133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
Encyclopedia
The 133rd Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps
unit of the British airborne forces
during the Second World War.
The 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943, by the conversion of the 133rd Field Ambulance to parachute duties. It was then assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division.
As part of the 1st Airborne Division it took part in Operation Slapstick
, part of the Allied invasion of Italy
. The unit returned to England at the end of 1943, to prepare for their next mission. That was operation Market Garden
in the Netherlands. During the following battle of Arnhem
, the division was destroyed only 2,100 men returning from the 10,000 that had started the mission. Amongst the men that remained behind was the 113rd those men not already captured during the battle, choose to remain behind with the wounded, becoming prisoners of war. Reformed after the battle the 133rd took part in Operation Doomsday
in Norway after the end of the Second World War.
, the British Prime Minister
, Winston Churchill
, directed the War Office
to investigate the possibility of creating a corps
of 5,000 parachute troops. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions. In keeping with British Army practice at the same time as the infantry battalions were forming, airborne supporting arms were formed including Royal Army Medical Corps
volunteers.
Of the seven airborne field ambulance
s formed during the Second World War, two were glider borne the 181st
and the 195th
. While the other five were parachute trained the 16th
, 127th
, 133rd, 224th
and the 225th
.
and finished with five parachute jumps from an aircraft. Anyone failing to complete a descent was returned to his old unit. Those men who successfully completed the parachute course, were presented with their parachute wings
. The 4th Parachute Brigade left Palestine on 26 May 1943, to join the 1st Airborne Division at Sousse
in Tunisia. On arrival the men of the field ambulance were presented with their airborne forces maroon beret
.
The war establishment of a Parachute Field Ambulance
, was 177 all ranks. Consisting of thirteen doctors in two surgical teams and four sections. The doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four hour period. Each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations a hour. However this was not sustainable and if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. It was envisaged that during airborne operations, it would not be possible to evacuate casualties until the ground forces had linked up with them. To accommodate this the field ambulance had the ability to treat all types of wounds, and provide post operative care for up to fourteen days. They also had the transport required to evacuate casualties from the Regimental Aid Post (RAP), to the Main Dressing Station (MDS).
An airborne field ambulance was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, with a major
as the second in command
and a regimental sergeant major
as the senior non commissioned rank. Headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist
and a Army Dental Corps
dentist. To assist in the operating theatre and with post operative care, there were six operating room assistants, a sergeant
nursing orderly and six nursing orderlies. Other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, a dental orderly and five stretcher bearers, one of whom was trained as a shoemaker. The rest of the headquarters consisted of a Quartermaster
, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps
instructor, a barber and a joiner
from the Royal Engineers.
There were four sub units of twenty men known as sections
. Each section comprised an officer (doctor) and a staff sergeant
(nursing orderly), under their command were three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers. A section was normally attached to a parachute battalion to supplement their own medical officer and medics.
The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps
detachment, commanded by a captain
, with a company sergeant major
as second in command. They had fifty men under them, an electrician, a clerk, thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. It was normal to have at least two RASC drivers with two jeeps
and a trailer attached to each section, the remaining men and vehicles stayed with the headquarters surgical teams.
Airborne operations were in their infancy in the Second World War and the British Army medical services had to design and develop a range of special medical airborne equipment. These included the Don pack
, the Sugar pack
, the folding airborne stretcher, the folding trestle table
, the folding suspension bar, the airborne operating table, the airborne inhaler and special containers for blood and plasma.
, a landing at the port of Taranto
during the Allied invasion of Italy
in September 1943. Slapstick was in part a deception operation, to divert German forces away from the main Allied landings at Salerno
(Operation Avalanche), which would be taking place on the same day and also an attempt to seize intact the ports of Taranto and Brindisi. The main advantage of Tranato was its large port. Positioned on the eastern side of the country, together with the expected capture of Naples
in the west by the Americans, it would give the Allies two supply points, on opposite sides of the country.
The main part of the 1st Airborne Division sailed from North Africa for Taranto on 8 September 1943, landing on the 9/10 at Taranto unopposed. The 133rd after landing established their Main Dressing Station (MDS) with sixty beds at the Rendinella Hospital. The first casualties at the MDS were from the 156th Parachute Battalion following their capture of Mottola
. By the 15 September the MDS was looking after sixty-seven wounded. In the first nine days of the operation the brigade had 101 casualties.
