Jack spent three weeks at the US Military Base Hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine. Julie visited as much as possible although it proved to be difficult as more and more wounded were being brought into the dressing station.
Jack wrote Julie a note.
Dear Julie,
I have just been informed that I will be transferred to a convalescence hospital in Devon England. I leave tomorrow. It is not much notice so I will understand if you can’t see me before I leave.
I know you told me never to mention it again, but I will. Thank you for saving my life Sis – I will never be able to repay the debt.
When this horrid war is over I look forward to seeing you again and sharing Thanksgiving with you, Mom and Gene.
Take care.
All my love
Jack
Julie did not receive the note. The ambulance carrying it was hit by a shell and demolished along with the two ambulance drivers and the three wounded soldiers it was taking to the base hospital.
Julie was looking forward to seeing Jack. It had been four days since her last visit and she was keen to see how he was progressing. She entered his ward only to find his bed occupied by someone else. When she approached the matron and asked where her brother was she was informed of the transfer. Julie knew it would be a long time before she could talk to her big brother again. She felt devastated.
Jack was admitted to Hatfield House in Hertfordshire in August 1918.
Hatfield House was completed in 1611. It was built by Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury and son of Lord Burghley, the Chief Minister of Elizabeth I. The deer park surrounding the house and the older buildings of the Old Palace had been owned by Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, who had used it as a home for his children: Edward, Elizabeth and Mary. It was while she was living in the Old Palace, in 1558, that Elizabeth learned of her accession to the throne.
The Cecils’ former home was at Theobalds, also in Hertfordshire. In 1607, Elizabeth’s heir, James I offered to exchange Theobalds for the Old Palace and manor of Hatfield. A draft Parliamentary Act of Exchange survives in the Cecil Papers at Hatfield dated May 1607. Salisbury began building work immediately. The main architect of the house was Robert Lemynge but Simon Basil the Surveyor of the King’s Works, and Inigo Jones also contributed to the design.
Salisbury had been appointed Lord Treasurer in April 1607 as well as Chief Secretary, but he became ill and died, aged just 48, in April 1612. Although he was buried at Hatfield, he didn’t live to enjoy the house that was to become the home of his descendants, the Cecils, for the next 400 years.
Hatfield was now home to one hundred and fifty convalescing soldiers who had access to the magnificent gardens and the extensive deer park. Most of these men were either in wheelchairs or walking with the aid of crutches.
Jack could walk unaided but still suffered from terrible chest pains. He made some lifelong friends during his sojourn at Hatfield, including his roommate Captain Gregory Mathers. They were both a long way from home yet they had both been raised in the Chesapeake area. Their family homes were only one mile apart yet they had never met before sharing a room at Hatfield.
The two men would walk through the gardens discussing all manner of things including the war. Neither of them had any regrets about their choice of career, despite their injuries.
Jack stayed at Hatfield for two months and at the end of his time there was almost fully recovered. He had been writing regularly to his mother and his sister assuring them of his recovery and his imminent return to the front.