THE STORY OF THE 2/1st WESSEX FIELD AMBULANCE 1914-1919

The 2/1st Wessex Field Ambulance, RAMC (Territorial Force) was formed in September 1914 as a reserve to the 1st Wessex at Exeter in Devon. With the original unit having left with the 8th Division for active service, the men of the 2nd would wait patiently in numerous camps for their turn. This would come in 1916 when, on the morning of 15 January, the Territorials landed at Le Havre. Soon they would see the Somme and later the mud and horrors of Ypres, Cambrai, Givenchy and Festubert before returning to their Devonshire homes. Included in the book is a Roll of Honour as well as a list of those wounded and taken prisoner. Honours and Awards take up a whole page. Illustrations include sketches of trench life, as well as two group photographs of ‘A’ and ‘B’ sections.

The Field Ambulance was not a vehicle but a mobile front line medical unit manned by troops of the Royal Army Medical Corps. It had responsibility for establishing and operating a number of points along the casualty evacuation chain, from the Bearer Relay Posts, taking casualties rearwards through an Advanced Dressing Station, and also providing a Walking Wounded Collecting Station. When it was at full strength a Field Ambulance was composed of 10 officers and 224 men.