Caxton House Roll of Honour Private James F. Anderson, No. 2 Malta
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Caxton House Roll of Honour Private James F. Anderson, No. 2 Malta Company, Royal Army Medical Corps, born in 1897 at Dundee, was the son of David Smart Anderson, and Mary F Anderson, of 155 Albert Street, Dundee. He began his Stationer Apprenticeship in 1911 fresh from his schooling in the Morgan Academy, and he became a journeyman in the end 1921, the usual allowance of time having been made for the four years which he spent in the army. J In his youthful enthusiasm James would have liked to join the army at the outbreak of hostilities, but as he had not yet reached the prescribed age he was obliged to wait until 19 April 1915, when, with the consent of his parents, he enlisted at Douglas Street Drill Hall in the 2nd/3rd Highland Field Ambulance RAMC (T). In that same hall James learned to "form fours" and he received some training in ambulance work until 8 May, when his unit was transferred to the camp at Scone, and was attached to the Gordon Highlanders. James was fated on the very night of his arrival in camp to be assigned guard duty. He will never forget the rather stiff experience for a new recruit of marching to and fro that moonless night (two hours on and four hours off) amid the scampering rats of the ash heaps and the mysterious trees of the forest. He laughs yet as he tells you how he began his sentry-go by tumbling ignominiously over a guy rope of a tent. He took care to avoid that rope the next time he came marching round that way. Here in Scone James's days were passed in a steady routine of foot drill and ambulance drill, fatigue duty and guard duty, varied with route marches and brigade field work. On brigade days the medical officer, in order to give practice to the RAMC recruits, scattered the infantry here and there to impersonate wounded men. Each of these men had a label fastened to his tunic pocket indicating the nature of his supposed injury, and he laid himself down in any odd corner to await the coming of assistance. Our ambulance lads then searched around for these wounded men, and in scientific fashion they bound up the injuries with improvised bandages and splints in order to stop the bleeding and relieve the pain. What could they improvise for this work? Well, their puttee perhaps, or their handkerchief or neckerchief would act as a bandage; while a branch broken from a tree would serve for a splint, with grass for the necessary padding. Thereafter the patient had to be lifted over the barbed wire fence and carried on the stretcher to the dressing station, where the doctors were waiting to fix him up properly and make him ready for the ambulance van. If the case was not a serious one, however, the man was allowed to make his way on foot to the doctors. On rainy days the medical officer used to lecture in the big marquee, making blackboard drawings of the heart and the principal blood vessels, showing in which way the blood flowed and in what way a bleeding could best be stopped. Dismissed at four o'clock in the afternoon, the ambulance men were free to spend the evenings as they pleased. Altogether the life which James spent in the tents at Scone was a very pleasant one. The work was interesting, and it was most educative for any sphere of life. He particularly enjoyed the route marches in the summer sunshine round by Kinnoull Hill, Murrayshall, Bonhard, and Meikleour. What could be better than the rhythmic tramping through the fresh air in a lovely country amid singing comrades? On 26 September James and his comrades left camp for a long march through the country we all know so well - via Old Scone, Guildtown, and Beech Hedges to Blairgowrie Golf Course, where they camped for the night. Thereafter they tramped by daily stages to Bridge of Cally, to Kirkmichael, and to the hills above Pitlochry. Here the scouting men in front signalled with their flags that an enemy was approaching from the west. See now the military manoeuvres developing as the armies draw near to one another. Rifle volleys ring out sharp and fast upon the hillside. The gallant soldiers are dropping all around, a label having previously been pinned upon each tunic to tell whether head or arm or leg has been shattered by the fusilade. The ambulance men run forward and do their best for the wounded, while the doctors stand in readiness at their dressing station to inspect and correct the dressings. Meanwhile the field kitchens are busy at their task of preparing the evening meal. In a short time you will see the whole company, friend and foe together, mingled in a happy brotherhood, sitting upon the fragrant heather, drinking tea and talking over the day's exploits until the shades of night begin to close down upon the scene. Where did they sleep, think you, these lads upon the Highland hills? James tells us that every infantryman had brought with him his waterproof sheet, his blanket, and his bivouac pole (about a yard in length). With these it was an easy matter for a pair of handy men to rig up a little tent in which to pass the night. One pole was driven into the ground at the head, and another at the foot; then a waterproof sheet was stretched from one pole to the other, and was pinned down at the sides with pegs or stones. On the floor of this little wigwam one man spread out his waterproof sheet and blanket; his comrade crawled in beside him, and finished by drawing his blanket over them both. On this occasion rain began to fall at two o'clock in the morning, but the lads beneath their humble tents were fairly dry, and they slept on unheeding. Men who had scorned to set up a bivouac tent had perforce to rise from the wet ground and walk about until the day had come. Camp was struck at 8.30, and by way of Pitlochry, Ballinluig, and Dunkeld the home camp at Scone was reached in due course. At the end of October our ambulance men left Scone to be billeted in the public school at Alyth, and there they remained over the winter. Rather wearisome these months were, for there was little change in the daily routine. The people of the neighbourhood, however, were exceedingly kind, welcoming the lads wherever they went, and trying in every way to make them feel at home. Here James was occupied with the horses of the Transport Section, but he sometimes had the opportunity of watching the Royal Engineers at their interesting work of building pontoon bridges across the Isla, and also at the laying of their telephone wires along the hedges. In March 1916 the whole of the 64th Highland Division was gathered in to Norwich. As the 192nd Brigade formed part of that Division, our young friend and his ambulance comrades were roused one morning at three o'clock to convey the stores to the station. Twenty-nine hours it took to transfer the party from Alyth to Norwich, for there was a halt at Stirling and again at Carlisle to feed and water the horses. There was delay in the Midlands also, where the utmost caution had to be observed on account of sundry German aeroplanes having made their appearance in the sky. In Norwich our ambulance transport of some thirty men were accommodated in the upstairs hall of a "tea garden". This was a delightful abode, for it looked out upon the river, which was gay with summer visitors enjoying pleasure trips in rowing and motor boats. Ordinary routine of drill went on here until May, when the ambulance men were transferred to the summer camp at Taversham, some five miles out of Norwich. James tells us that the usual programme of his daily duties in Taversham was - rise when the whistle blows reveille at 6am, parade at 6.30 for physical drill, breakfast at 7, clean buttons and boots and clear up tent, parade for drill at 8.30, dinner at 12.30pm, route march 2 till 4 - after which he was finished for the day, unless detailed for guard duties. Football matches, sports, and concerts filled up the summer evenings. German air raids were of frequent occurrence in these parts. Indeed, it seemed as if the Germans aimed for Norwich every time they crossed the Channel. After dark, therefore, all lights were forbidden. As the tents found their only safety in silence and darkness, anyone found striking a match in the street at night was arrested and fined. The men were taught to lie still and quiet, and so the raiders flew harmlessly past. Suddenly a medical inspection was ordered, and the whole unit of 250 men was passed for Mesopotamia. James came home to Dundee to say good-bye to his friends, and returned to camp only to find that the men were to be transferred to the regular RAMC, and to be sent to Codford, Wiltshire. James found his work there very different from that to which he had been accustomed. He was in the regular army now, and he had to learn something of army sternness. "If the commanding officer," as James told us, "found that he could pinch a hair of your head, he packed you off for a haircut, and punished you besides with perhaps half an hour's pack drill, which meant walking or racing around with a full load of equipment on your back." In the middle of November James and his fellows were told that they had been included in a draft, not for Mesopotamia but for Malta.