When soldiers fighting in the First World War came home on leave in the spring of 1918 they most likely brought home with them what became known as the Spanish ’Flu.
The airborne virus, which almost certainly did not originate from Spain, killed 50-100 million people worldwide over the following year, including some 1,660 from the Worcestershire area.
Between 2018-2019, on the centenary of the virus finally subsiding, the George Marshall Medical Museum looked back at the virus, the public health response, and the impact it had on the county. In a document prepared by health and medical historian Laura Mainwaring, it published:
In 1933 an effective influenza vaccine was developed, however today, with ever-emerging strains of ’flu and the declining effectiveness of antibiotics, there are fears that a new ’flu pandemic could cause widespread havoc across the globe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises that influenza is a threat to the modern world due to urbanisation, mass migration, developments in biological weapons, global transport and trade. It is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.
Nobody could have predicted that within a year, the world would again be sent reeling by a pandemic that would claim the lives of millions. This new pandemic, of course, is Covid-19.
Even at a quick glance, there are similarities between the Spanish ’Flu and Covid-19. Both experienced numerous waves exacerbated by seasonal weather, both are suspected of originating in animals, and both badly affected the lungs. The public health responses were also broadly similar – schools closed, communities were locked down, and people were urged to keep distanced from each other and not congregate in small groups.
Covid-19’s sufferers included Prince Charles, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and actor Tom Hanks, while charity fundraiser and former solider Captain Sir Tom Moore contracted Covid-19 and subsequently passed away in February 2021, aged 100. The Spanish ’Flu’s victims included Spanish king Alfonso XIII, UK Prime Minster David Lloyd George and actress Greta Garbo, while William Leefe Robinson, a member of the Worcestershire Regiment and famous for being the first pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain, passed away from the Spanish ’flu in December 1918, aged 23.
The reporting of the viruses had similarities; there exist today Covid-19 deniers and misinformation is rife, while in 1919, the censorship of many newspapers during the First World War meant the widespread existence of the virus across Europe was kept largely under wraps. The large-scale reporting of the virus in Spain led to it being named the Spanish ’Flu, when in fact its more likely origins include migratory birds or a farm in Kansas.
When researching the Spanish ’Flu as experienced in Worcestershire, Dr Mainwaring turned to newspaper reports, advertisements for flu ‘remedies’, diary entries and obituaries of people who succumbed to the virus. S. Powell, a gunner for the army, contracted the flu when home on leave for two weeks visiting his parents in Kidderminster. After battling the Spanish ’Flu, he developed pneumonia. On already weakened lungs, the pneumonia proved too much. He passed away 13 days after the war ended.
Sergeant Mason, a gardener from Kidderminster, contracted the virus while fighting in France. He died in September 1918, leaving a wife and two children.
The diary of Worcestershire nurse Amelia Constable, working in Salisbury, gives a small insight into the view of medical professionals. It provides an insight into the risks and attitudes, the experiences and victories, but it is just one voice in a battle fought by many.
If the study of history is to better grasp the present through an understanding of the past, is a supplementary role for today’s historians to gather evidence to inform the future? Throw your minds forward to the year 2120 and the stories your descendants will unearth about Covid-19.
The accounts of clinicians working during this pandemic are being collected, using oral history, so their experiences are told in their own words, using their own voices. Among the stories will be Kirstie Maxted’s. She helped train clinicians to return to the frontline of healthcare when they had not worked in a hospital for decades. There will be the words of Heather Sharp, whose job was to care for the sickest of those affected, many of whom never recovered; and Cassie Broughton, who had to tell her staff that one of their colleagues had died from Covid-19. Those who have volunteered to share their stories include doctors, nurses, paramedics, midwives, and physiotherapists.
In Spring 1918, Spanish ’Flu swept through the UK, claiming an estimated 250,000 British lives. There was no vaccine, and due to its unknown origin, doctors were powerless to fight it. As medical professionals contracted the virus, staff shortages put more pressure on those well enough to tend to the very sick. One newspaper reported:
“Many are so overworked that they scarcely have time to eat a meal from breakfast until they finish for the night.”
In 2020, medical professionals faced a similar battle, but because of technological advances, their experiences can be captured in a way that allows them to tell their stories themselves.
*Nadia Stone will be collecting oral histories of clinicians treating affected patients in Worcestershire. To tell your story, contact the George Marshall Medical Museum.
