The presentation will be live and online.
The Royal Army Medical Corps played a key role in the British war effort during the First World War, saving lives and preserving military manpower through the provision of medical care and prevention of disease. Over the course of the war, the work of the Corps developed dramatically in terms of both its structural organisation and employment of innovative medical practices. This talk will look at how new technologies shaped the ways in which care was delivered. It will also argue that the use of established technologies and improvisation by individual members of the Corps played a significant role in the success of the Corps in carrying out its duties. It was the combination of innovation and improvisation that was central to these achievements.
Jessica Meyer is Associate Professor of Modern British History at the University of Leeds where she researches and teaches on the histories of the First World War, gender and medicine. She has published two books:
Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain (Palgrave, 2009) and
An Equal Burden: The Men of the Royal Army Medical Corps in the First World War (OUP, 2019)
Dr Meyer has also published articles on a range of subjects including the work of the Friends' Ambulance Unit, shell shock and morale, and representations of the war in popular culture. Her current research focuses on the care provided to British disable ex-serviceman after the First World War.
An Equal Burden has been published open access thanks to a grant from the Wellcome Trust. It can be accessed free of charge via this link: An Equal Burden
Members wishing to participate will need to register: details of how to register will be circulated via the WFA's newsletter 'Trench Lines'. If you are not a subscriber to 'Trench Lines' please subscribe now.
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Alternatively, you can register by clicking on this link: REGISTER FOR 'INNOVATION AND IMPROVISATION
The talk will be undertaken using the 'zoom' software which is freely available. It may not be necessary to load the software to your PC / iPad etc: but we would recommend doing so if you wish to participate in this event.