As the 100th anniversary of the start of The Great War is soon upon us, i thought id share this. My grandfather Alfred Ford, A Wickham man, served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Great War. He was a male nurse in one of the Casualty Clearance Stations which were set up just behind the front. For a period of the War he kept a notebook of all the operations which he participated in, noting the names, injuries and the sometimes sadly, the outcomes. One amazing story concerned a soldier - G Mansel i beleive. His operation recieved the following mention - Gun shot wound. Shrapnel removed.and also and entrance and exit of a bullet. The man was in a serious condition on admission and the operation was successful. The bullet was thought to have passed right through the brain with a fracture of the cranium. He was visited at this hospital by the medical officer. He recovered and was sent to England to receive his discharge. The operator - Major Armstrong, was mentioned in dispatches. Amazing to think that an operation such as that was able to be performed under those wartime circumstances. I have attached that page from the book along with a couple of others, a photo (he is far left) and a letter of recommendation he was given after the War. You may have to zoom in a bit as it was all written in pencil.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 00:24:49 +0000
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