The Chain of Evacution

The UK Census has said that the total losses (deaths) in combat theaters from 1914–1918 were 876,084, which included 418,361 killed, 167,172 died of wounds, 113,173 died of disease or injury, 161,046 missing and presumed dead and 16,332 prisoner of war deaths.

For the men who died of wounds received on the Battlefield this website seeks to find out the circumstances of their deaths. In many cases the war diary for an ordinary Soldier or NCO's unit will not mention men by name and when preparing a Soldiers memorial page we are left to make an educated guess as to when, and often where, the soldier was wounded, which can range from a few seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months and sometimes years before he died. The table below is designed to allow readers to make their own educated guesses as to when a soldier might have been wounded.

It should also be remembered that many men were only slightly or moderately wounded and they needed to be treated locally before being returned to the front lines and so a chain of evacution was created depending on locartions and battlefield logistics.

It can be seen above that nearly as many died of disease/sickness as did from being wounded. The below is a short guide prepared from material published by the BBC, Wikepedia, The Long Long Trail and The History Press along with the knowledge gained by us in researching our War Memorial Transcriptions (see menu items to left).

Chain of Evacuation

The Chain of Evacuation

1. Self treatment - All soldiers were issued with a large bandage designed to stop non-arterial blood flow if they were unable to get treatment.

2. Stretcher Bearers - Stretcher bearers recovered the dead and wounded from No Man’s Land. They would go out at night and during breaks in the fighting. This led to them having to overcome mud, shell craters and crowded trenches, sometimes in darkness. It took four men to carry a stretcher, sometimes more in deep mud. They would carry basic medical supplies, such as bandages.

3. Regimental aid post (RAP) - A RAP was close to the front line, such as in a dugout (a hole dug in the side of a trench). Here light wounds would be treated so that soldiers could return to the front line. Those who needed more treatment were moved on to a dressing station.

4. Advanced Dressing Station - A dressing station was often set up in a tent behind the trenches. Seriously injured soldiers were moved to a casualty clearing station by a motor or horse-drawn ambulance.

5. Field Ambulance - These were mobile front-line medical units for treating the wounded before they were transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station [CCS]. List of Field Ambulances and locations

6. Casualty Clearing Stations (CCS) - A CCS was the first medical facility in which the moderately seriously wounded would receive treatment. Here, soldiers were treated by doctors, nurses and surgeons. A CCS contained operating theatres, mobile X-ray machines and hospital ward beds. A CCS would normally have a nearby Cemetery(s) where they buried the soldiers who did not survive. List of CCS and Locations

7.1 Ambulance Trains - Railway carriages converted into hospital wards created in 1914 because of the necessity of having to treat sick and wounded servicemen urgently, and the task of moving them away from the Front to hospitals and other places of recuperation. Used to transport men away from CCS.

7.2 Ambulance Barges - Same as Ambulance trains, although slow, the journey was smooth and this time allowed the wounded to rest and recuperate. However there are incidences, particularly in the Mesopotamia theatre where they became extremely unsanitary and overcrowded with near intolerable conditions which caused many deaths.

8. Hospital Ships - Most hospital ships were requisitioned and converted passenger liners. Despite the excellent nursing and medical care many patients died aboard because of their extreme wounds. The risk of torpedoes and mines as they travelled from Battlefields to Home bases was very real. List of WW1 Hospital Ships.

9. Base/Field/Stationary/General/Isolation hospitals in Theatre - A base hospital was where civilians and serious injuries were treated. They were usually in large converted buildings. A base hospital had operating theatres, X-ray departments and specialist centres for treatment of specific problems, such as gas poisoning. The wounded would arrive here by train or motor ambulance. Normally located next or near to a local cemetery(s)

10. General & Isolation Hospitals in UK - Where either existing Military Hospitals or large houses, institutions, estates etc. that were converted to Hospitals . Normally located next or near to a local cemetery. List of British Military Hospitals (not exhaustive)

11. Convalescence Homes/Hospitals - Places where soldiers completed their recovery or available treatment before returning to the front or being invalided out of the army (Silver Badge holders)