# The First World War Medical Evacuation System, split from Re: A General Introduction to Researching



## Blackadder1916 (3 Sep 2010)

Michael O'Leary said:
			
		

> Part 13: Evacuation to Hospital



Michael, first let me thank you for the informative additions to The Regimental Rogue.  I have on more than one occasion used your site as reference material.  However, (now that the pleasantries are out of the way) I do find a minor fault with your description of some elements of the chain of evacuation on the above quoted page.

Particularly this portion suggests that the following medical "facilities" are separate medical "units". 


> *Advanced Dressing Station*: Medical units immediately behind the front lines which received wounded brought by stretcher, or walking wounded, and administered immediate care.
> 
> *Field Ambulance (F.A.)*: A mobile unit equipped with horse-drawn or motorized ambulances which evacuated soldiers from the Advanced Dressing Station rearward.
> 
> ...



All of these medical facilities were established by and operated by field ambulances, which were the brigade and divisional medical units.  While these stations were usually set-up by elements of an individual fd amb, sometimes elements of all the fd ambs within the division were combined to form a single MDS or DRS.   I made a cursory review of Macphail’s official history of the corps to confirm what he says about the organization and employment of a fd amb, but he makes no mention of ADS or MDS in Chapter 6.  However, this site about the RAMC during the Great War provides a good explanation about the tactical employment.  CAMC units were somewhat similarly organized, but there were minor differences as can be noted in the excerpt I included from Macphail book.

http://www.ramc-ww1.com/chain_of_evacuation.php


> Field Ambulance. [Fd Amb or FA]
> 
> There was at least one (In the case of a Cavalry and some Infantry Field Ambulances), but normally two, Advanced Dressing Stations set up by the Field Ambulances. In a textbook situation, the Advance Dressing Station would be sited about 400 yards behind the RAPs, in tents where necessary, but preferable in large houses or schools, and the Main Dressing Stations sited roughly one-mile further back. In the Great War though this seldom was the norm.
> 
> ...



 Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War: The Medical Services, 1925 (PDF Version, 4.2 MB)


> . . . In 1901 a War Office committee recommended
> that the functions of the bearer company and those of the
> field hospital should be combined, and four years later
> this recommendation was put into effect. The new unit
> ...



And some other sites discussing medical services in the Great War.

http://www.1914-1918.net/wounded.htm


> . . . In addition to the ADS, the Field Ambulance was also responsible for the stretcher bearer relay posts, walking wounded collecting stations, sick collecting stations and rest stations. A larger version of the ADS, the Main Dressing Station, was often provided for the Division. The next stop for most casualties was the CCS.



http://www.vlib.us/medical/ramc/ramc.htm

If this becomes a larger discussion, then perhaps a split to a new thread would be in order.


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## Michael OLeary (3 Sep 2010)

Blackadder, thank you for your comments.  As noted above I am trying to pitch the presentation of these pages to the lowest common denominator, a "Researching CEF Soldiers 101" of sorts for those who have no background in army or unit organizations, etc. One aspect I have noted in various forums' discussions about the Great War is that family researchers that do not yet have an understanding of the difference between "company", battalion" and "Brigade" are not helped by excessive detail when they just want to track the movements of a single soldier in their family. If I have offended by being overly simplistic, I apologize.  On the other hand, if you are able to condense those descriptions to 50 words or less and still meet the goal of "Researching CEF Soldiers 101" I'd be happy to consider using your versions.

Re: ADS & MDS: While the ADS and MDS may not be mentioned in McPhail, they are shown on a medical evacuation diagram in Tim Cook's "At The Sharp End", a reference that new researchers on the War are much more likely to possess.

Regards

Michael


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## Blackadder1916 (3 Sep 2010)

I realize that you are trying to keep it to the lowest common denominator, however knowing that an ADS or MDS was operated by a field ambulance could (in my opinion) be helpful for someone researching the path that a soldier took as he was evacuated from the line.  I will admit that I haven't reviewed many WW1 medical records or paid much attention to how notations were recorded as to where specific treatment was performed on the patient.  However, it is possible that an entry could have been made as simply as "MDS at Agnez Les Dirisons" or "MDS at the Bricklands" and it could have meant the same MDS operated by 4 Canadian Field Ambulance near Amiens in 1918.  Alternately, an entry on a medical record may identify the treating unit simply as A, B,or C section of 4 F.A. and if it had occured shortly after 20 September 1915, it could have been in any one of three (rather dispersed) locations operating one dressing station and two rest stations.



> Re: ADS & MDS: While the ADS and MDS may not be mentioned in McPhail, they are shown on a medical evacuation diagram in Tim Cook's "At The Sharp End", a reference that new researchers on the War are much more likely to
> possess.



While Macphail may not mention it in "Chapter 6" which discusses the organiztion of the field ambulance, I'm sure the terms are used in other sections of his book.  As I said previously, I made only a "cursory" review; actually, I find Macphail to be sometimes disjointed in how he presented the subject.  Diagrams (even official ones contemporary to the war) showing the chain of evacuation will most often include ADS and MDS.  The terminology (and the same tactical employment) was maintained through the next war and Korea.  In actuality, only the terminology was changed for my first couple of postings to field ambulances - we referred to them as Evac Station (vice ADS) and Brigade Medical Station or BMS (vice MDS).



> On the other hand, if you are able to condense those descriptions to 50 words or less and still meet the goal of "Researching CEF Soldiers 101" I'd be happy to consider using your versions.



I'll consider it.


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## Michael OLeary (3 Sep 2010)

Blackadder1916 said:
			
		

> I realize that you are trying to keep it to the lowest common denominator, however knowing that an ADS or MDS was operated by a field ambulance could (in my opinion) be helpful for someone researching the path that a soldier took as he was evacuated from the line.  I will admit that I haven't reviewed many WW1 medical records or paid much attention to how notations were recorded as to where specific treatment was performed on the patient.  However, it is possible that an entry could have been made as simply as "MDS at Agnez Les Dirisons" or "MDS at the Bricklands" and it could have meant the same MDS operated by 4 Canadian Field Ambulance near Amiens in 1918.  Alternately, an entry on a medical record may identify the treating unit simply as A, B,or C section of 4 F.A. and if it had occured shortly after 20 September 1915, it could have been in any one of three (rather dispersed) locations operating one dressing station and two rest stations.



Hospital admission cards in the files I have seen normally only list the general, stationary and convalescent hospitals.  Occasionally a Field Ambulance will be listed but I have yet to see any specific Dressing Station noted in the files I have reviewed. (I have about 60 individual files at hand, which is admittedly not a large sampling.)

I have attached as an example the hospital admission card from 734121 Pte AL Cross as an example showing Field Ambulance listings.



			
				Blackadder1916 said:
			
		

> I'll consider it.



Thank you.


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## Michael OLeary (4 Sep 2010)

Further to my last; another item which might be found in CEF service records (but by no means all of them) is the Field Medical Card.  This document will identify the Field Ambulance and Casualty Clearing Station that teated and/or transported the soldier, but has no defined space for listing a Dressing Station.


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