Using sources, information and evidence

• Army records


  Strengths: Provide information compiled by the British army, such as the number and nature of casualties, the locations of casualty clearing stations and the treatment given to individual soldiers.

  Weakness: Do not provide information about the experiences of the individuals of the evacuation route, the terrain, or the challenges faced providing treatment on the front line.
• National newspapers


  Strengths: Provide information about battles, descriptions of general medical advances on the Western Front and overall updates on the progress of the war.

  Weaknesses: Information in national newspapers would go through censorship and first be checked by the British government. This meant the published information didn’t always reflect the experiences of individuals on the Western Front.
• Government reports


  Strengths: Provide information about the progress of battles and an overall picture of the medical challenges that were faced on the Western Front. The information is likely to be detailed and accurate, as it was not intended for the public.

  Weaknesses: Government reports do not give us information about the experiences of the individuals of the evacuation route or the nature of the terrain.
• Medical articles


  Strengths: Provide information about the medical challenges faced on the Western Front, the advances made in medical treatment of injuries and those advances’ impact.

  Weaknesses: Do not provide information about the experiences of the individuals of the evacuation route, the progress of battles or the conditions at different base hospitals.
• Personal accounts such as diaries and letters


  Strengths: Provide information about the personal experiences of individuals on the Western Front, such as soldiers, stretcher bearers and nurses.

  Weaknesses: Each account only gives historians information about one person’s experience of medicine on the Western Front.
• Photographs


  Strengths: Provide a visual image of the conditions on the Western Front. For example, they might show the challenges of the terrain, the conditions at a regimental aid post (RAP) or the equipment used by the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC).

  Weaknesses: Each photograph gives historians focused and potentially limited information about one place and/or one moment captured in time. It was not the case that every location of battle or dressing station was the same.
• Hospital records

  Strengths: Provide information about the challenges individual hospitals faced and the medical treatment they provided on the Western Front. Examples include the number of casualties after a major battle, the treatment given and the time the wounded spent in recoverment

  Weaknesses: Provide historians with focused and potentially limited information about one place and/or one moment captured in time. It was not the case that every location of battle or dressing station was the same.
• Army statistics


  Strengths: Provide information about the medical conditions linked to the fighting on the Western Front. Examples include the number of casualties, the nature of injuries and the number of stretcher bearers at a given location.

  Weaknesses: Do not provide information about the experiences of the individuals of the evacuation route or the challenges faced in providing treatment.