By 22 September the 133rd had taken over, 320 beds in the Rondinella Hospital (the size of a normal army general hospital) and as such was taken over by No. 70 General Hospital when they landed. On 30 September the 133rd moved to Gioia del Colle
establishing a 140 bed MDS in a school. soon after the 1st Airborne Division was withdrawn back to England. While in Italy the division's field ambulances had treated 1,728 wounded and performed 194 surgeries.
in September 1944. In particular the airborne assault to capture bridges crossing the River Rhine at Arnhem
in the Netherlands. There was a shortage of transport aircraft, with three airborne divisions being deployed. So the 4th Parachute Brigade were on the second of what was supposed to be three lifts over three days. Only ten officers and 119 other ranks would go by air, the rest of the unit would join them by land when the Allied advance reached Arnhem. The plan called for the 133rd to join the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
who had landed the previous day, at the St Elizabeth Hospital in Arnhem.
On Monday 18 September 1944 the second day, 4th Parachute Brigade's lift of ninety-two C-47s (for the paratroops), forty-nine Horsa
and nine Hamilcar
gliders, were scheduled to arrive furthest away from Arnhem on Ginkel Heath drop zone
'Y', as early as possible on 18 September. Bad weather over England kept the second lift on the ground and the first troops did not arrive in the Netherlands until 15:00. The delay gave the Germans time to approach the northern landing grounds and engage the defenders from the 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers
.
Landing under fire the 133rd were widely scattered and it was not until 20:30 that some non commissioned officers and men reached Wolfheze
. By dawn 19 September, the two surgical teams and the majority of the unit had reached Wolfheze. Lieutenant-Colonel Alford decided to open a MDS where they were to support the brigade's advance towards the high ground north of Arnhem. By 19:30 Alford and forty-one other men, including the two surgical teams moved into Oosterbeek
to establish a MDS, linking up with the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
and started moving the less serious wounded to Oosterbeek. A German attack on Wolfheze early on 20 September, captured those men still in the village either treating or trying to move the wounded. All that now remained of the 133rd was the commanding officer, the two surgeons, the dental officer (who was also the anaesthetist) and ten other ranks. On the 20 September the 133rd opened a new dressing station about 100 yards (91.4 m) from the division's main MDS at the Hotel Taffelberg, by that evening there were around 1,000 wounded being treated by the divisions medical staff. Over the following days the dressing station was subjected to artillery and mortar fire. Then on the 24 September a local armistice was agreed and the majority of the division's walking wounded in the hospital area were evacuated leaving around 300 men who were unable to be moved. By the next day the shelling around the hospital area made it safer for the wounded to remain at their regimental aid posts, rather than take the risk of moving them. By that evening the hospitals had been over run by the Germans. But 2,100 of the 10,000 men of the 1st Airborne Division were evacuated south of the River Rhine that night. However almost all the division's medical staff twenty-five officers and 400 other ranks had been taken prisoner.
the disarming and repatriation of the German forces occupying Norway. On 1 May 1945 the 133rd landed at Stavanger
, then moved to Kristiansand
taking over the St Joseph's hospital and other smaller hospitals at Evji Nlosen, Moi and Bergen
. They were also made responsible for the medical care of 4,500 Russian prisoners of war in the area. The 133rd left Norway for England on 29 June and on 15 November was disbanded with the men not being demobbed sent to the division's other medical units.
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
unit of the British airborne forces
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
during the Second World War.
The 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943, by the conversion of the 133rd Field Ambulance to parachute duties. It was then assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division.
As part of the 1st Airborne Division it took part in Operation Slapstick
Operation Slapstick
Operation Slapstick was the code name for a British landing from the sea at the Italian port of Taranto during the Second World War. The operation, one of three landings during the Allied invasion of Italy, was undertaken by the British 1st Airborne Division in September 1943.Planned at short...
, part of the Allied invasion of Italy
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
. The unit returned to England at the end of 1943, to prepare for their next mission. That was operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
in the Netherlands. During the following battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
, the division was destroyed only 2,100 men returning from the 10,000 that had started the mission. Amongst the men that remained behind was the 113rd those men not already captured during the battle, choose to remain behind with the wounded, becoming prisoners of war. Reformed after the battle the 133rd took part in Operation Doomsday
Operation Doomsday
In Operation Doomsday, the British 1st Airborne Division acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945, immediately after the victory in Europe during the Second World War. The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the remainder of Force...
in Norway after the end of the Second World War.
Background
Impressed by the success of German airborne operations, during the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, the British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, directed the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
to investigate the possibility of creating a corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
of 5,000 parachute troops. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions. In keeping with British Army practice at the same time as the infantry battalions were forming, airborne supporting arms were formed including Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
volunteers.
