Atkins, D N (Douglas Norman)
Atkins, D N (Douglas Norman)
Private Douglas Atkins was the son of William Atkins and had transferred to Londonderry with Devonshire Regiment, 4th Battalion during April 1918. He was from Keynsham, Gloucestershire and had enlisted in Taunton, Somerset.
At the beginning of the month of September 1918, he contracted what was believed to be cerebral spinal meningitis.[1] It took 26 days for him to succumb to the illness. Douglas passed away in Foyle Hill Infectious Disease Hospital in Londonderry.
It is possible though that he was more than likely a victim of the Spanish flu pandemic.[2]
The Spanish flu is rather deceiving as it did not originate in that country of its namesake. Spain though was the first country to openly report on the pandemic due to its neutrality in the war. Therefore, the illness received its name by this association.
The outbreak began around January 1918 and ended at the end of 1920. There were three major outbreaks, each deadlier than the previous. Great efforts were made to suppress the news, but so many people were affected that it became pointless as the flu crept through the armies and into the villages, towns, and cities of Europe. There were no vaccines to protect against this flu virus or the infections, no antiviral drugs to treat it and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections like pneumonia. The only tools that authorities could implement was the promotion of good personal hygiene, isolation, and quarantine of the ill, along with the closures of public places.
There are several servicemen in the City Cemetery who possibly died of the illness, most of whom were diagnosed with meningitis, flu, or pneumonia. It especially affected young adults.
Private Douglas Atkins was not eligible for any medals as he never left the UK or entered a theatre of war.
Date of Death: 26/09/1918
Service: Private, Devonshire Regiment, 4th Battalion (Territorials).
Service Number: 80208
Burial Location: Londonderry (or Derry), City Cemetery, G. Mil. 4.
[1] Cerebral spinal meningitis in an infection of the thin covering of the brain and spinal cord.
