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The Importance of Royal Naval Medical Officers in Operations

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The Importance of Royal Naval Medical Officers in Operations J Royal Naval Medical Service 2010, 96.2 108-116 History ‘Performing Miracles’: The Importance of Royal Naval Medical Officers in Operations ‘Overlord’ and ‘Neptune’ During World War II S A Preece The D-Day landings of World War II on 6 JUne and military papers have become available to 1944 involving the landing of over 156,000 the pUblic since the pUblication of the books troops along the French coast marked the start which provide fUrther insight into the workings of both Operation ‘Overlord’, the Allied invasion of the Royal Naval medical officers dUring the of north-west EUrope, and Operation campaign. Using this new information, I was ‘NeptUne’, the assaUlt phase of the able to analyse the role of the medical officers campaign.(1) Confronted by German forces of the Royal Navy throUghoUt the operations, holding defensive positions, it was inevitable focUsing on their work both at sea in small that there woUld be a large nUmber of craft and ships, as well as ashore in both casUalties and therefore a need for medical France and the United Kingdom. From the services, sUpplied primarily by the Royal Army research carried oUt, I can conclUde that the Medical Corps (RAMC) and the Royal Naval naval medics were at least as important as Medical Service, to provide both emergency their Army colleagUes, if not more so, and on-going treatment of the many woUnded. particUlarly in the early phases of the assaUlt. MUch has been written aboUt the Army’s The conclUsions of this stUdy therefore medical role in World War II inclUding contrast with the opinion of CoUlter in the ‘Medicine and Victory’ (2) by M. Harrison, bUt official history written over half a centUry ago. the majority of work regarding Royal Naval medicine focUses on World War I, sUch as the Landing Ships (Tank): Critical Care books ‘The War on the Hospital Ships 1914- The preparations for Operation Overlord were 1918’ (3) by Stephen McGreal and ‘Hospital extensive and some thoUght had been given as Ships and Ambulance Trains’ (4) by J.H. to the nUmber of expected casUalties. A PlUmridge. For information aboUt the Royal government estimate for D-Day itself nUmbered Navy in the Second World War, the work of 2600 casUalties, with another 10,950 expected J.L.S. CoUlter is the only detailed accoUnt of in the following week.(6) With little Allied the topic and therefore is the most medical assistance available ashore in the early aUthoritative. The role of medical officers in stages of the assaUlt, it was decided that the D-Day landings is covered extensively in casUalties shoUld be evacUated to the United his official history, ‘The History of the Second Kingdom for fUrther treatment in the same craft World War; The Royal Naval Medical the troops were landed in: 70 Landing Ships Service’ ,(5) pUblished in 1953 and 1955. (Tank) or LSTs.(7) These were chosen over the CoUlter covers all aspects of medical care by larger, better eqUipped hospital ships as the the Royal Navy throUghoUt the operations in German forces had shown disregard for the great detail and his conclUsion is that the role Geneva Convention on previoUs occasions both of Royal Naval medical officers was relatively dUring World War I and at DUnkirk in 1940 when minor compared to that of the Royal Army two clearly marked hospital carriers, SS Medical Corps. However, more government Worthing and SS Paris, were attacked in broad 108 ‘Performing Miracles’ 109 daylight and serioUsly damaged by bomber officers were key dUring the operations. aircraft.(8) This was despite a warning signal The casUalties received by staff on board the being sent to the enemy asking that the Geneva LSTs were certainly nUmeroUs, with over 800 Convention be respected.(9) As a conseqUence casUalties evacUated from Sword beach alone of this, the Allies expected similar attacks and on JUne 7.(22) The first woUnded seen by any so were Unwilling to take the same risks in an craft were of the 6th Airborne Division who had operation of a larger scale. Another reason for been dropped on the mainland the previoUs the Use of small craft was that senior military night. They were treated by the medical staff of figUres had predicted that in the early phases of LST 423.(23) On this occasion, it was the operation it woUld be impossible for larger necessary for the medical teams to administer vessels to dock as there woUld be no qUays not only the basic ‘replacement of field available at which to moor and load dressings’, bUt also ‘some wonderfUl lifesaving casUalties.(10) operations’,(24) showing the differences in The 70 small ships were divided between severity of injUries sUstained in the earliest the main two medical services: 40 of the LSTs stages of the invasion. In the ensUing days, the were to be medically manned by the Royal nUmber of casUalties received by the officers on Navy.