Stretcher Bearer!: Fighting for life in the trenches

by Charles Horton, Dale Le Vack (Editor)

Among the thousands of men who shivered and suffered in the trenches during the First World War, some did not even have the protection of a weapon. Members of the Royal Army Medical Corps (the RAMC) were there not to take lives, but to save them. Many chose this difficult and dangerous work because of their principles, including volunteer Charles Horton, who went through the horrors of Passchendaele, Ypres and the Somme, fighting to get the injured away from the guns, to the safety of the field hospitals and beyond. After the war, Horton felt that the RAMC and their sacrifices were forgotten, and so in 1970 he wrote down his memories. In this glorious book, full of first hand detail, he takes us back to the trenches in France and the mountains of Italy. This is a wonderful authentic account into one man's struggle to survive - and to keep others alive. With the approval of Horton's family, author Dale le Vack has edited Horton's journals for clarity, and added more text to provide background. The result is a superb memoir of one of the darkest periods in history.

Genres: History, World War I, Medicine

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an informative little book, on an often overlooked role during the Great War. I now have a much better understanding of how field ambulances operated (spoiler, it's not a vehicle) and how the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) responded to the challenges they faced.

[Brett Bosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent memoir of an often overlooked figure, which was, in many ways, the first EMT. A devout Methodist, Horton's military career began on the first day of the Somme. He also served at Ypres and in Italy. Appendices cover the wider war and RAMC aid procedures.

[Mick Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good first read into the role of Stretcher Bearers in WW I.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the paperback version of this book.

It's quite thin, with additional background information, that is informative but probably basic for anyone with a general knowledge of World War One.

The author notes he wrote this book later in life, after feeling that the Royal Army Medical Corps stretcher bearers were not given their due in the library of published memoirs.

It's true that the author decided as a young man that he would go to war, in a service where he could serve his country, and save lives, without bearing arms. Reading between the lines at times, it's very obvious he serves under incredibly trying, exhausting and life-threatening conditions.

Oddly, the author says almost nothing about his experiences or the pain and suffering he endures. It left me wondering why. Was this due to his religious sensibilities, or was the writing profoundly dissociated from his wartime experiences. If the author was in front of me, my first question would be: "Is this all you are planning to tell me? The barest sketch of an outline?"

And then I would do my best to understand why, and maybe better understand what he carried with him, in his mind and soul, in the decades after the war. How much remained buried and could not be excavated, despite his calling to share his battlefield experiences, his immersion in blood and suffering, his communion with fellow troops and stretcher bearers?

There's some interesting reflections in his experiences right after the armistice. The author has been stationed with the British army in Italy in the final phases of the war, and travels with a small team into not yet occupied Austria, hoping to discover and offer care to British POWs.

[Mark A Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly told from Horton's own reminiscences of serving the Royal Army Medical Corps, Stretcher Bearer is a good first hand factual account of this often overlooked role during the First World War. However, like many later self-written accounts by veterans, Horton is descriptive rather than reflective, so his inner voice just doesn't come through. Pity.

[Stuart B. Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent to hear the voice of an ordinary soldier rather than an officer. Well written reminiscences with helpful notes but somewhat sketchy in specific details, to add a great deal to what is already known

[Tahlia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may not be for my age level which is probably why I didn't enjoy it very much. Often I would read a few pages then realize that I had no idea what happened in those pages or whether I was taking anything in so it could also be because I wasnt concentrating on the story.