Books

References in books to the London Ambulance Column are few and far between. Those that I have tracked down are listed below. If you know of any other references, please see the Can You Help page.

WOUNDED: The long journey home from the Great War “WOUNDED: The long journey home from the Great War ” by Emily Mayhew. (ISBN 9780099584186)
1st published in 2014 by Vintage Books, London.

Emily Mayhew chronicles the various stages for wounded soldiers from battle fields in France to hospitals in England, quoting from amongst others, the diaries of stretcher bearers, surgeons and chaplains.

The final chapter is devoted to the diary of V.A.D. Nurse Claire Tisdall and to the London Ambulance Column. This chapter portrays a vivid picture of the work of the Column. This book is highly recommended.

Mildmay Park: Episodes of a Doughboy in a London Hospital “Mildmay Park: Episodes of a Doughboy in a London Hospital” by Granville Forbes Sturgis. 1st published in 1920. Now widely available in facsimile editions.

The reminiscences of an American soldier convalescing in a London hospital. An entertaining book that gives a first-hand account of life in London during WW1. Mostly about the girls he meets and his little love affairs but contains many references to the London Ambulance Column.

At one point he is invited for tea by a nurse when her father arrives home. He writes: “He came in wearing the dark blue uniform of the Ambulance Colum, a man of lean physique, who had been too old to go to the front, but doing his bit with that wonderful London Ambulance Column, so splendidly organized and so efficiently managed.”

“Ambulances” by Chris Batten “Ambulances”by Chris Batten – published by Shire Publications (ISBN 0-7478-0329-3)
This excellent book, No 328, in the Shire Series, gives an overview of the history and development of ambulances and various ambulance services. It has numerous illustrations. There is a section on the First World War including an interesting reference to The London Ambulance Column.
"Observations of an Orderly at an English War Hospital 1915-1917" by Ward Muir “Observations of an Orderly At an English War Hospital 1915-1917” by L. Cpl. Ward Muir, Royal Army Medical Corps
First published 1917. Reprinted by Diggory Press in July 2006 (ISBN 978-1-84685-035-6)
(Diggory Press is believed to be defunct although there is still a website).

Lance Corporal Muir was a medical orderly at the 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth. This book is a very interesting account of his experiences andit has two chapters of particular interest in relation to the London Ambulance Column: chapter 6 “When the wounded arrive” and chapter 13 “The Station Party”.