ambulance-trains-bringing-first-world-war-home

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE ON BOARD AN AMBULANCE TRAIN?

'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

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.

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.
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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

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

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

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.
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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).
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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