South Warwickshire Family History Society War Memorial Transcription Project

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Battalions, Brigades and Other Units - World War One


14th Field Ambulance - Royal Army Medical Corps

Unit History

The 14th Field Ambulance was a mobile medical unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) that served during World War I, primarily attached to the British 5th Division. Field Ambulances were not vehicles but rather units responsible for providing immediate medical care and evacuation for casualties from the front lines to further treatment facilities. The 14th Field Ambulance, along with the 13th and 15th Field Ambulances, supported the 5th Division across multiple theaters, including France, Italy, and Belgium, from 1914 to 1919.
 
Role and Operations: The 14th Field Ambulance was tasked with setting up and managing key points in the casualty evacuation chain:
  • Bearer Relay Posts: Located up to 600 yards behind the Regimental Aid Posts (RAPs) near the front line, where stretcher-bearers collected the wounded.
  • Advanced Dressing Stations (ADS): Positioned closer to the front, these provided emergency care and initial triage.
  • Main Dressing Station (MDS): Further back, this served as the primary treatment and sorting hub for the division’s casualties.
Each Field Ambulance was designed to handle around 150 casualties under normal conditions, though during major battles, they often dealt with far greater numbers. The unit included personnel such as medical officers, stretcher-bearers, nursing orderlies, and support staff, and it operated both horse-drawn and motor ambulances to transport the wounded.
 
Service with the 5th Division: The 14th Field Ambulance followed the 5th Division’s movements throughout the war:
  • France (1914–1917): The unit was active on the Western Front, participating in major engagements such as the Battle of Mons (1914), the First Battle of Ypres (1914), and the Somme (1916). It provided critical support during the chaotic retreats and advances of the early war years and the trench warfare that followed.
  • Italy (1917–1918): In late 1917, the 5th Division was redeployed to the Italian Front to reinforce the Italian Army after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto. The 14th Field Ambulance supported operations along the Piave River and in the Asiago Plateau, adapting to mountainous terrain and a different operational environment.
  • Return to France and Belgium (1918): The division returned to the Western Front in 1918, where the 14th Field Ambulance played a role in the final Allied offensives of the Hundred Days Offensive, including the breaking of the Hindenburg Line and the pursuit of retreating German forces.
Challenges and Conditions
The 14th Field Ambulance operated under grueling conditions. The Western Front’s muddy, shell-torn landscapes often made evacuation slow and dangerous, with stretcher-bearers and ambulance drivers exposed to enemy fire. In Italy, the rugged terrain posed additional logistical difficulties. The unit had to contend with not only battle injuries—caused by bullets, shrapnel, and gas—but also widespread diseases like trench fever and influenza, which strained medical resources.
Legacy.
 
The 14th Field Ambulance’s efforts were part of the broader evolution of battlefield medicine during World War I. Its work helped refine the chain of evacuation, from front-line aid posts to casualty clearing stations and base hospitals, a system that saved countless lives despite the war’s unprecedented carnage. Detailed records of its movements, compiled by members of the RAMC, survive in archives like the Wellcome Collection, offering insight into its day-to-day operations and the resilience of its personnel.
Source Grok3 AI

 

 

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