Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-06-03
HON W0UN|l[DARE
TREATED IS TOLD
BY EYEWITNESS
Care Taken Of Men Injured in
Battle Is Described in In
terestIng Letter From Brit
ish Army Headquarters.

tAss0ciated Press Correspondence.)
London. May 1.-THE treatment
OF a wounded man from the moment
he Is hit until he finds himself in n
base hospital is the subject of a COM
munlcation by the eyewitness pres
ent with the British general headquar-
ters in France.
When q man is shot down dur
ing an advance, he is probably left
lying in the open under hail OF
shrapnel. From This position he il
rescued by two stretoher bearers who
chose an opportune time for rush
ing out and bearing him to the shell
ter trench He is then conveyed
through communicating trench TO
the regimental aid post in a dugout
or cellar. There he receives first aid
from an army surgeon. The stretcher
bearers may be either men selected
from his own company or from the
Royal Army Medical corps.
After first aid, the wounded man
is removed either by stretcher or
horse ambulance to the nearest dress
ing station, where he passes from
regimental aid to one of the division
al field ambuances. These organiza-
lions are composed of three sections,
each consisting Of one section of bear
ers, who collect the wounded, and a
section in charge of the tent dressing
stations. The advanced dressing sta
tions are pushed as near the front as
possible. On the arrival Of the pa
tent. his wounds are carefully at
tended 10 and an injection OF anti
tetanis serum given.
Treatment Behind Lines.
. .,...t ,ta.. - L..
more or less safe distance behind the
firing line, generally in church or
school or other public buildlng, pos
sibly in a town. In this LARGER station
the wounded man Is made comfort
able aud given food and drink, The
wounded here are assorted as to de-
sfees of gravity and prepared for
transport to. the nearest casualty
clearing station. Transport TO and
from these stations is done By the
motor ambulance.
The clearing stations are generally
at the railway heads so that
patients can be removed direct to am
bulance trains. In the true sense of
the word, these stations are not hos
pitfalls, although they may contain
cases OF abdominal and head wounds
when the men cannot be removed
without danger. During the battle Of
Neuve Chapelle one clearing station
Of a normal capacity of 200 handled
500 daily for four consecutive days
and received and passed on 1888
cases within period of six days.
They are quite elastic in makeup.
but their staffs have to work day and
night during battles. 1t is in these
stations the patient experiences for
the first time the luxury of lying on
A. bed and having woman nurse in
His length of stay de-
ponds on the train facilities, but as
rule he is placed on an ambulance
within a few hours.
Ambulance Trains.
The train takes the wounded from
what is known as the collecting zone
% the evaeuating zone, which means
from the medical authority Of the
lighting army to that of the line OF
communications. There are fourteen
ambulance trains now running in
France. each with a personnel of
hree officers and forty-seven attend
lnts of other ranks and three mrs-
ng sisters. The number conveyed de-
bends on the nature of the Cases
sitting or living. Several of
hese trains were especially designed
md built, but the rest were convert
ID from the ordinary French coaches,
With rooms for staff. dispensaries,
and stores. Eventually the
number of trains will be raised to
wenty -four. a
On arriving at one of the British
Military bases, the patient is carried
n a motor ambulance to fully
equipped hospital The permanent
hospitals are divided into general and
stationary. The general are the larg-
st and best equipped while the So
allied stationary are intended to be
Mobile and moved up at various
POINTS on the lines of communication.
Red Cross and privately endowed
hospitals are also found in the base
titles and receive their share of the
Wounded. Hotels, casinos. converts,
chools and temporary hnts are used
or both the army and civilian hos
,itals.
The object of this system is to re-
ieve the fighting force of its sick ana
as soon as possible not only
o remove a military burden but to
live the wounded the best care and
What is often needed more than any
hing else, a change of scene.