Their common status as officers notwithstanding, the men came from many backgrounds. The forest flooded too and all casualties and equipment were wet through. The Officer in command was usually a Captain. I felt very enamoured to the Germans that day. We had a good nights sleep that night and life seemed almost worth living. Want to find out more about your relative's service? That day we had regular meals for a change and it was a great treat. Unhappily, the single term shell shock encompassed both conditions. The rest were leaving at 8.00pm for the boat. Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia. Munro and I decided that something must be done and the CO was open to any suggestions. Lady Clementines family mixed freely with the officer guests, her youngest daughter, Kitty, who was only 1 year old when the war broke out, being a special favorite. Source: The Long, Long Trail Looking after the wounded in WWI required a tiered approach: treatment that occurred in the field, literally in the field or in the muck that used to be a field. In the very dim early morning light we sorted out patients and masonry and carried the patients outside. The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. The night was complete pandemonium with the heavy French battery either side of us the French Fleet behind us off the coast and shells bursting all around. For functional reasons it was divided into a Litter Bearer Section and an Ambulance Section. Eventually they went and I was very glad to see them go. Food was all tinned and only dished up in a very jumbly and small room to feed 20 officers. 1st June 1940 PAPUA > 23 July 1942 23 January 1943 Kitty and I married on 9th October 1940. Four doctors and four NCOs took the watches in shifts one of each to stay up for two hours. This page was printed from the WW2 US Medical Research Centre on 1st July 2023 at 07:08. We sailed for England from Bari on a lousy, overcrammed ship. Depending on the severity and nature of their injuries, casualties were treated either at the Seriously Wounded or Slightly Wounded Departments. Then it was on to the last battle for the 8th Army in North Africa. Conflict: Second World War, 1939-1945: Category: Unit: Conflict: Second World War, 1939-1945: Unit hierarchy: Australian Army; Medical; 111 Casualty Clearing Station; Collection Items Related. The major was in uniform for most of the war, on duty in France, Salonika and Morocco, and it was therefore Lady Clementine who had overseen the transformation of Lennel House into a convalescent home for neurasthenic soldiers. A CCS would usually be located just beyond the range of enemy artillery and often near transportation facilities (e.g., a railway). Some Collecting Company personnel with Ambulances and/or other transportation could remain behind with the Medical Battalion until such time as they were required in the operation of their Company. Battalion Headquarters Section: consisted (1942 data) of : 3 Officers and 8 Enlisted Men. Casualties were ordinarily evacuated by Ambulances from the Collecting Station to the Clearing Station. Cocky and I had a talk and a weep and he gave me his cross which I value more than anything in my possession. CENTRAL BURMA > 29 January 1945 15 July 1945 The Headquarters operated an administrative as well as a tactical agency. The MEDICAL BATTALION, Infantry Division consisted of: Diagramatical view of the organization of the Medical Battalion, Infantry Division. Chaps going to England in a shirt, a blanket and bare feet, some with large running wounds in their backs and legs hobbling along on the shoulders of others. Form 53, authorized May 21, 1942 (later superseded by DA Form 8-29 authorized July 12, 1944). Helmut was a great help in the first 10 minutes and did a lot to help us I think. On May 26th they were ordered to retreat and open the hospital in Dunkirk. Cocky OShea, the RC padre, drew the papers. The functional organization of the Cavalry Division included a Medical Squadron, the (early) Motorized Division had a Motorized Medical Battalion, the Armored Division had an Armored Medical Battalion, the Mountain Division a Mountain Medical Battalion, the Engineer Amphibian Brigade (later ESB) an Engineer Amphibian Medical Battalion, and the Airborne Division an Airborne Medical Company. Medical Battalion, Infantry Division, T/O 8-15, April 1, 1942 35 Commissioned Officers & 470 Enlisted Men + 101 Vehicles and Trailers. We pay our respects to elders past and present. