Multitudes of Sick

The Times 24th January 1855

On this occasion the Times Scutari correspondent was stretching journalistic licence for the sake of a good punchline. Not only was the whole of the British Army not sick, but the whole of the British Army sick were not destined for Scutari, although it might have seemed that way to the hospital staffs and onlookers.

In fact, first treatment of wounded and sick was carried out at regimental level, and over 8000, mostly sick, were cared for in regimental and divisional hospitals during the peak initial five months of the campaign. Every regiment's medical staff contained a Surgeon and at least two Assistant Surgeons, the point of entry at medical officer level. To qualify for appointment, Assistant Surgeons, in addition to an M.D., had to produce a Royal College of Surgeons Diploma with evidence of attendance at a teaching hospital equivalent for at least eighteen months, with practical exposure to specified comprehensive aspects of surgery and medicine for specified numbers of months. They also had to be single, between the ages of 21 and 25. They had to wait 5 years before becoming eligible for promotion to Surgeon, which in practice finally came round after 10-12 years active duty. Taking into account the low levels of army pay compared with the steady income their qualifications could earn them outside, coupled with their second class status within the military world, it is small wonder that the job only attracted enthusiasts looking for travel and adventure for Queen and country.

Although the front line medical staffs had no previous experience of battle casualties or military medicine in the field, they soon learnt under Crimean conditions, and by and large they did an excellent job, particularly with battle casualties, subject to the limitations they were forced to work under. Assistant Surgeons accompanied troops into the forward trenches and often operated where the men fell, using carving knives, ripping up shirts for tourniquets, and generally improvising, as medical stores were in as short supply as any others.

The worst problems were encountered in the regimental hospitals. The accommodation provided, marquees and bell tents, was woefully inadequate for the Crimean winter. Even totally waterproof tents, a rarity, could not keep wind and rain out entirely. Some regiments managed to erect a hut or two - at least then the sick were not lying on the ground. Stretchers had been issued, but without the cross pieces that stretched them, or the legs, which had been put on a different boat and offloaded somewhere else. Bedsteads were available in Balaklava, but there was no transport to get them up to the camps on the Heights. Often the patients were filthy, even verminous, through frequent contact with the muddy ground. There were more than 600 sets of hospital clothing available in base stores, but no one had asked for them as no one in the field knew they were there.

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