UK personnel as French 'infirmiers militaire '

[David Seymour]

Has anyone come across any UK personnel as French 'infirmiers militaire'?  I wondered how unusual this might have been.  Henry Plantagenet Weston (b. 1883) was described in his college magazine, of Dec 1916, as having joined the 'French RAMC'.

Many thanks for any light you can shed on this,

David

[Keith_history_buff]

I'll reply by mentioning a similar scenario with the Americans. There were American nationals engaged as medical personnel. They were in the Harvard Unit and the Chicago unit, to name but two examples. Given these were "units" of the BEF, they had an entitlement to campaign medals from the War Office. 

Somewhat ironically, if you were a former member of this organisation, but enlisted in the US Army Medical Corps, and were attached to a British unit, this did not warrant anything. The War Office was insistent that those who were serving members of other Entente military forces, even if they were on secondment with British units, received their respective country's campaign medal. 

I do recall reading that nurses who served with the French had the prospect of accepting a médaille interalliée 1914-1918. but in so doing, they lost their eligibility to receive the equivalent from the War Office. If I can determine where I read this, I will share on the forum.     

[Keith_history_buff]

Similar to the likes of the Harvard Unit, there was a Section Sanitaire Anglais that operated with the French. There have been posts on here covering the topic.

Going way off topic, there was a thread whereby it was suggested that the British must have sent combat troops to Verdun. Whilst this suggestion was shut down, there was brief mention of a very small number of non-combatants from the British Isles engaged in medical activity. 

 

[Keith_history_buff]

The following publication may well be of interest. I've not read it, but have seen it mentioned

"FOR DAUNTLESS FRANCE

An Account of Britain's Aid to the
French Wounded and Victims of the War

COMPILED FOR THE BRITISH RED CROSS
SOCIETIES AND THE BRITISH COMMITTEE
OF THE FRENCH RED CROSS
BY LAURENCE BINYON "

[MaureenE]

1 hour ago, Keith_history_buff said:

The following publication may well be of interest. I've not read it, but have seen it mentioned

"FOR DAUNTLESS FRANCE
 

This book is available online

For Dauntless France: An Account of Britain's Aid to the French Wounded and Victims of the War. Compiled for the British Red Cross Societies and the British Committee of the French Red Cross by Lawrence Binyon [1918] Archive.org. Includes a List of British Subjects who went abroad on Red Cross and kindred war-work for the French up to December 31, 1917.

Also

S. S. A. 10. Notes on the work of a British Volunteer Ambulance Convoy with the 2nd French Army (of Verdun) by William St. Q Leng. 1918 Archive.org. S. S. A. = La Section Sanitaire Anglaise.

Maureen

[4thGordons]

I can speak a little to the American Experience (AFS/Norton Harjes units) but it may be off topic here.

 

Many, but not all came from Universities (one author refers to them as the Gentlemen Volunteers), where they were actively recruited and the ambulances were often paid for by private subscription - there is a very detailed account in 4 volumes (The History of the American Field Service in France) and a large number of first hand contemporary accounts (because of the nature of the recruits - many university educated and often from the upper classes) and that they were actively encouraged to write / publish about their experiences) I have collected a pretty good number of these in researching a book.  These men were hired as DRIVERS (conducteurs) and had no medical training as part of their service (so not Imfirmiers) 

These were independent units (but NOT neutral and distanced themselves from the red cross in this respect -- they were avowedly "Friends of France" - the title of the book published by their leader A Piatt Andrew) but most served under French command - until 1917 when they were militarized and became part of the USAAS.  As part of this arrangement however those units that had served with the French stayed with the French as was the case with the subject of my research.

Here is a partial bibliography which may(?) be of interest

Andrew,  A. Piatt. 1916. “For the Love of France.” The Outlook.  December 27th 1916 p928-931

_____________.  1925. “The Genesis of the American Ambulance Service with the French Army 1915-17” Military Surgeon LVII October 1925:  363:377.

Bryan, Julien H. 1918. “Ambulance 464 Encore des Blesses.” New York.  The Macmillan Co.

Buswell Leslie 1915. “With the American Ambulance Field Service in France” Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. Reprinted as Buswell, Leslie. 1916. Ambulance Number 10. Boston and New York:  Houghton Mifflin Co.

Hale, Walter. 1916. By Motor to the Firing Line. New York. The Century Co.

Hansen, Arlen J. 1996. Gentlemen volunteers: the story of American ambulance drivers in the Great War.  New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Harle,  James W.  2004. With the French Army in the Great War: The Diaries of an American Volunteer Ambulance Driver. Capella Archive

Kautz, John, Iden. 1918. Trucking To The Trenches. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Lapsley, James Thomas III. 1971. Gentlemen Volunteers: American Ambulance Drivers in the First World War. MA.  Thesis University of California.

Morse, Edwin. 1918. The Vanguard of American Volunteers. Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York.

Orcutt, Phillip Dana. 1918. “The White Road of Mystery: The Note Book of an American Ambulancier” New York: John Lane Company.

Rice, Phillip S. 1918. An American Crusader at Verdun.  Princeton NJ: Private Publication.

Smucker, John R. 1967. The History of the United States Ambulance Service with the French and Italian Armies, 1917-1918-1919.  Allentown PA: USAASA.

Stevenson, William Yorke. 1917. At the Front in a Flivver. Boston and New York:  Houghton Mifflin Co

Various.  1920. The History of the American Field Service in France.  Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.

 

[Jim Strawbridge]

I know of a number of instances. Edith Maud Cryan served with the French Red Cross at Belfort and Bastogne. Mildred Constance Davis served with the French Red Cross as an ambulance driver in Marseilles. Anne Ellen Dickson served with the French Red Cross. Laura Foster was a surgeon with the French Red Cross in Antwerp. I know of many more. There was a British Committee of the French Red Cross as I recall.

[David Seymour]

Keith and Maureen,  Many thanks for drawing attention to 'For Dauntless France'.  I see that H. P. Weston is listed there, which suggests Red Cross or similar work rather than enlistment in the French army.  I wonder if he worked for the 'British Committee of the French Red Cross'?  Many thanks, David

Edited 5 August , 2023 by David Seymour

[Keith_history_buff]

For those that went overseas with the British Red Cross, the following dataset on the subscription site Fold3 may be of interest
https://www.fold3.com/publication/1186/uk-wwi-british-red-cross-register-of-overseas-volunteers-1914-1918/description

[David Seymour]

Thanks Keith.  Is that the same dataset as one can access at https://vad.redcross.org.uk/  ?

[Keith_history_buff]

I do believe that you are correct, and that this would have made its debut via ForcesWarRecords, like many other free resources that end up behind that paywall.

 

Quote

Original Source

British Red Cross Register of Overseas Volunteers 1914-1918Original source: The British Red Cross Society 1918, Room 60, 83 Pall Mall SW1.Page sources:Sources:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Red_Cross en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Aid_DetachmentWhich are released under the terms of Creativecommons.org/licenses/by-s/3.0/.

 

[David Seymour]

When I checked in https://vad.redcross.org.uk/ , however, I couldn't find Weston.