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safety and his unfailing cheerfulness in all circumstances meant he was known as an ne example to all his men. For all of these actions he was awarded the Military Cross.
Captain Frank Eric Street MC of 8th Field Ambulance, a man with such an amazing show of gallantry his exemplary moment would come with the D-Day Landings.
Directly from the AMS archives his citation explains it all. “This of cer landed on Queen White Beach on D-Day at H+ 60mins under heavy mortar and machine gun re. On reaching the cover of small sand dunes where an improvised dressing station had been organised by the personnel of this unit, he formed stretcher parties to bring in casualties from the beaches. His coolness and determination under re did a great deal to inspire con dence into the stretcher bearers, who brought in a large number of casualties.
After the beach had been swept he carried on working in the dressing station, again in a manner which inspired con dence in both orderlies and patients. His conduct was more notable
as this was the rst
landing Capt Street
had made from any
type of craft and he
was extremely seasick
whilst on board.”
2nd Division who were part of the forces to halt the Japanese advance on Dimapur and relieve the growing situation at Kohima.
The battle of Kohima started with the Japanese trying to capture this city to cut of the connection from Imphal to Dimapur; this was not to be with British and Indian forces from the 4th till the 22nd of June 1944 defeating the Japanese and allowing for the block to not hold out. This was a devastating and close battle; as you can see from the image to get a sense of the devastation.
Captain Freeman’s citation goes as
such, “On the 15th May, while conducting stretcher bearers down a track, leading from the Kohima Naga village area to the Zubza valley, mortar re was opened on the party. Captain Freeman might well have taken cover with others but instead he immediately attended to the freshly wounded patients, and bearers, moving from one to another with complete disregard of personal safety, and then carried the injured on his back
to a place of safety while mortar bombs
one of two dental
of cers to volunteer
for the newly formed
airborne force in
1941. A Captain in the
16th Parachute Field
Ambulance he was the rst
to develop and use a “Dental Haversack” and “Haversack, Dental Airborne” in 1942. He rst saw action in North Africa in 1943 and then followed on with the invasion of Sicily with Operation Fustain 13th July 1943 to which he won his MC.
The general plan of Op Fustain was
to move along the eastern coast with parachute ability being the spear head
and the 8th Army to reinforce once crucial points had been overran already. The plan was to drop either side of Primosole Bridge and secure it quickly. At 2015 they were up in the air, Captain Ridler’s stick dropping, minus 4 men due to one fainting; the pilot could not make a second run due to the heavy anti-aircraft re.
Travelling with heavy equipment, at 0445 hrs they reached the designated farm which was to be set up for the medical centre. It was here, with only himself and the RSM,
by bluf ng a strong enemy force of 20 Italian soldiers into surrendering and handing over a farm house needed for use as a eld hospital, capturing and setting up the MRS that would lead to him winning the MC. He didn’t stop though, by 2200 that day 21 operations had been completed in 13 hours. For two days he worked in the dressing station under re, giving anaesthetics for two surgeons.
Captain Ridler continued in WW2 with duties at Arnhem, was a prisoner of war and escaped on his third attempt in February 1945.
The accounts above were condensed from presentations offered by Captains Bassi, Blyth, Marriot and Watson at Corps Weekend in September 2016. They would like to give thanks to the AMS Museum for all its resources but also very helpful staff. Much of the information was taken from The Pegasus Archives http://www. pegasusarchive.org/ along with the book “A History of the Army Dental Service” complied by V. H. Ward.
After the war the
British Dental Journal
published a series of
submissions recounting the experiences of Dental Of cers who had served. Captain Street contributed details of his landing
on the beaches and the dif cult move inland, described how he had managed to establish a dressing station by midday and created an improvised dental chair propped up against a stable wall. Within days he was able to provide any treatment needed including the replacement of full dentures. Most poignantly he highlighted the fact that on that fateful day, dental personnel ran the same risk as their comrades.
Captain Millice Albert Freeman MC, a
man with an LDS from Guys in 1930 and commissioning from Sandhurst in 1940. He served with the 222 Corps Field Hospital but more notably it was his eventual attachment to the 5th Field Ambulance, 5th Brigade,
This was a devastating and close battle; as you can see...
continued to fall on the track. I witnessed Captain Freeman’s behaviour on this occasion, and undoubtedly by his action he prevented further casualties”.
Captain Freeman MC progressed further
in the eld of dentistry after the war to reach great heights by becoming the Chief Dental Of cer in 1967 for the Ministry of Health. Later described as “Is impossible to put a value on his contribution to dentistry as a practitioner in varied elds of service. He
set high standards for himself and quietly inspired others to follow his example. He was a man of great courage but without brashness and he never failed in kindness and courtesy. He was a tireless worker and has established standards for dental of cers in the Department which will be a lasting memorial to him”.
Captain Derek Hughes Ridler MC, a trained dentist from the Royal Dental Hospital London but also a trained anaesthetist. He was emergency enlisted in 1939 to the ADC and was to become
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