Casualty Clearing Station no 2 & 8 Bailleul 1914-17

[wilkokcl]

Does anyone know exactly what or where Casualty Clearing Stations number 2 and 8 were during their time in Bailleul from Aug 1914 - September 1917? Any indication as to type of building, size or any other details to flesh out an account of a soldier passing through them would be very much appreciated.

Mark

[BJanman]

Mark

No 2 Casualty Clearing Station (or No 2 Clearing Hospital as it was called when it first got there) arrived at Bailleul on the 18th October 1914 and opened in a seminary about a mile from the railway station Taken from the Official History

No 8 Clearing Hospital (CCS) arrived 21st November but I haven't worked out where as yet.

Barbara

[n cherry]

Mark,

To help answer your point about what a CCS did, the follwoing which is taken from my talk on the RAMC in the Great War will I hope help....

The Casualty Clearing Station normally allocated at one per Division was usually comprised of around 120 officers and Men, commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel and 3 Chaplains were normally attached. In an ideal world a CCS would be situated just out of enemy artillery range, and as close to the front line as possible and most importantly of all to have good communications both forward and back.

The name Casualty Clearing Station was adopted in early 1915, up till then they had been known as Clearing Hospitals. During the early part of the Great War at Mons and Le Cateau most of the Clearing Hospitals did not even manage to unload their equipment from the trains that were carrying it. It was not until early 1915 that they became really effective units. Surgeons who had dealt with wounded from the First Battle of Ypres were convinced that facilities were required to enable surgery to take place nearer the front line and so prevent a potentially fatal delay in the treatment of infected wounds. Fortunately the onset of trench warfare meant that the railheads and their associated units, which included the CCS's became static. The CCS's now became virtual " hospitals " in which the bulk of the surgery on the Western Front was carried out.

A more appropriate title in today's language would be field hospital. However most CCS's were of semi permanent construction and were able to treat casualties of all types including the most dangerous of injuries such as head and abdominal wounds. In the present day RAMC such casualties are known as 'Priority One' and the aim would be for them to be operated on within six hours of being wounded. It is worth adding that the CCS was the first place in the evacuation chain where successful surgery could realistically be carried out.

The equipment scale for a CCS amounted to 22 1/3 Tons including 31 Marquees and 20 Bell Tents. To move one would require 17 General Service (horse drawn) wagons or 8 3-Ton lorries. The space required for a CCS would be 205 x 190 yards. However these figures are assuming an in-patient strength of 200. During the Great War some CCS's had accommodation for 1000 so we would need an area almost 1000 x 1000 yards.

[Simon Jones]

This shows No 8 CCS, Bailleul on 2 May 1915. Then men are victims of the chlorine gas attack on Hill 60 of the previous day, mainly 1/Dorsets, placed outside to aid their breathing. I would very much like to know where the building is and whether it still stands. The No 8 CCS War Diary is ref WO95/342 which I looked at many years ago but did not note whether it gave the exact location.

S

[n cherry]

Simon and Mark,

Following on from my earlier post, whilst I don't know if that particularly building is still standing, the CCSs were almost nearly always clsoe to a raiwlay line.....regret I'm not up to speed on the Belgian/French railway system but the site of current or previous raiwlay lines is always a good place to start!

I'll have a look in the MS OH to see if anything pops out.....

NC

[wilkokcl]

Interesting information - thank you. I'm going to TNA next week so will see if I can have a look at that diary.

Much appreciated,

Mark

[n cherry]

Had a quick look in the MS OH last night covering Third Ypres under the 'Bailleul' Group of CCS's only No 2 gets a mention.....perhaps 8 had moved elsewhere by then.....

From the OH No 2 CCS 31st July to 16th Nov 1917 admitted 3,267 casualties and 878 of these operated on.

Others in the Bailleul Group in 1917 No 53 CCS, No 1 Australian and No 2 Australian CCS....

[mhifle]

Hi,

Here is a list of the British CCS's for Bailleul.

Regards Mark

[Guest andycowley17]

I have recently been to Bailleul to visit my Great Uncles Grave at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension Nord, and would also like to know about this CCS, also I was trying to gather information about what the South Staffords were doing in this area for him to be killed on June 4th 1917. I asked our guide on the Legers battlefield tour, and he said it was a quiet time in this area, and my Great Uncle may have been part of a raid to capture German soldiers for intelligence. Does anyone know any more about this time in this area?

Andy Cowley, Rugeley, Staffordshire

In memory of Private Horace Cowley, (8521) South Staffordshire Regiment, aged 18, who was killed during the attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13th October 1915, His body was never found, and his name is on the roll of honour at Loos Memorial Cemetery on the Lens - Bethune Road, Loos-en-Gohelle.

Private George Dean, (30824) South Staffordshire Regiment, aged 22, who was injured on 4th June 1917 somewhere near Bailleul, France, and died of his injuries 1 hour later at a casualty clearing station. He is buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension Nord.