Historic Environment

• Trenches Were Used For:

  • Cover
  • Move Forward
  • Store Weapons
  • Sleep, Eat
• Features To Reduce Risk Of Trench Fever:

  • Wash Under Clothing With Parafin
  • Hand Pick Lice Out Of Uniform
  • Fumigate Clothing
• Features To Reduce Risk Of Trench Foot:

  • Rub Whale Oil On Feet
  • Wear 3 Pair Of Socks And Change Them Twice A Day
  • Men Sent In Pairs To Look After Feet
  • Wearing High Rubber Waders In The Worst Conditions
• Harvey Cushing Invented The Surgical Magnet To Extract Bullets From Head Wounds.
• 2 Major Developments In Brain Surgery:

  • Blood Transfusions Helped Soldier Stay Alive And Fit To Cope With Operations And Were given Saline Solution To Treat Shock
  • Help with X-rays Lead To Invention Of Surgical Magnets (Invented By Harvey Cushing)
• Plastic Surgery:

  Bullets And Shells Caused Injuries To Face That Required Things Like Skin Grafts. Surgeons Carried Out Over 11,000 Operations, by 1915, 7 Hospitals In France Had Specialist Areas Dealing With These Injuries.
• Harold Gillies:

  Was Able To Persuade Armies Chief Surgeon That A Specialist Facial Injury Care Was Needed In England, In 1917, Queens Hospital Was Opened In Kent Which Specialised In Repairing Facial Surgeries.
• Hugh Owen Thomas:

  Invented The 'Thomas Splint'. Method Used For Femurs Broken By Gunfire. The Thomas Splint Pulls The Leg Lengthway, Stopping Bones Grinding Into Eachother And Reducing Blood Loss.
• Before The Invention Of The Thomas Splint, The Death Rate was 80%, After The Invention Of The Thomas Splint, The Death Rate Dropped To 20% Which Lead To Less Amputations To Be Needed.
• Issues Before WW1:

  • Different Blood Groups
  • Blood Clotting If Blood Not Kept Cold
  • Patients And Docters Had To Be In Same Room
• WW1 Developments:

  • In 1915 Geoffrey Keynes Desighned A Portable Blood Transfusion Kit To Be Used On The Frontline, But Had No Refrigeration To Stop Clotting.
  • Lewishom Added Sodium Citrate To Blood Which Prolonged The Storage.
  • Francis Rous And J.R.Turner In 1916 Added Citrate Glucose To Blood Which Made Storing Blood Last 4 Weeks.
  • In 1917 Oswald Hope Robinson Made A 'Blood Depot' In His Suitcase Which Kept 20 Men Alive With Shock.
• Alexis Carrel And Henry Dakin Invented The Carrel Dakin Method Which Used A System Of Tubes Which Kept A Chemical Solution (Sterilised Salt Solution) Flowing Round The Wound Which Stopped The Infection Developing.
• Deeper Surgery (Excision):

  By 1915 More Extensive Surgery Was Used Which Included:

  • Making Sure All Shells, Bullets And Sharpnel Fragments Were Removed.
  • Cut Out All Tissue And Muscle Surrounding The Wound Which Could Become Infected.
  • Not Sewing Up Wounds Immediately But Keeping Them Open And Treating Them With Antibiotics.
• X-Rays:

  German Scientist Wilhelm Rontgen Invented X-Rays In 1895 Had An Immediate Imapact, Within 6 Months The London Royal Hospital Amongst Other Were Using X-Ray Machines To Find Out If And Where A Bone Is Broken. In WW1 This Was Usefull In Locating Bullets, Shrapnel And Shell Casings Within The Human Body. This Made Surgery Be Quicker And More Effective Which Prevented Infection, Which Saved Many Lives. In 1915 There Were Only 2 Mobile X-Ray Units In The British Army But By 1916 Most Casualty Clearing Stations And Hospitals Had X-Ray Equipment.
• Antiseptic - Killing Germs In Wounds:

  There Were Germs In The Operating Theatres But Surgeons Used Methods To Stop Wounds Becoming Infected.
• Aseptic - Stopping Germs Coming Into Wounds:

  Cleaning And Sterilising Methods Would Stop Any Wounds Being Able To Develop Infection In The Operating Theatre.
• Main Purpose Of Medical Care During The War Was To Get Soldier Fit As Soon As Possible.
• Main Problem Army Faced In 1914:

  Evacuation To Britain Slowed Down Wounded Returning To Fight.
• RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps):

  Organised And Provided Medical Care.
• Issues RAMC Faced At The Start Of The War:

  Had To Learn About New Wounds As Quickly As Possible Which Were Different From Any They Had Ever Experianced Before.
• Army Only Accepted The ' Queen Alexandra ' Nurses In 1914 Because They Were More Professional.
• VAD: Voluntary Aid Detachment, Group Of Trained Volunteers That Provided Medical Care.
• Jobs Queen Alexandra And VAD Nurses Did:

  • Nursing In Operating Theatres.
  • Scrubbing Floors.
  • Cooking.
  • Washing Clothes.
• FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry):

  Crew That Got Wounded To Casualty Clearing Stations.
• Jobs FANY Did:

  • Carry Supplies To Front Line.
  • Drove Motorised Kitchens For Food.
  • Provided Mobile Baths (Bathed 40 Men An Hour).
• Types Of Sources:

  • Diaries / Letters
  • Medical Articles By Docters
  • Recollections By Soldiers / Medical Staff
  • Records From Casualty Clearing Stations
  • Newspaper
  • Hospital Records
  • Individiual Records
  • Army Stats
  • Government Reports On The War
  • Photographs
• Artilery:

  Can Send 900kg Shells Over 12 Miles Which Can Have Bursts That Last Few Hours. Caused Half Of All Casualties in WW1.
• Rifles:

  Automatic, Rapid Fire Because Of Cartridge Case, Bullets Desighned With More Pointed Shape Which Can Go Deep Into Body.
• Machine Gun:

  500 Rounds Per Minute Which Is Equivalent To The Fire Power Of 100 Rifles. Part Of Trench Defence, Effective To Kill People In No Mans Land.
• Shrapnel:

  Hollow Shells Filled With Stell Or Lead Balls With Gunpowder And Timed Fuse Which Will Explode Above Enemies And Penetrate Them.
• Gas:

  Impacted Lung Tissue, Caused Chocking Effect. 1.3 Million Casualties In WW1. First Use In Battle Of Ypres In 1915, Mustard Gas And Chlorine Gas Were Used By Germans On British And Canadian Troops.
• Impact Of Terrain For Stretcher Bearers:

  • Trenches Were Complicated.
  • Collecting Wounded Men Was Dangerous.
  • Certain Areas Of No Mans Land Were Thick In Mud , Like Quick Sand , Lots Of Deep Shell Crates Filled WIth Freezing Stagnant Water.
  • Huge Number Of Wounded Men.
  • Took Alot Of Time For Men To Get Treated.
• Berm / Ridge:

  Entanglement To Protect Against Tanks.
• Parados:

  Elevation To Protect Against Water / Flooding.
• Revetement:

  Barricade Can Protect Against Water Flooding.
• Slump:

  Collects Water.
• Parapet:

  Barridcade At Top Of Trenches (Sand Bag).
• Bolt Hole:

  Isolated Protected Concrete Space (Used For Escape).