PRIVATE FRANK NOLAN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY THE GREAT WAR MEDICAL SERVICES 1 MEDICAL SERVICES 2 AMBULANCE TRAIN MILITARY HOSPITALS
WAR AND MEDICINE WHEN THEY SOUND THE LAST ALL CLEAR GROUP CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BADER GROUP CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BADER CBE DSO '
THE MEDICAL MEMORIES ROADSHOW
‘To understand where we are today
We have to know where we have come from’
SOURCE: - https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/ambulance-trains-bringing-first-world-war-home
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE ON BOARD AN AMBULANCE TRAIN?
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'I remember the journey as a nightmare. My back was sagging, and I could not raise my knees to relieve the cramp, the bunk above me only a few inches away.'
Robert Graves, passenger
For patients, a journey on an ambulance train could be a blessed relief or a nightmare. Patients were initially relieved to be on board and moving away from the front. Many hoped for a ‘Blighty wound’, which would mean a welcome return home.
However, travelling on an ambulance train could be an uncomfortable or even painful experience. The small bunks were claustrophobic, and men with broken bones felt every jolt of the train. Filled with men straight from the trenches, the trains quickly became filthy and smelly.
Plan of MR ambulance train No. 34, Derby works, 1917
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Science Museum Group Collection
Ambulance train design evolved through the war, and each train was better than the last.
Official photographs show immaculate carriages with pristine linen and even flowers—but this was a far cry from the reality once an ambulance train was in service.
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Sitting sick officers' mess
Officers were separated from ordinary soldiers, and on some journeys were given luxuries like champagne. However, in the chaos of large battles, everybody was quickly loaded into the trains together.
Science Museum Group Collection
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Padded cell
Many soldiers suffered from the psychological effects of war. The effective treatment of mental illness had not yet been developed, and patients were locked in secure compartments or padded cells.
Science Museum Group Collection
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Pharmacy
Onboard pharmacies were fully stocked with morphine, other medicines and bandages—everything the staff needed to keep their passengers stable on the journey to hospital.
Science Museum Group Collection
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Office
Ambulance trains were run by between one and three medical officers. These professional army medics would keep records of every man on the train and decide his treatment.
Science Museum Group Collection
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Ward car
Wards were designed to carry as many men as possible. Trains used on the continent had three-tiered bunk beds, and passengers often felt cramped and uncomfortable.
Image courtesy of the Willis family
Medical officers' quarters
Ambulance trains included accommodation for the live-in staff of medical officers, nurses and orderlies. This photograph show a sleeping car for doctors.
Science Museum Group Collection
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Medical officers' mess
The medical officers and nurses shared a carriage, but their bedrooms and mess rooms (where they ate and relaxed) were kept strictly separate. This is the officers' mess on ambulance train no. 24 (Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway).
Science Museum Group Collection
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Kitchen
Each train had at least one kitchen, staffed by French chefs. The food served was basic, and usually included beef tea and meat stew. However, many of the passengers were too ill to eat.
Science Museum Group Collection