MEDICINE - British Sector of WW1

Question 1

Who was Harold Gillies?

Answer 1

A British doctor who set up a unit for skin transplants.

A New Zealand doctor that aided the development of plastic surgery in treating severe facial injuries.

Question 2

Who discovered blood groups?

Answer 2

Karl Landsteiner.

Initially, blood transfusions could not occur because scientists did not know about the different blood groups.

Question 3

Effect of blood transfusions on the Western front?

Answer 3

After it was discovered in 1914 how to store blood for loner periods of time without clotting (using sodium citrate) large blood banks were used to treat the injured soldiers.

Question 4

RAMC motto

Answer 4

Faithful in Adversity

Question 5

What was the job of stretcher bearers?

Answer 5

Part of the Regimental Aid Post

Rescued Wounded from No-Mans-Land

Question 6

How far back were the reserve and support trench and what were their uses?

Answer 6

Support - Soldiers retreat here if front line under attack. 80m from front line.

Reserve - 100m from Support Trench

Question 7

What were artillery placements?

Answer 7

Placed at the rear of the trench system.

Question 8

What did the Army allow the Women from the FANY do for the first time in 1916?

Answer 8

Drive Ambulances.

Question 9

What is mustard Gas?

Answer 9

Odourless

Began working in 12 hours

Caused both internal and external blisters

Burnt through clothing

Question 10

What percent of soldiers at Casualty clearing stations had high explosive shells and shrapnel wounds?

Answer 10

58%

Question 11

How many were treated for shell shock at Edinburgh Hospital “Craiglockhart Hospital”?

Answer 11

2000

Originally, they were treated using electric shocks as if to rewire their brains.

It was later found out that it was simply best to talk about thier experiences for therapy.

306 soldiers were shot for cowardice from having shellshock.

Question 12

What was gas Gangrene?

Answer 12

A bacteria that could spread through a soldiers body and kill them within a day.

It came from run-off fertiliser in the soil of the Battlefields in France and Belgium.

There was no cure.

Question 13

The process given to the cutting away of dead, damaged and infected tissue around the site of a wound was known as…

Answer 13

Wound debridement

It needed to be done as soon as possible as infection could spread quickly.

Question 14

What was the name of the splint used to to keep an injured leg (mostly by bullets or shrapnel) rigid so the soldier could be transported from the front line more efficiently?

Answer 14

The Thomas Splint

Question 15

Which name below is associated with the successful development and design of mobile x-ray units on the Western Front?

Answer 15

Marie Curie

She was a leading Polish- French scientist and was responsible for equipping 20 mobile x-ray vans in the French sector of the Western Front, known as ‘petites Curies’ (little Curies)

Question 16

In which sector was the infamous ‘salient’ in which three significant battles took place?

Answer 16

Ypres

There were 3 significant battles within the Ypres salient, they were known as the First, Second and Third Battles of Ypres ( the third battle was also known as Passchendaele) .

Question 17

During which battle was poison gas used for the first time?

Answer 17

The Second Battle of Ypres

from 22nd April to 25th May 1915. The Germans used poison chlorine gas for the first time. Overall there were 59,000 British losses.

Question 18

The first ‘ blood bank’ was used to assist with blood transfusions during which battle in 1917?

Answer 18

The Battle of Cambrai

It was the Battle of Cambrai, launched in October 1917, which involved the use of 500 tanks.

Question 19

Which British sector of The Western Front contained an underground hospital known as ‘ Thompson’s Cave’?

Answer 19

The Arras Sector

The underground hospital played a key role in treating wounded soldiers much closer to the battlefield

Question 20

Features of the Thompson Cave at the Battle of Arras

Answer 20

700 beds

Electricity

Surgical Suites

Running Water

Question 21

What does FANY stand for?

Answer 21

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

Question 22

Stages of the Chain Of Evacuation?

Answer 22

Regimental Aid Post = Stretcher bearers and regimental aid officers offer basic first aid close to the front line.
Dressing Station = Situated 1 mile from the front line line in abandoned buildings or tents. Dealt with more advanced advanced cases.
Casualty Clearing Station = Better equipped for handling more severe injuries. Situated several miles from the front line. Life threatening injuries were often treated first (through TRIAGE) to improve success rate.
Base Hospital = Near ports on the coast. Most experienced doctors were staffed here to take care of more serious cases. Patients could either be sent back to the front line or sent home depending on their recovery. Arrived by train or ambulance units.

Question 23

What is triage?

Answer 23

The order to deal with patients.

Urgent cases get treated earlier.

Walking Wounded treated last.