5. Medical Transportation

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we take a closer look at medical transport during the First World War. This was a combination of stretchers-bearers, light rail, motor ambulances, hospital trains and barges, and hospital ships. Each vehicle came with its own set of problems for medical staff and wounded men.

Course

In this course, Dr Jessica Meyer (University of Leeds) takes us on a journey through the chain of medical evacuation during World War I. We start by looking at how soldiers were cared for day-to-day in the trenches. We then look at first response and first aid in ‘no man’s land’ and the trenches. After this, we’ll examine the field ambulance in closer detail. We’ll then see how overseas medical care worked during the First World War, taking a closer look at medical transport from the stretcher-bearers to the hospital train. In the final module, we look at military and convalescent hospitals back in Britain.

Lecturer

Dr Jessica Meyer is Associate Professor of Modern British History at the University of Leeds. Her research interests lie at the intersection of the histories gender, particularly masculinity, medicine and warfare. She has written widely on the histories of war, disability, popular fiction and military medical service; including her books Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain and An Equal Burden: The Men of the Royal Army Medical Corps in the First World War.