William Knapp left his family (wife and 4 children) in Worth Matravers in January 1869 on a Coastguard cutter bound for Haslar hospital at Gosport. (it is possible that he travelled from Chapman’s Pool a small cove close to the St Alban’s Headland and Worthy Travers).

William was suffering from an abscess in his side (family records show that he served in Crimea and that he was wounded and possible that deep seated shrapnel from an old wound from the Crimean war had some years later caused an abscess). He had left on the Sunday morning late January on-board a Coastguard cutter and arrived at Gosport at 10.00am on Monday morning, having had to endure sleeping on bare deck boards on the boat. In the morning a man had put a jacket over his legs and he was thankful not to get a cold that would not have helped his condition.

He was sent 6 shillings, possibly pay and posted to the hospital by post office order. A clerk came to the hospital with papers for him to sign. He would have not received the money until he leaves the hospital the money being placed it in the hospital office for him.

Staff continue to apply strong poultices to his wound and by 6th Feb the doctors allow him to get up and walk around. By 10th February he is progressing favourably, they are still poultisising his side but there is not so much discharge.

By 14th February he is becoming very anxious about his wife who is expecting their child any day and is beside himself waiting for news. – Wiliam imagines the worst and thinks that his wife has died in labour and they haven’t told him. They are still applying a poultice.

By 17th February he feels better as he has received a letter from his wife, but no birth news. He feels he is getting stronger. He has 2 good glasses of port wine and a pint and half of beer a day (this was normal routine for patients). Also a pint of lime juice also 3 ounces of cod liver oil. He is informed that cod liver oil is the best thing to kill the abscess.

By 1st March his cough is still very bad and his side has started discharging again. It seems to be healing by degrees. Some days nothing and other days a discharge. He is allowed to get out of bed. He also longs to see his wife and children.

By 6th March his cough is almost gone and his appetite is getting better. He doesn’t believe that his lungs are affected. He has stopped taking cod liver oil. By 11th his side is still discharging and a small piece of bone has come out of the abscess. The doctors are still using poultices, which the will do until it is cured which William knows can take a long time. His cough is better but he has diarrhoea which has made him very weak.

Baby Thomas Henry was christened on 26th March 1869 in the church at Worth Matravers. It is assumed that he never met his father William. William’s died on the 2nd April 1869 his Death certificate states Abscess 14 months, Albuminuria and Exhaustion. Page 70 of Burials at Haslar in the Parish of Alverstoke lists him as entry 556 buried April 5th 1869 aged 42 but he is not listed as such at Clayhall Naval Cemetery and the Haslar cemetery closed in 1859 and the search goes on.