2nd NZ Field Ambulance

[The Guardroom]

Can anyone help tell me where the 2nd NZ Field Ambulance where stationed on 3rd July 1916 please.

I have looked them up on teh long trail info but unable to find their where abouts at this time.

Many thanks,

Alan

[sotonmate]

Alan

The NZ Division were around Houplines sector of the line from Jun 1916 and didn't fight a Somme battle until Flers in Sept 1916. Here an Adobe Acrobat link to help with an action on 3/4 July in the L'Epinette sub-sector:

http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Publications/NewZealandDivisionInFranceAndFlanders/NewZealandDivisionInFranceAndFlanders.pdf

Sotonmate

[Wendy Macpherson]

Hi Alan

I have had my nose in a book all morning to try to figure this one out

Have a read of The New Zealand Medical Services in the great war 1914 -1918

particularly chapter: VIII Armentieres: http://www.nzetc.org...t1-body-d8.html

This is a somewhat febal time-line I did and yet still couldn't trace with great certainty the exact whereabouts of the No 2 Field Ambulance. The last they make any mention of them is in the May 1916 at Rue de Messines near Bailleul!! it is close to their ADS at Houplines so maybe they stayed there for a couple of months. They appear to be attached to the 2nd Brigade. Have a read of the chapter on the link I included and tell me what your findings are after reading through it. Regards Wendy

April 1916

No. 2 Field Ambulance established its Headquarters in an orchard near Doulieu in tents and huts as no buildings were available. The lack of motor transport was a serious handicap in these moves as the cars did not report until the end of the first week in May; some cars were lent, however, by the 22nd M.A.C. During the moves two eases of C.S.M. were notified in the 2nd Brigade, No. 2 Field Ambulance taking the 61 contacts concerned. It was a very strange phenomenon, this sporadic outbreak of C.S.M. during divisional moves

10^th May 1916

No. 2 Field Ambulance relieved the 52nd Field Ambulance at the main dressing station, at a girls' school in the Rue de Messines, near the main road to Bailleul; their advanced dressing station was in a well preserved detached villa in the Rue des Jesuits in the Houplines area to the north-east of the town.

9^th June 1916

No. 1 and No. 2 Field Ambulances were relieved by A.M.C. and marched to Ravelsberg for a period of rest, having worked almost continuously for three days and nights.

1^st July 1916

The town [Armentières] was shelled about midnight and by 2 a.m. on the 3rd, the wounded were coming into the M.D.S. of No. 2 Field Ambulance: they were wet through and covered with mud, which in many instances was plastered into their wounds; most of the injuries were severe due to bombs or machine gun fire at close quarters; when dressed and warmed up they were page 183evacuated in our own cars to the C.C.S. at Bailleul

4^th July 1916

No. 2 Field Ambulance and No. 1 had dealt with a smaller number (32) as their sector was not affected. The casualties in the 1st Auckland Battalion who held the Epinette on the night of the page 184 3/4th were: killed, 35 O.R.: wounded, 3 officers, 60 O.R. with. 4 missing

Edited 2 February , 2012 by Wendy Mac...

[jacksdad]

Gday Alan

Wendy has probably got you pretty close.

I copies the diary at the Nat Archives a month or so back, but only copied the months of Aug, Sept, Oct 1916 when they were on the Somme and Jun, July, aug, Sep, Oct 1917 and then Mar, Apr 1918. during different battles.

I will be down in Wellington again in May and can have a look for you if you get no success.

cheers Roger

[The Guardroom]

Hi all,

Many thanks for your replies. This definately helps me gain an understanding of where they were.

Wendy thanks (again) for the links to the online books. Have spent far to long today reading them, but will book mark for future needs.

Best wishes,

Alan

[Wendy Macpherson]

...was sitting in bed last night reading Men of faith and courage, it's the official story of the New Zealand army chaplains. I quite by accident came across a chaplain by the name of James Alexandra JERMYN who was the chaplain for No 2 NZ Field Ambulance!!! I leaped out of bed and cranked up the lap top to check out the war record for JERMYN thinking his statement of service could lead you to the whereabouts of No 2 around July 1916. http://muse.auckland...e_search=jermyn But alas he didn't embark for war until November 1917 so arrived to late drat it all. I checked the volume again but couldn't find any mention of the earlier chaplain that would have accompanied the No 2.

Did you see these photos while searching for No 2 Field Ambulance

Photos kindly avaiable to use by The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga O Aotearoa

No restrictions apply, photos may be shared on blogs and other websites

NZ 2nd Field Ambulance hospital interior during an offensive, (Solesmes, France ?). Taken during World War I by Henry Armytage Sanders.

[Wendy Macpherson]

A team of the 2nd Field Ambulance inside a makeshift hospital during World War I. Photograph taken between 1917 and 1918 in France by Henry Armytage Sanders

[Wendy Macpherson]

Members of the 2nd NZ Field Ambulance, injecting gum infusion into a patient. Taken during World War I by Henry Armytage Sanders

Gum infusion! sounds interesting, wonder if its plasma?

[jonrb]

PHYSIOLOGICAL salt solutions to which 6 per cent. gum Arabic had

been added were used during the Great War, 1914-1918, to replace

blood in wounded soldiers. This treatment, suggested by the work of

Bayliss [1918], aimed at the maintenance of the colloid osmotic

pressure of the blood to ensure the retention of fluid in the circulatory

blood. The main experimental results reported by Bayliss showed

that after the withdrawal of 70 per cent. of the blood from cats and

its replacement by g.A. the animals survived, whereas removal of

30 per cent. of the blood without subsequent infusion of g.A. led to

death. These results were confirmed by Hurwitz [1917] and Barthelemy

[1919].

THE USEFULNESS OF GUM ARABIC AS AN INFUSION

LIQUID. By J. A. MAAS. From the Physiological Laboratory,

University of Utrecht.

Jon

[Wendy Macpherson]

The usefulness of Gum Arabic as a infusion liquid. PHYSIOLOGICAL salt solution to which 6 per cent Gum Arabic had been added were used during the Great War, 1914-1918, to replace blood in wounded soldiers. This treatment suggested by the work of Bayless [1918], aimed at the maintenance of the colloid osmotic pressure of the blood to ensure the retention of fluid in the circulatory blood. The main experimental result reported by Bayliss showed that after the withdrawal of 70 per cent of the blood from cats and it's replacement by Gum Arabic the animal survived, whereas removal of 80 per cent of the without subsequent infusion of G.A led to death. These results were confirmed by Hurwits [1917] and Barthelemy [1919].

By J. A. MAAS. From the Physiological Laboratory,

University of Utrecht.

Jon

Thanks for posting this information Jon, it''s very interesting.

Wendy