J R Army Med Corps: first published as 10.1136/jramc-132-01-08 on 1 February 1986. Downloaded from J R Anny Med Corps 1986; 132: 34-36 tThe First Recorded Aeromedical Evacuation in the British Army - The True Story • Eran Dolev*, MD M.D. Internal Medicine, The Haim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel tRepublished from the original article in KOROTH 1985; 8:58...fJ5.

During the First World War the airplane was used for clearing station were located. On the other hand, the l evacuation of casualties to a very minor extent . It was case described by the "Serjeant-Major" was different in thus very interesting to find in Rexford-Welch's History place and might be also different in time. That of the Royal Air Force Medical Services during the description could not be ignored as it came from a Second World War the following paragraph: contemporary source and included a photograph of the "The first British record of a wounded man travelling aeroplane which had evacuated the casualty. by air is dated 1917, in the Sinai Desert. A trooper of the Were the two descriptions referring to the same case? Imperial Camel Corps had his ankle shattered by a Although the reports were different from one another in Bedouin bullet during an attack on Bir-el-Hassana, and several details, it had to be postulated as a working at first preparations were made to send him to railhead hypothesis that the three descriptions referred to the in a cacolet on a camel. However, his medical officer same case. Assuming that there were two different persuaded the pilot of a DH-4 biplane to carry him as a occasions in which aeroplanes were used for evacuation sitting casualty in the observer's seat of the aircraft and of combat casualties, at the same period of time and

on February 19, with his ankle in a box splint, he was area, would mean that there was a kind of policy guest. Protected by copyright. flown to Kilo 153. The journey bi' air took 45 minutes, concerning aeromedical evacuation. Yet it was not instead of the usual2Yz to 3 days" . mentioned in the official accounts of the British Army • Considering Rexford-WeIch's work as a secondary and Royal Army Medical Corps. source, an attempt was made in order to find a primary Further support for the assumption that there was or at least contemporary record of the event. It was not only one event of aeromedical evacuation during the mentioned either in the British Official History of the Sinai Campaign is found in W. T. Massey's book How War or in the British Medical Services General History Jerusalem was won: • ofthe First World War. Several diaries written by people "The aeroplane has been put to many uses in war and, who had participated in the war against Turkey in the it may be, there are instances on other fronts of it being Sinai Peninsula failed to reveal any information used, in emergencies, as an ambulance. When a little concerning an event of aeromedical evacuation. mobile force rounded up the Turkish post at Hassana, • Two sources were found in which the event was on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula, one of our mentioned: The first was a diary of an anonymous men received so severe a wound that an immediate "Serjeant-Major RAMC" who wrote: operation was necessary. An airman at once "It is interesting .to note that one case, that of a volunteered to carry the wounded man to the nearest • wounded British officer, was evacuated from Magdhaba hospital, forty-four miles away across the desert and by

byaeroplane,,3. his action a life was saved". 5 http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/ Opposite the page with this remark there was a Mr Massey, who was attached to the Egypt photograph of the aeroplane in which the casualty had Expeditionary Force Headquarters as a reporter been evacuated. representing the London newspapers during the The second source was the official history of the operations in Sinai and Palestine, must have heard the Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine: story somewhere. Being impressed by the uniqueness of "While the post (Bir-el-H