Page 9 - The Story of the RAMC

One example from a contemporary diary may be taken as typical of many. When young Dr. Cattell landed at Varna in Bulgaria with his unit, the 5th Dragoon Guards, seeing his panniers and other medical equipment arrive, announced that they were “a useless encumbrance in the field” and ordered them to be left at the base. The Regiment moved up country and within a few weeks was in the throes of a devastating cholera epidemic. Lying on the bare ground, with no trained attention, men died in hideous agony literally by the hundred. Tired and ready to drop Cattell was at his wits end to obtain some treatment and all he could muster was some brandy from the Officers Mess which he mixed with cayenne pepper.
The breakdown of the administrative services caused an immense scandal at home and the Director General, Sir Andrew Smith, even at that late hour, again urged the necessity for some kind of special medical corps. The War Office, however ridiculed the idea that strong, intelligent and healthy young men should spend their time tending the sick and wounded, but instead they collected together some 300 decrepit old pensioners to form an ambulance corps. Before their departure Smith declared that they looked as though they could scarcely carry themselves about, much less the wounded, while after their arrival at the seat of war Dr. Hall, the Principal Medical Officer, referred to them as “These quibbling old pensioners”. They proved a complete failure, many of the old men died of cholera while others far too often sought the consolation of the bottle.
It was from such an inglorious beginning that the Royal Army Medical Corps has sprung.
This Corps having proved a complete failure was replaced a year later in 1855 by a new Corps “The Medical Staff Corps”, composed of “Men able to read and write, of regular steady habits and good temper and of a kindly disposition”.
During the decades which followed the gallantry and increasing efficiency of the medical services led to a closer association between the “Crown” and the “Serpent”. The Medical Staff Corps was reorganised into the Army Hospital Corps in 1857, a title which it retained until 1884 when it reverted to its former name. The earliest Victoria Cross was won by Surgeon James Mouat in the Charge of the Light Brigade on October 25th 1854. This was the first of the 15 V.C’s won by the medical services of the British Army before the formation of the RAMC. These included Corporal Farmer of the Army Hospital Corps (Majuba Hill 1881), one of the only two of the rank and file to win the cross.
Medical officers instead of being “Dr. X” were given hyphenated courtesy titles such as “Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel” and wore different badges and uniforms
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