Hi All, I'm trying to find the war diaries of 141 Field Ambulance for May 1940. I've looked at the Archives website and it still completely befuddles me!! Does anybody know if their records would have lists of the wounded that were treated at the time? thanks all Iain
Iain, I guess you are tryong to work out if someone passed through the doors of 141? I may be wrong as I've not looked at their war dairy but you will very rarely find lists of the wounded in unit's war diaries- I've never seen one in several of those I've looked at...in fact I suspect what you need to look at is the units A&D book......but again I've never seen one of these at the NA....... Good luck! Medical units are in the WO 177 series
WO177/720...but... it ends in April 1940 (looks like it was another of those that went up in smoke at the end of May). I'd have thought that it would have been re-written though - like so many were in June 1940. If it was (and not all units did this anyway), it doesn't appear to be at TNA though. Dave.
I went through the war diary of 160 Field Ambulance today for 1944 and there were no casualties mentioned in there, so maybe this is standard procedure for this type of unit.
I went through the war diary of 160 Field Ambulance today for 1944 and there were no casualties mentioned in there, so maybe this is standard procedure for this type of unit. That's why you have an A&D book.......
Admissions and Discharge...i.e the records of who's come in and where they've been discharged to.....
These books are in theory and practice the only way of telling if a man went through the doors of a medical unit.....I'd love to get my hands on the ones for Arnhem but it was stated in Warrack's diary that they stopped doing an A&D book because of the local diffculties and 16's and 133's have never been mentioned or seen....it is possible they were destroyed before the Germnas got their hands or the Germans destroyed them.....this is why 'clerks' are a integral part of each medcial unit.....
wow! thanks guys. this gives me a better idea of what to ask my AMS contact. I'm finding alot of archive holders will only give a yes, no or try the national archives answer. but some really bend over backwards to assist I'll see if I can lay my sticky mitts on the A&D books... bound to be somewhere
Good luck in finding the A&D book......if you do please let us know......because if you do it must be one of the only survivors......
I have looked at the records of these units at the NA but as you say they stop at April 1940. A relative of mine died of wounds at CCS5 in May 1940, having been transferred there by Fd Amb 141. I know this much from the casulaty card kept at his regimental base and now on record at the regimental museum. There is little surviving info for either of the above medical units. I am fascinated by the possibility of the A&D books you mention. Any idea where these would be lodged if they exist and survive?
I have looked at the records of these units at the NA but as you say they stop at April 1940. A relative of mine died of wounds at CCS5 in May 1940, having been transferred there by Fd Amb 141. I know this much from the casulaty card kept at his regimental base and now on record at the regimental museum. There is little surviving info for either of the above medical units. I am fascinated by the possibility of the A&D books you mention. Any idea where these would be lodged if they exist and survive? Without being too negative...please forgive me as they say......most were destroyed as I understand it......however if someone has any better leads I'm sure that the curator down at Keogh and myself will be hot on the trail.......
Thanks for your input. Thought that there was little chance anything like this would have made it back from Dunkirk. Any idea where I can find out if there is any regimental archives for Casualty Clearing Station 5 and Field Ambulance 141 outside of NA Kew.
Thanks for your input. Thought that there was little chance anything like this would have made it back from Dunkirk. Any idea where I can find out if there is any regimental archives for Casualty Clearing Station 5 and Field Ambulance 141 outside of NA Kew. Unless there is anything at Keogh I feel you are heading up or down a blind alley......a real long shot would be the Wellcome Medical Library......
Obviously I've been watching too much of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are. Can you tell what there is at Keogh? Is this a branch of the AMS museum. How do I find the contact details
Keogh Barracks is the home of the old RAMC Depot (us old sweats did our basic training there) and the Corps Museum...try Army Medical Services Museum on the web...I've been there lots of times and when I first met the curator he was a Sgt and I was a Private........but unless an officer or someone else donated a personal account you probably won't find a lot there......they don't hold service records or war diaires for example......
Probably already mentioned but an email to the RAMC/RAVC museum normaly gets a quick reply from Mr Starling.
