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Pte. Samuel John Wason
British Army Scots Guards
from:47 Hero St, Bootle, Liverpool
My grandfather, Samuel Wason, enlisted with the Scots Guards on 8th of June 1911 aged 19. He served before the war, for 3 years, during which he served for 9 months in Egypt. He was then transferred to France in August 1914 to fight in the First World War.
He lay wounded on the battlefield for 6 days, near the German cannons before being taken prisoner on 29th of August 1914. He had been fighting for less than 3 weeks. He had become deaf due to the immense noise and, despite an operation in Switzerland while a prisoner, his hearing deteriorated and he was discharged in 1918, after his release as a POW, he had been held for 3 years.
He applied (and failed) in his appeal for a pension based on his hearing disability. His case was dismissed on the grounds that his condition was aggravated by, not attributable to, the war. From then on, he could only perform a basic job as a glass packer in a warehouse. He died in 1971 aged 78.
