Time to Transport

[adrianjohn]

Can't decide which Forum might be appropriate for this request, so if this isn't the one, maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

I guess that this might be for the transport buffs, so here's the question:

How long , approximately, would it have taken to transport a wounded soldier from the Arrewage, Le Cornet Perdu area to Boulogne in April 1918? What methods would have been used?

The weather on that day, Saturday the 13th, was foggy and there was desperate fighting taking place with heavy machine gunning by the Germans.

TIA

Adrian

[angelab]

My grandfather received a rifle wound to the shoulder on 1 July 1916, near Fricourt on the Somme.

His officer file says he was on 2 July in a Stationary Hospital in Abbeville; on a hospital ship the same day from Le Havre; and arrived in England on 3 July. Total time 2 days.

His brother was wounded in the right arm at Le Cateau on 23 Oct 1918; was on a ship from Le Havre on 26 Oct; and in England on 27 Oct. Total time 4 days.

Both those battle locations are farther from the ports than Arrewage (which I am guessing is near Merville).

I have no details of the methods of transport, apart from the ships.

EDIT

Have just found information on the third brother, who was also wounded and injured at various times:

18 Oct 1916 wounded, at Flers, north-east of Albert, by fragments of HE shells (two places) in front of lower third of R thigh. They were embedded in the femur and subsequently removed. No fracture of bone."

20 Oct 1916 "Fragment removed".

2 Nov 1916 Embarks by ship for England, to hospital.

Travels Calais-to-Dover, on board HMS "Dieppe".

Total time 15 days - but it involved an operation carried out in France.

9 May 1918 sustained injury to knee during recreational training. Leading to "Recurrence of complications to knee caused by wound received in Oct 1916.

11 May 1918 Left unit abroad.

17 May 1918 embarked for England Le Havre to Southampton. Arrived 18 May 1918.

Total time 9 days.

Angela

[adrianjohn]

Thanks Angela

Yes, Arrewage is in the vicinity of Merville. I have a map showing the operations of the 4th Guards Brigade near Hazebrouck, April 1918 and it shows that there were rail lines as well as country roads.

Great uncle, L/Cpl Frank Phipps 3rd Bttn. Coldstream Guards, was wounded in the chest while in action, but pinpointing exactly where he was is not easy, as the line was from La Couronne, through Le Cornet Perdu, L'Epinette to Arrewage.

He was being taken on board a hospital ship at Boulogne when he 'took a turn for the worse' and was rushed to BEF General Hospital 13 where he died on April 13.

Adrian

[truthergw]

You have put your finger on the problem with making any sort of general statement on how long to evacuate a casualty. Several factors were taken into consideration. A desperately wounded man might not be evacuated at all. A very badly wounded man might have to be given treatment to enable him to be moved. A lightly wounded man might, during the action and just after, be set aside while others were treated. At any time, a relapse might stop the evacuation until the patient was stabilised. Towards the end of the war, he might be admitted to a specialist treatment centre in France, treated then passed on again for further treatment and convalescence in UK. Any or all of those situations or a combination thereof might arise. Any attempt to arrive at an average is going to be highly suspect.

[centurion]

How and when he was transported would also play a part. The longest part might in some circumstances be getting to a road or railhead, but in others (where for example a tramway was available) this might be relatively quick. If he were wounded in a major battle there might be a regular flow of hospital trains whereas at other times they wouldn't lay on a train for just a few men so he might have to wait or go by road. During a battle period the roads and the railways, despite best efforts, got very congested causing delays. Some men were transported by hospital barge which was slow but smooth and had some self contained medical facilities (this method favoured for men with stomach wounds).

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Adrian

As well as the various factors mentioned in previous posts, there was the question of how heavy the recent fighting had been, and consequently, under how much pressure the medical evacuation system was. In April 1918 the Germans' spring offensive was at its height and wounded men might have to be held closer to the front than would normally be the case, simply because the motor ambulance convoys, ambulance trains and hospital ships were particularly busy.

All you can usefully say is that, where a wound was serious enough to invalid a man back to the UK but not so serious that he could not be freely moved, a man could get from the front line to a hospital in the UK in anything from three days or so to a fortnight. Men who could be treated in France with a prospect of an early return to their units, were not normally sent home.

Ron

[adrianjohn]

All interesting contributions - thanks very much everyone. They've added considerably to my general knowledge, and appreciation of how things were, and also given me a fuller insight into the circumstances surrounding Frank Phipps' actions and his death.

Adrian