1907, the voluntary organisation aimed to provide first aid on the battlefield before wounded soldiers were moved to casualty clearing stations. But their working during the First World War became so much more than their intended role.
The FANY first entered wartime service with the Belgian Army in October 1914, as British authorities were reluctant to allow women to serve in frontline support roles. They established hospitals in poor conditions, operated ambulances, and ran regimental aid posts, motor kitchens and mobile bath units. Throughout the First World War, the organisation proved its adaptability, taking on whatever duties were needed.
The War Office finally recognised the FANY’s capabilities in January 1916, when its members were asked to replace British Red Cross Society men as ambulance drivers. Their work was often dangerous, yet they showed remarkable determination. One FANY, Pat Waddell, lost a leg in a railway accident while driving an ambulance but returned to service months later with an artificial limb.
By 1918, the FANY had become one of the most decorated women’s organisations of the war, receiving 143 awards from Allied nations. Their achievements were particularly notable given the doubts initially expressed about a woman’s ability to serve so close to the front line.
As for the women in the photos, there are no publicly accessible FANY personnel records making it very difficult to identify anyone. Like many photographic collections, identification relies largely on depositors, descendants and researchers who may recognise the individuals shown.
Through careful research, however, it has been possible to identify a location for some of the photos. A series of photos taken by the beach initially suggested several coastal locations where the FANY were based, including Calais. Fortunately, John also photographed a port, which appears to match views of Boulogne-sur-Mer. This identification is further supported by the surrounding buildings visible in the photographs, which closely resemble those found in the town. It may still be one of France’s other major ports though and we can never be fully certain.
Boulogne-sur-Mer was a major British military and medical centre during the First World War, with a large base hospital and numerous auxiliary hospitals where FANY members served. Given that John does not appear in his battalion war diary until April 1917, despite arriving in France in January, it is possible that he remained on the coast during this period, perhaps undergoing further training or awaiting deployment. If so, Boulogne-sur-Mer may well be where these photographs were taken, showing their brief moments of distraction from their impending future in the final years of war.