(11) The service was responsible for LSTs increased rapidly, as detailed by SUrgeon sUpplying three medical officers inclUding; a LieUtenant Airth who noted the casUalties sUrgeon, an anaesthetist and a doctor trained in received in his diary. On JUne 12, after a foUr- resUscitation,(12) as well as sick berth day gap in the diary dUe to the inflUx of attendants, to tend to the many woUnded on patients, he recorded, ‘Got sixty casUalties in their joUrney across the English Channel.(13) the first rUsh and expected another foUr The other 30 were manned by members of the hUndred.’(25) With only three medical officers Royal Army Medical Corps.(14) Before the craft on board the craft, the sheer volUme of coUld be Used, they had to be modified for the woUnded soldiers is likely to have caUsed chaos pUrpose of casUalty evacUation and so were as the officers were forced to decide which sUpplied with drUgs and eqUipment, (15) sUch men to try to save. Yet, with clarity of mind and as resUscitation apparatUs and blood prodUcts, an ability to work effectively Under pressUre, the inclUding serUm and fUll blood.(16) In addition, medical officers were able to work sUccessfUlly. they were fitted with 144 adjUstable stretcher Almost all cases seen by medical staff on racks (17) aroUnd the bUlkheads,(18) allowing LSTs in the first period of the assUalt were the craft to carry a total of Up to 320 woUnded traUma cases. SUrgeon LieUtenant Airth wrote personnel(19) and an emergency operating aboUt some of the cases he worked on in his theatre was constrUcted at the rear of each diary: craft to perform critical sUrgery dUring the There were some ghastly injuries; we got retUrn to the United Kingdom.(20) Following the theatre going immediately, and removed disembarkation of the troops at the Normandy many pieces of shrapnel… The most massive beaches, code-named Gold, JUno and Sword, effort was for an amputation through the the medically-trained members of the crew thigh for gas gangrene. But the poor fellow were responsible for preparing the tank deck was too far gone; despite several pints of and setting Up the medical eqUipment ready to blood, he did not rally.(26) receive the first woUnded.(21) This was a task Despite this UnfortUnate case, the medical that had to be performed withoUt hesitation as officers managed to sUccessfUlly treat many casUalties resUlting from enemy fire coUld be others and save the lives of several soldiers, expected immediately Upon landing. This was inclUding one man who was sUffering from a an important role as it was necessary to be ‘serioUs haemorrhage from a compoUnd organised for the receipt of the large nUmber of fractUre of the femUr.’(27) The patient was woUnded men so that medical treatment coUld apparently: be carried oUt effectively, highlighting jUst one moribund on arrival, but he was of the ways in which Royal Naval medical completely revived after four pints of whole 110 J Royal Naval Medical Service 2010, Vol 96.2 blood, followed by ligation of the bleeding released from dUty to retUrn to England,(35) vessels and application of plaster.(28) leaving the Army and hospital ships to deal The medical officers drafted to the LSTs not with the woUnded for the rest of the operation, only had the difficUlt job of treating casUalties sUggesting that the services provided by the withoUt sUfficient eqUipment and sUpplies, bUt LSTs became ‘redUndant’(36) over time. they also faced significant dangers as the operations began to Unfold. With no medical Hospital Ships: The Later Stages staff ashore at the beginning of the assaUlt, the The other main type of vessel Used was the officers from the LSTs had responsibility for hospital ship, althoUgh they did not have a medical care Up to the water-line on the significant role at the beginning of the campaign beaches (29) meaning that they too came Under as there was nowhere for them to come enemy fire as they tried to collect casUalties alongside Until the MUlberry harboUrs were fUlly from the water. This greatly affected the fUnctioning. These had a limited capacity for officers, as illUstrated by the first entry in the patients and casUalties coUld not be embarked diary of SUrgeon LieUtenant Airth on JUne 6: directly from the shore, so the woUnded had to This has indeed been D-Day; Dawned-Day, first be loaded onto Landing Craft Personnel Death-Day, Destruction-Day, Disappointment (Small) which then carried the soldiers to the and Disillusion-Day. I have seen men die carrier when the tide was favoUrable.(37) suddenly, horribly. I have twice been near Landing Craft Personnel Air-CUshioned (LCPAs) death myself, so near that I desperately wish were also Used as water ambUlances, which to forget, but probably will never do so.(30) coUld carry six or seven stretcher cases at a The medical officers on board LSTs time to the carriers waiting off shore.(38) It was remained crUcial as long as the Army had not planned that hospital ships, inclUding the fUlly established adeqUate care ashore.
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