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, 10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day). We only had candlelight in the cellar by this time and I had to do two leg amputations. Second Lieutenant MAC), and 71 Enlisted Men. RYUKYUS > 26 March 1945 2 July 1945 I remember I dropped onto the stone floor of the kitchen absolutely dog-tired and went sound asleep. Everywhere patients were yelling for WATER and ORDERLY. The 4th, 47th and 61st Casualty Clearing Stations were posted at Dozinghem and the military cemetery was used by them until early in 1918. Transferred to a treatment center in Britain or France, the invalided soldier was placed under the care of neurology specialists and recuperated until discharged or returned to the front. Many treatments abounded for the neurasthenic soldier. T/O 8-15, April 1, 1942, showing the organization of the Medical Battalion, Infantry Division. When the deal fell through and before he was transferred back to Germany, he escaped again in January 1942. Eventually we arrived at the Mole and waited. It was a most hair raising drive with the streets almost impassable, many houses in flames in fact the whole night red with burning buildings. Use this login for Shop items, and image, film, sound reproductions. View of Receiving Department of a Clearing Station, where Litter Squads are in operation, either unloading Ambulances or removing patients from the Department. My sergeant gave me a big pack of medical record books, then told me to set off to Dunkirk and that on the way the others would help me. Here, the casualty was transferred to a Wheeled Litter, and the Litter Squad then returned to the Aid Station to pick up another casualty. We drank a few drinks and tried to take count of what we had. This was a Monday after the worst Sunday I have ever spent. The Medical Battalion was organized as a kind of miniature medical organization in order to maintain the best operative coordination of all the existing facilities and to give flexibility to a possible expansion of the medical service when necessary. The Commanding Officer, Munro and Longridge got very busy with evacuation and did many perilous journeys to the Mole at Dunkirk Harbour. Later in the day the French began to dig in on the canal side of the park and we felt that we were now bound to be for it. There was an awful languid feeling about this starting to get down to hard work again when everyone else was going home. ! For some, the rush of the outside world came at them too fast: I have been annoyed quite a lot at little things & my stammer has returned, one officer confided. Twentyfive pounder guns fired over the hospital all day. He landed safely. The troops filed past and the Retreat from Moscow was never in it. It kept coming and coming and I wondered when it would ever burst. The CO usually was a Lieutenant Colonel. The night before we had slept in the cellar and although it did not strike me at the time, I remember now that we left three dying men in there as it served as an operating theatre also. 25th May 2023 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. A very real danger was fast approaching the Germans were coming and the French were taking up their position on the canal not 200 yards away from the house. Motorized Medical Battalion, Motorized Division, T/O 8-65, C-1, July 31, 1942 36 Commissioned Officers & 484 Enlisted Men + 100 Vehicles and Trailers. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources. Records of No.3 Casualty Clearing Station from other sources. An estimated 10 percent of the 1,663,435 military wounded of the war would be attributed to shell shock; and yet study of this signature conditionemotional, or commotional, or bothwas not followed through in the postwar years. There was such an air of confidence after the awful army dithering. The weather is warm though. Next it was Nijmegen where the road back (our supply road) was cut off by the Germans for four days. The German field battery came and shared the park with us and showed us some really fine horses. My word the country round here is magnificent, the splendid wheat crops are being harvested.. On D-Day, 6th June, we sailed in convoy down the Thames. 