Hell, hope and heroes : life in the field ambulance in World War I : the memoirs of Private Roy Ramsay, AIF

In 1915, Private Roy Ramsay, freshly trained at a camp near Brisbane, sets sail from Australia for the Middle East with the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance. Serving on hospital ships in the Dardanelles and evacuating a mounting number of sick and wounded, they learn about the battles from the wounded. Serving with the 1st Division 3rd Field Ambulance on the Western Front, he goes through Pozieres and other major set-piece battles of trench warfare. Amid the hell of artillery bombardment and machine gun fire, Roy finds some glimmer of hope for the human race in the fact that both sides often exercise compassion and restraint towards the injured as well as the stretcher-bearers trying to retrieve them. However, the Aussies' mateship and sense of duty get them through the unimaginably shocking physical conditions of trench warfare, helped by occasional breaks away from the lines and recreational leave for romantic purposes. Attached to Dressing Stations just behind the front line Roy is able to keep in touch with his mates and with the AIF's overall tactical situation. With the Australians now united in one corps under General Monash and despite constantly decreasing numbers, they play a key role during the last six months of the war in driving the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line. After the armistice, Roy takes leave and gets married in Scotland. He is eventually transferred to a unit in England where his new wife joins him. In July 1919 they board ship for a new life in Australia. This account of Roy's life was edited from his diaries by his son Ron. Contents 6 Editor’s Note 8 Introduction 10 1 ‘More Meat for the Germans’ 12 2 The Alluring East 21 3 War on the Peninsula 31 4 ‘A Disgraceful Medical Debacle’ 42 5 ‘A Well-Organized Operation’ 53 6 France at Last 65 7 The Pozières Stunt 77 8 The Fromelles Disaster 88 9 News From Sinai 95 10 Foul Conditions at Flers 104 11 First Bullecourt and the German Response 114 12 Lagnicourt and Blighty 124 13 Back to France and a New Opportunity 134 14 Rest, Recreation and Return 144 15 The German Offensive 154 16 The Australian Counter-Attack 160 17 The First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux 166 18 Hazebrouck and Villers-Bretonneux Again 173 19 God With Us? 182 20 ‘Peaceful Penetration’ 190 21 Some Hope Amid the Horrors 197 22 Victory at Le Hamel 205 23 The Tide Turns 214 24 The Beginning of the End 222 25 The Irresistible Force 232 26 The Immovable Object? 240 27 ‘Gay Paree’ and Peace 247 28 Homeward Bound 256 Postscript 259 Glossary and Abbreviations 263 Bibliography 268 Index 269 Roy Ramsay worked with the Field Ambulance in Egypt, on hospital ships evacuating the wound and sick from Gallipoli in WWI. He served on the Western Front, enduring the shocking physical conditions of trench warfare, and the struggle to retrieve the injured and wounded and get them back for medical attention. These war memoirs cover the whole course of the war until the Armistice. In 1915, Private Roy Ramsay, freshly trained at a camp near Brisbane, set sail from Australia for the Middle East with the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance. This account of his time in the Middle East and Europe was edited by Roy's son Ron from Roy's journal Edited By His Son Ron J. Ramsay. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 267) And Index.