TOPIC:

Hi, I am Ed Emering resident of Chicago, Illinois USA, Editor in Chief of the new Journal of the International Phaleristics Association and keeper of the web site www.themedalhound.com . My main interest lies in the various medical support units (nurses, orderlies and ambo drivers).

The other day I came across: "Dublin District Company of the Militia Medical Corps." I am seeking information on just what the Medical Militia was and the role it played in the war. I have also seen a reference to the Medical Militia in relation to Canadian personnel.

Thanks

Hi, Ed, welcome. Did you know there was a Van Alen American Field Hospital that operated during the war?

This is the info I have:

The Van Alen hospital was the smallest of the donated hospitals and was formed by Mr Van Alen, an American Citizen. He agreed to provide all necessary equipment and transport for the small hospital at his own expense. The War Office agreed to transport it to South Africa and return it when it was no longer required. The hospital operated in an area near Kimberley. Captain E Powell RAMC was in charge of the hospital.
The staff received two Mention in Dispatches and 16 QSA’s with clasps, Cape Colony and Orange Free State.

Here is something more for you......

This, probably the most infamous group that arrived in the Republic, consisted of sixty men under Captain P. O'Connor and included the Drs McAulley, Conroy, MacNamarra, Aderpold, Slattery and Long. They were financially supported by the United Irish Societies of America and their initial outlay was something in the order of $3 000. They wore the Red Cross emblem, to which they were not entitled and were therefore not very well received in Cape Town by the British authorities. They then tried Lourenco Marques but their equipment was retained by Portuguese officials. When they arrived in Pretoria, forty-seven of the sixty men took up arms with the Boer forces and the remnant proceeded as an ambulance to work at Christiana. There were loud and prolonged repercussions about this action at later meetings of the International Red Cross Society.

Mike

This may be of interest to you....
www.angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-...rican-field-hospital

Hopefully David (djb) can give you additional info, if he has more.

Dear Ed
could I recommend Healers, Helpers and Hospitals by JC (Kay) De Villiers? It's the definitive 2-volume book on all the medical aspects of the South African war. Protea Boekhuis. 2009. ISBN 978-1-86919-277-8.
feel free to PM m for specific Qs, as I have these volumes and others about medical aspects of the War.
best wishes
Rob