2/2 Casualty Clearing Station. The last 4 were Herbert, Hewer, Williamson and Newman. It is important to note the subsequent organization of these subsections; for instance, the Litter Bearer Section consisted of 1 Sergeant, 1 Corporal, and 40 other Enlisted Men. The advantage was that a Surgical Hospital was equipped with mobile operating rooms and necessary auxiliary equipment to perform major surgical operations. I gave 3 cheers for him he did not seem anxious to catch my eye I hope it was because he felt a great deal Im sure it was. If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page. Almost every meal consisted of bully beef and biscuits and one ate it standing up. Jack Blane No 3 (BR) Casualty Clearing Station RAMC. With everybody packed and ready on the ambulances, a message came through to wait until 4.00am. T/O 8-18, April 1, 1942, showing the organization of the Clearing Company, Medical Battalion, Infantry Division. The Medical Board sent me down here for two months light duty after which I must return to the fray! writes Lieutenant Jacob, and, as a wistful postscript; Did you ever finish that jolly Japanese puzzle picture? William McDonald before he was killed in action in France, in 1916, and which is now archived in the Australian War Memorial, shows him gathered with other officers on the Lennel House steps, with Lady Clementine. When the Phoney War ended and Germany invaded, we gradually made our way to the coast. The estate included the country house, several farms, and woodlands; before the war, Lennel was celebrated for having the finest Italianate gardens in Britain. If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here. We all took our hour at the front door and at the back of our minds we were all hoping that a Mills bomb wouldnt arrive first. Hewer might get away if we could get 60 patients away but we didnt. Shells were bursting very close to the house and the wounded were in a terrible state. ANZIO > 22 January 1944 24 May 1944 Of the 17 officers 3 only were to stay, so my chances seemed quite rosy. We had to wade into the sea up to our chests. I called all the men together and told them there was slight chance and that if we worked really hard all night got rid of all the wounded we could get on the boat. Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Medical Battalion, Infantry Division, T/O 8-15, July 15, 1943 35 Commissioned Officers, 2 Warrant Officers & 429 Enlisted Men + 90 Vehicles and Trailers. There are:2 items tagged No. CHINA DEFENSIVE > 4 July 1942 4 May 1945 The CLEARING COMPANY, Medical Battalion, Infantry Division: MAC + S-1). SICILY > 9 July 1943 17 August 1943 to help with the costs of keeping the site running. It could then relieve or reinforce the Clearing Station in operation, or it could be dispatched forward or rearward to establish another Clearing Station for the care of casualties occurring from major fluctuations of the frontline. My name is Geoffrey Keynes and I was a surgeon in a Casualty Clearing Station in France during the First World War. When it became dark a lot of other troops assembled and a smallish boat arrived. I, and all our family, are very proud of him. People Honours and Awards (7) Collections Photograph (36) Art (4) Share this page Personnel, exclusive of Battalion Headquarters, usually consisted (1942 data) of : 1 Captain (MAC), 1 First Lieutenant, 2 Second Lieutenants, and 44 Enlisted Men. On 1 March 1970, the Royal Army Medical Corps went through an internal reorganisation which saw the old medical designations replaced by modern terms. Then when it seemed right on top of us, it did, with a shattering crash that made the earth tremble. The files of the Lennel Auxiliary Hospital, however, now housed in the National Archives of Scotland, had been safeguarded amid other household clutter in the decades after the two world wars in a metal box in the Lennel House basement. I showed the German officer round the park while he strutted round on a horse of which he was very proud. After disembarking I was put on a train and eventually arrived at Oswestry Barracks about midnight, still soaked through. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, May 29th, 30th, and 31st, 1940 The burnt cases all seemed to be going off their heads and were really in a deplorable state. During the middle of the day three shells hit the house. Like this page to receive our updates. No list of clinical symptoms, such as the written records preserve, can do justice to the affliction of the shellshocked patient. Litter Relay Posts were therefore established with the aim to shorten the distance of the carry and ease the work of the Bearers. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS > 3 June 1942 24 August 1943 those of the BBC. NORTHERN SOLOMONS > 22 February 1943 21 November 1944 View of a Clearing Station, somewhere behind Utah Beach, Normandy, taken June 6 - 7, 1944 - triage of Airborne casualties and patients . I was allowed a sleeping out pass. Philip Newman's service with the 12th CCS at Dunkirk will be featured in the forthcoming BBC2 series on Dunkirk. galleries are progressively closed from 4 pm. The last man to be brought aboard was in a bad way, having been shot by a machine gun. The total number of available vehicles was 15. There was peace at last. For those readers who are interested, here follow some incomplete data related to above organizations: