Date of Award

2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in History

Department

History

First Advisor

Andrea Rusnock

Abstract

The Western Front of the First World War was a theater of tragedy and unprecedented loss. As thousands of mangled British bodies were evacuated from the front lines, medical officers, surgeons, nurses, orderlies, stretcher-bearers, and other staff worked tirelessly in an efficient and technical manner to restore soldiers’ fitness so they might be redeployed into the chaos, and continue servicing the war machine. This thesis looks at changes in medicine driven by the war. First, it examines the evolution of medical theory and practice as reflected in three medical manuals. The first was published in 1911, before the war, and the other two in 1915, and 1918. The changes documented include improved medical practice, as well as growing confidence in surgical operations, heightened attention to medical record keeping, and systematic and regulated use of morphine. Second, it analyzes improvements in statistical and medical record keeping during the war and explains how these were used to guide changes in practice and to compile a larger medical history of the war. Soldiers’ medical treatments were recorded on uniform documents that helped provide continuity of care during the tumultuous journey from the trench to the hospital. Third, this thesis explores improvements in surgery fueled by technological innovations such as motorized ambulances, the Thomas splint, and X-rays, as well as advancements in blood transfusions and wound suturing. This thesis draws on extensive primary sources including published medical journals, official histories, and patient medical records to argue that the changes to British military medicine were implemented to increase the efficiency of both military medicine and the Army as a fighting machine.

Included in

History Commons

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