Nursing The Enemy

We are delighted to be welcoming Professor Alison Fell to the branch as our speaker for this month. Alison will be telling us about the British wartime medical staff of the R.A.M.C, and in particular the nursing staff and doctors who cared for our wounded and sick personnel. However, the other aspect of these men and women’s duties, and the one we are looking at today, is that they also tended to, nursed, and generally looked after the wounded, sick, and injured soldiers of the enemy, who by dint of fate were also in their care. In today's presentation, we will be looking at how these men were treated during their time in hospital, throughout their convalescent care, and generally being nursed back to health. We explore the impact this care had on the thoughts of the British medical staff giving this care, and also on the thought process and opinions of the men receiving this medical attention from the R.A.M.C,s doctors and nurses.

If you would like to attend any of our monthly meetings, we meet on the first Saturday of each month throughout the year. Please come and visit, you are assured a warm and friendly welcome from our members and guests, and you will be able to enjoy many interesting and informative talks from our invited speakers. These presentations are then followed by a Q&A session and a lively interaction on the day's subject between our guest and members.

Membership of The Western Front Association is optional, not essential, for anyone wishing to attend our branch meetings. I would say, however, that membership of the WFA is of great benefit to anyone wishing to research the military past of family members, or those looking into people and events in and around the Great War. Also, the support and information available from the current membership, trustees, and publications is second to none. With easy access to the numerous documents now available to the association on the new website, membership has a great deal to offer. The magazines accompanying membership, ‘Bulletin and Stand To!’, are regularly sent to members throughout the year, which are a great source of articles and information about the Great War.