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Frederick Adam Datlen’s Enlistment papers tells us quite a lot about him. He joined the Army Ordnance Corps on 8th April 1915 in Woolwich. He gave his address as 15 Whittlesea Street, Lambeth, London He gave his age as 42 years old (when in fact he was 45 years old), born in Reading, Berkshire and he married to Florence Watling on 6th June 1892. They had two daughters, Daisy born 8th September 1899 in Lambeth and Florence born 14th January 1910 also in Lambeth
He is described as being 5 foot 9 inches tall, his chest measurement was 36.5 inches with a range of expansion of 3 inches. He had a tattoo of a butterfly on his left forearm and a mole on his left shoulder blade. His medical report indicates that he was 146lbs in weight and of good physical development. He had three vaccination marks on his left arm which were made in infancy. His vision was 6/12 for his right eye and 6/6 for his left eye.
Frederick’s first days with the Ordance Survey Corps involved handling large quantities of chilled beef. This coupled with the fact that he was frequently caught in the rain whilst on duty resulted in his hands, legs and feet becoming painful and swollen. He spent the remaining two months of service in hospital. A medical report states that he “Suffers from pain in hands & feet chiefly a finger – several small joints in both hands affected very particularly proximal inter-phalangeal joint of middle finger. Slight thickening over right heel. Not the result but aggravated by recent service.” The doctor recommended Radium heat treatment at hospital.
Frederick was discharged on 15th June 1915 on account of “being physically unfit suffering from Chronic Rhumatoid Arthritis which originated in 1908, place unknown.” He was able to rejoin his place of work as a proof-reader for The Times Office Printing House earning 60/- (including 10% bonus). However, due to the strains of war The Times was forced to reduce production and Frederick was a casualty of redundancy. In April 1917 he made a claim for an army pension and the Invalid board finding that “He is still in a state of financial embarrassment owing to protracted period of unsettlement.” Awarded him a pension payment for 52 weeks.
A subsequent medical report held in September 1918 found that there were no grounds for continuation of pension.
Frederick Datlen died in Lambeth in 1920 aged 50 years old. His widow Florence died in Hounslow in 1966 aged 93 years. Their daughter Daisy married in 1924 into the Barrett family. And Florence married in 1936 into the Prosser family
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