The Officer in command was later made responsible for Battalion supplies, designated S-4. Enlisted personnel employed at Battalion Headquarters were members of the Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment. The Collecting Companies provided medical support for the respective Infantry Regiments. Surelyit only made sensesuch a machine must cause dark, invisible forces to pass through the air and destroy mens brains. As the CO shuffled the papers, my heart was pounding. No. 36 Casualty Clearing Station - The National Archives Want to know what life was like during the War? Case notes from Lennel, however, record that a remarkable number of the neurasthenic officers were casualties of direct, savage blast force: Perfectly well till knocked over at Varennesafter this he couldnt sleep for weeks on end; He has been blown up several timesand has lately found his nerve was getting shaken. In case after case, the officer is buried, thrown, stunned, concussed by exploding shells. Personnel Section: consisted (1942 data) of : 1 Officer and 4 Enlisted Men. I expect they made one up, Sir Ilay recalled, amused.) They were sheer death traps and hygienically appalling. Royal Army Medical Corps, 30 October 1939. I was 17th and down the drain anyhow at least I knew the worst. Five ambulances set off immediately with drivers so; Ambulances and personnel were meanwhile used for short missions, such as for evacuating units on call. The wounded soldier was first carried by Hand Litter to a point on a road or trail, designated Litter Relay Post. CENTRAL PACIFIC > 7 December 1941 6 December 1943 They had a great liking for our tinned fruit and milk and demanded most of it. The Clearing Company of the Medical Battalion operated Clearing Stations as necessary for the sorting and treatment of patients evacuated by the Collecting Companies. A message came through for all walking wounded to go. Returning to the Chapeau Rouge, something new was in the air. Tuesday, May 27th 1940 Cookie Settings, Ullstein Bild / Granger Collection, New York, National Archives of Australia (A7342, Album 2), The Real History Behind the Archimedes Dial in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny', See 11 Breathtaking Bird Images From the Audubon Photography Awards, How One Man Accidentally Killed the Oldest Tree Ever, Forensic Artist Reconstructs the Face of a Teenager Who Lived 1,300 Years Ago, Eight Menacing Saber-Toothed Creatures That Stalked the Earth Long Ago. Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australias military forces. EASTERN MANDATES > 31 January 1944 14 June 1944 Each Platoon was capable of operating a Clearing Station, so that it could operate at considerable distances from Company Headquarters. This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. Monday June 3rd 1940 Conflict: Second World War, 1939-1945: Category: Unit: Conflict: Second World War, 1939-1945: Unit hierarchy: Australian Army; Medical; 2/2 Casualty Clearing Station; Collection Items Related. This section operated under supervision of the S-4 (Supply Officer). 2023 Some of the men were very good; others spent most of the time in the cellar. Headquarters did not operate their own mess but messed with the Clearing Company. Terms of Use The Station Platoon established and operated a Collecting Station for the emergency treatment of casualties being evacuated from the battlefield to the Clearing Station. On the night of 30th May we had all been told that we were going home at 11.00pm. If for any reason, casualties could not be gathered at the Aid Stations, the Collecting Companies would remove casualties directly from the field. When unit Medical Sections were forced to move quickly in order to maintain medical support of units to which they were attached, Litter Bearers would have to clear the battlefield of wounded in the areas abandoned by the Medical Sections. No. 4 Casualty Clearing Station in the Great War - The Wartime Memories Casualty Clearing Stations : World War One Medical Evacuation When each Clearing Platoon established a separate Clearing Station, the CP simply remained at one of them, while the remainder of the Company Headquarters, such as supply and mess personnel, were divided between them. It was terrible to see. Organic injury from blast force? Yet it was a nervous age, the early 20th century, for the still-recent assault of industrial technology upon age-old sensibilities had given rise to a variety of nervous afflictions. WW2 People's War - 12th Casualty Clearing Station: France 1940 - BBC I read last year, 2001, that 1940 was the coldest winter since 1815. I drove back and could hardly see where we were going and we became separated again. These