A healing moorland - sphagnum moss wound dressings during the Second World War.
Around this time of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War it is important to remember the significant contribution Langholm made to alleviate the suffering of wounded around the world during the Second World War.
Similar to during the First World War, sphagnum moss was collected by volunteers from the hills around Langholm throughout the conflict.
The Red Cross Sphagnum Moss Depot in Langholm was organised by Mrs Maud Miesegaes, who had also organised moss collection and preparation in Langholm during the First World War. In November 1939 it was noted that 918 dressings had been sent to the British Red Cross Society in Edinburgh and a large amount was being stored.
The Old Town Bowling Green Pavilion was taken over to make wound dressings. The sphagnum moss was dried on wire netting tables and then put into shoe boxes. Any sticks and leaves were removed and the moss was then put into another box. Finally bags were made, moss was put into the bags and then they were stitched ready to be despatched to the national collection centre and hospitals.
In early May 1940, 794 dressings were sent from Langholm to the King’s Cross Hospital, Dundee. In June 1940, 1,300 dressings were dispatched to a number of locations including the Cumberland Infirmary, Ayr County Hospital and Buckinghamshire Red Cross.
By April 1941, over 14,000 dressings had been sent from Langholm throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. From January – August 1942, 7,480 dressings had been produced in Langholm and had been sent as far as Malta and the Middle East.
Meetings to prepare the moss and sew bags for dressings were initially held regularly in Langholm Drill Hall. After the Drill Hall was required by the Home Guard, the Langholm Old Town Bowling Club Pavilion was used and work sessions held every Tuesday and Thursday, 2-4pm and 7-9pm, each day.
Following the end of conflict in Europe, the Department of Health and Red Cross decided there was no longer an urgent need for sphagnum moss dressings. In June 1945, a letter of thanks to the sphagnum moss volunteers for their efforts during the War, from the Scottish Branch of the British Red Cross Society, was published in The Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser.
John McKnight Erskine, playing the violin at a garden fete, Longwood, Langholm, held in aid of the Eskdale Sphagnum Moss Work Party and the Eskdale District Nursing Association, 1940. He was Killed by enemy action 25/4/1941 aged 20, at 12, Guildford Place, Heaton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne; the house was hit by a bomb during an air raid. He was working in the River Tyne shipbuilding industry. Courtesy of Mrs Elaine Anderson.
Sarah Thomson volunteered with sphagnum moss preparation, at Langholm, during the Second World War. Her husband, John Thomson, was killed in action during the First World War. Courtesy of Mrs Sheena Gair and Mrs Gillian Wylie.
Volunteers preparing sphagnum moss wound dressings at Langholm, during the Second World War. Seated, centre, at the table is Kate Irving, wife of Robert Wallace Irving, who was awarded the D.C.M. during the First World War. They lived at Warbla Cottage, Langholm.
Langholm Old Town Bowling Club - during the Second World War sphagnum moss was prepared in the Pavilion.