61 14 15 16 17 18 The GreatWar became like a hideous nightmare, as if we were living in the seventh hell of the damned.”1 And yet there was a constant evolution of medical treatment to deal with the trauma. Innovations in surgery that saved lives; there were new methods of treating the infections that festered in most wounds; blood transfusions reversed lethal shock; X-ray located shrapnel and bullets hidden in the body; and chemical burns and mental injuries were treated with innovative practices. I recount all of this and more in my new book, Lifesavers and Body Snatchers: Medical Care and the Struggle for Survival in the Great War, which is based on 25 years of archival research and in locating the stories of doctors, nurses, and the Canadian soldier. But all books reflect the times in which they are written, and this one is no exception. I wrote it during the worst of the Covid crisis when all Canadians were struggling to come to grips with the virus. The importance of preventative action was urged by modern medical practitioners: social distancing, wearing masks, and vaccinations. I became more attuned to the value of the Canadian medical practitioners during the Great War in not only treating the wounded, but in the crucial role of preventative medicine. In almost every war in human history up to the early twentieth century, disease has killed more soldiers than weapons. During the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, with its over 2,000 land battles, disease still killed five times as many soldiers as conventional shot and shell.2 In the South African War of 1899 to 1902, bacteria and viruses killed more British and Canadian soldiers than bullets. At the start of the Great War, there was tremendous fear that disease wouldwipe out the stagnant armies living in their own filth in the trenches. But it did not. Why? Preventative care from the medical services was excellent and saved lives. From the start of the war, as some 35,000 Canadians converged on Valcartier camp near Quebec City in the early fall of 1914, CAMC doctors struggled with how to save the soldiers from disease. There was great care and attention paid to the water supply from being fouled. Doctors also argued successfully that each soldier had to be vaccinated against a series of diseases or they would be removed from the ranks. Most men were anxious to serve and accepted the needle, with vaccines protecting against smallpox and typhoid. The Canadian Medical Association Journal—the primary publication for the medical profession— claimed that “Never before has medical science been so well armed against the worst of our war pestilences.”3 On the Western Front, the medical officers attached to the units in the front and rear areas were Motorised X-ray ambulance unit (catalogue reference: MUN 7/341)
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