Civilian Doctors in Combat areas

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Hello,

While doing some research on the 109th Reserve Infantry Regiment, a Baden unit that formed part of the 28th Reserve Division, I came across an odd entry. I was compiling a spreadsheet on the regimental casualties for 1st July 1916 (Mametz/Montauban area) and came across an entry for the I Battalion.

Dr. Hermann Frick, I Battalion, 'Civilian Doctor', Missing in Action 1 July 1916. He was later shown to have been captured and his status was changed to P.o.W.

I thought it was odd that a civilian doctor was serving with the regiment and was obviously in a location near mametz that was close enough to the fighting to be overrun by the enemy (British).

Has anyone else come across civilians serving in similar positions during the war?

I look forward to your replies.

Ralph

[Robert Dunlop]

Westman's book 'Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army' gives several glimpses into the workings of the German Army medical system. There is no mention of civilian doctors working at or near the front. He does mention them, not unexpectedly, in relation to his periods of leave back to Germany. In a fascinating episode, he had talked to a Professor of Obstetrics in Berlin. The Professor told him that, under the conditions of semi-starvation existing at that time, eclampsia had virtually ceased to exist. Eclampsia is a condition affecting pregnant women, which results in high blood pressure, kidney problems, convulsions and death, both of the foetus and the mother.

I digress. What does come through is the relative shortage of trained physicians. He was transfered to the equivalent of the Medical Corps from the infantry, even though he had not completed his medical school training. So it would not be surprising if an individual who did not wish to join the army but who volunteered to help would have been very welcome.

Robert

[Marlene]

Hi

International Red Cross/Red Crescent sends civillian doctors/nurses/other personnel such as sanitary workers even teachers (like me) as administrators into War zones frequently.

Other personnel, usually Swiss, attend to POWs, under the Geneva Conventions- sometimes these personnel are medics for obvious reasons.

No doubt other organisations had/have civillian personnel working in the thick of a war zone as well.

Marlene