strongly affected him to the end and when he spoke of them, which he still did only sparingly, it was with great feeling. Public entrance via Fairbairn Avenue, Campbell ACT 2612, Book your ticket to visit: awm.gov.au/visit, Copyright That night was hell although no shell actually hit the house. Then it was back to my unit. But beyond the nature of the mens treatment, of course, was the larger, central, burning question of what, really, was the matter. This first day we plodded on steadily with the operating with the promise of relief in the evening by some field ambulance people. Each Clearing Platoon consisted (1942 data) of 5 Officers and 49 Enlisted Men. In a landmark article, Capt. One catches glimpses of them, however, through a variety of oblique lenses. I chose the Zephyr and beetled down to the Bastion in Dunkirk Harbour (the Allied HQ). According to a Rand Corporation study, 19 percent of U.S. troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, about 380,000, may have sustained brain injuries from explosive devicesa fact that has prompted comparisons with the British experience at the Somme in 1916. Locations of British Casualty Clearing Stations All we could do was to carry patients to places of comparative safety, stop them from dying of thirst and bury our dead. We slept for a few hours and then were awakened by a terrific crash a shell had come into the front room, the operating theatre that was. She is fondly recalled by her grandson Sir Ilay Campbell of Succoth and his wife, Lady Campbell, who live in Argyll, as a presence and great fun to be withjolly and amusing and charming. This particular Section operated under supervision of the S-1 (Adjutant). They hit the ship directly ahead of us, setting it on fire. Its primary mission was to organize and conduct the necessary evacuation and medical care for casualties of the Division. The Station was generally set up in tents or in existent suitable buildings, and was arranged into Departments for administration and treatment of casualties. It is raining off an[d] on today. This Tag is the early versionM.D. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. But we were all brought up to show good manners, not to upset.. It is important to note that the evacueesname and ASNare indicated on the Tag by means of an imprinting machine (Addressograph M70). They were highly mobile military hospitals. Cookie Policy They appear to constitute a definite class among others arising from the effects of shell-shock.. Joined no.1 Casualty Clearing Station 1st Medical Unit. We found a house with the rest of the unit and I slept on the floor of the basement. Medics and fellow infantrymen gather round a wounded comrade, and administer plasma to treat the shock of the patient. I do not know what really happened when I took ill but I do sincerely hope that you will forgive me if I was the cause of any unpleasant situation or inconvenience.. It was a sight of great devastation and one drove very fast to lessen the risk of getting hit by shells. All visitors require a free timed ticket to enter the Memorial Galleries and attend the Last Post Ceremony. Its primary mission was to organize and conduct the necessary evacuation and medical care for casualties of the Division. The normal functions of the Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment was the daily operation of activities necessary for the complete administration and maintenance of the Medical Battalion through such services as supply mess and clerical duty. The Germans brought round some soup to the men in the evening which was greatly appreciated. Motor Maintenance Section: consisted (1942 data) of : 1 Officer and 8 Enlisted Men. The Clearing Company was further subdivided into 1 Company Headquarters and 2 Clearing Platoons. Then we suddenly realised that here were no bullets coming past the house and that they were all going off in the same place. Then we landed on Gold Beach with 30 Corps and set up our Casualty Clearing Station. The Unit was posted to France with the British Expeditionary Force in February 1940. At wars end, the legions of shellshocked veterans dispersed into the mists of history. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small I organised the Senior NCOs and officers in a watch routine through the night. But now he was wounded - there was nobody else I could appeal to for help. It is better that I write about the 29th, 30th and 31st as a whole. At 2.30 we gathered in the mess for the ballot. I can never forget that moment as long as I live. It was always busy in the Casualty Clearing Station. The following list shows WW2 campaigns and the date associated with them: EGYPT & LIBYA > 11 June 1942 12 February 1943 Furthermore they provided extra service transporting Litter Bearer Platoons to assembly areas, delivering medical supplies forward, carrying messages to other areas, and administering emergency treatment of casualties during evacuation. After two months there we were relieved by the Canadians. That she and her instinctive treatment were beneficial is evident from what is perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Lennel archivethe letters the officers wrote to their hostess upon leaving. The pump was dry and there had been no water supply for two days. Forsyth had now joined us from some field ambulance unit and also a chap called Gaze a building contractor from Diss and a really good egg. A Captain of the Hq & Hq Det was the Supply Officer for the Medical Battalion, and also the general Supply Officer of the Division. WWI Casualty Clearing Stations | A Writer of History Casualty clearing stations were on my list this week. Every quarter of an hour the road was strafed by low - flying aircraft. Diagram showing the organization of a Collecting Company. We were very busy and it was very noisy from the gunfire. The rumor emanating from there reflected the instinctive dread aroused by such monstrous innovation. Pte. The Medical Battalion was a Divisional medical unit developed to furnish medical support for the Infantry Division. Bombing around us was frequent. A CCS would usually be located just beyond the range of enemy artillery and often near transportation facilities (e.g., a railway). But by 1916, military and medical authorities were convinced that many soldiers exhibiting the characteristic symptomstrembling rather like a jelly shaking; headache; tinnitus, or ringing in the ear; dizziness; poor concentration; confusion; loss of memory; and disorders of sleephad been nowhere near exploding shells. Officers might enjoy a final period of convalescence before being disgorged back into the maw of the war or the working world, gaining strength at some smaller, often privately funded treatment centersome quiet, remote place such as Lennel House, in Coldstream, in the Scottish Borders country. This evening, I think, was really the most dramatic yet. This photograph, taken in 1945 shows the stowage of camouflage net on the roof of a WC54 Ambulance seen through the ruined building. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. A photograph that had been in the possession of Capt. The house itself was very, very smelly, overcrowded and in a shocking state. Realising the hopelessness of the situation, we decided to get a nights rest. It provided for the control, administration, supply and mess of the individual Collecting Company. The Casualty Clearing Stations were the front line medical units, whose role was to accept the sick and wounded, assess the casualties, carry out emergency treatment and evacuate the casualties to a general hospital behind the lines. How lucky we were to escape unharmed. Once off Dover we could see and hear the big German guns in Calais firing across the Channel. We, with some marines, rushed a few of the stretchers mile up the jetty and put them on a boat. As the war dragged on, medical opinion increasingly came to reflect recent advances in psychiatry, and the majority of shell shock cases were perceived as emotional collapse in the face of the unprecedented and hardly imaginable horrors of trench warfare. Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains today and into the future. It also had a number of Ambulances in order to evacuate cases requiring urgent surgery from the Clearing Station to its own installations. Since it was imperative for the Collecting Company to establish and maintain liaison with the aid Stations, a Liaison Section was usually created T/O do not however prescribe such specific function so it had to be improvised from well-trained EM, there were normally 4 liaison agents under command of a Sergeant (who usually operated the Message Center as well). The Collecting Station itself was set up in several Departments; all casualties brought in from the field passed through the Receiving Department & Property Exchange. The Headquarters Detachment normally set up its installations in vicinity of the Clearing Station and the Medical Battalion CP. The navy had seen nothing of the ships. I had four lorries driven up and even had one of the wounded soldiers driving one of the lorries. Illustration showing Supply Section distributing Medical and General Supplies to the Medical Battalion . INDIA & BURMA > 2 April 1942 28 January 1943 Photograph taken in August, 1944. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not
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