Of the seven airborne field ambulance
Field Ambulance
A Field Ambulance is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a mobile medical unit that treats wounded soldiers very close to the combat zone...
s formed during the Second World War, two were glider borne the 181st
181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
The 181st Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The Field Ambulance was assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, the glider borne element of the 1st Airborne Division. Some men of the unit took part in the first parachute raid...
and the 195th
195th (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
The 195th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The 195th was the second airlanding Field Ambulance formed by the British Army. Once raised it was assigned to the 6th Airlanding Brigade, which was part of the 6th Airborne...
. While the other five were parachute trained the 16th
16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 16th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The unit was the first parachute field ambulance unit of the British Army. Their first deployment was in Operation Torch the Allied landings in North Africa. This was followed...
, 127th
127th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 127th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The 127th Field Ambulance was originally a pre war Territorial Army unit converted to parachute duties, becoming the second parachute field ambulance in the British Army...
, 133rd, 224th
224th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 224th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The 224th Field Ambulance was converted to an airborne unit in 1942, and assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade, part of the 6th Airborne Division...
and the 225th
225th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 225th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.When raised the Field Ambulance was assigned to the 5th Parachute Brigade, which was part of the 6th Airborne Division. As such they participated in Operation Tonga part of the...
.
133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel W.C. Alford, the 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943, by the conversion of the 133rd Field Ambulance to parachute duties. The Field Ambulance was assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade. All members of the Field Ambulance had to undergo a twelve day parachute training course carried out at No. 4 Parachute Training School RAF, in Palestine. Initial parachute jumps were from a converted barrage balloonBarrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
and finished with five parachute jumps from an aircraft. Anyone failing to complete a descent was returned to his old unit. Those men who successfully completed the parachute course, were presented with their parachute wings
Parachutist Badge
The Parachutist Badge or Parachutist Brevet is a military badge awarded by the Armed Forces of most countries in the world to soldiers who receive the proper parachute training and accomplish the required number of jumps. It is difficult to assess which country was the first to introduce such award...
. The 4th Parachute Brigade left Palestine on 26 May 1943, to join the 1st Airborne Division at Sousse
Sousse
Sousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...
in Tunisia. On arrival the men of the field ambulance were presented with their airborne forces maroon beret
Maroon beret
The maroon beret is a military beret and has been an international symbol of elite airborne forces since it was chosen for British airborne forces in World War II. This distinctive head dress was officially introduced in 1942, at the direction of General Frederick Browning, commander of the British...
.
The war establishment of a Parachute Field Ambulance
Field Ambulance
A Field Ambulance is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a mobile medical unit that treats wounded soldiers very close to the combat zone...
, was 177 all ranks. Consisting of thirteen doctors in two surgical teams and four sections. The doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four hour period. Each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations a hour. However this was not sustainable and if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. It was envisaged that during airborne operations, it would not be possible to evacuate casualties until the ground forces had linked up with them. To accommodate this the field ambulance had the ability to treat all types of wounds, and provide post operative care for up to fourteen days. They also had the transport required to evacuate casualties from the Regimental Aid Post (RAP), to the Main Dressing Station (MDS).
An airborne field ambulance was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, with a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
as the second in command
Second in Command
Second in Command is a 2006 action film directed by Simon Fellows, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was released direct-to-video in the United States, Belgium, and Germany on May 2, 2006. It has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and some language. The film was made in Bucharest, Romania.-Plot...
and a regimental sergeant major
Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...
as the senior non commissioned rank. Headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
and a Army Dental Corps
Royal Army Dental Corps
The Royal Army Dental Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army that provides dental care services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
dentist. To assist in the operating theatre and with post operative care, there were six operating room assistants, a sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
nursing orderly and six nursing orderlies. Other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, a dental orderly and five stretcher bearers, one of whom was trained as a shoemaker. The rest of the headquarters consisted of a Quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps
Army Physical Training Corps
The Royal Army Physical Training Corps is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education. Its members are all Royal Army Physical Training Corps Instructors ....
instructor, a barber and a joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
from the Royal Engineers.
There were four sub units of twenty men known as sections
Section (military unit)
A section is a small military unit in some armies. In many armies, it is a squad of seven to twelve soldiers. However in France and armies based on the French model, it is the sub-division of a company .-Australian Army:...
. Each section comprised an officer (doctor) and a staff sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
(nursing orderly), under their command were three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers. A section was normally attached to a parachute battalion to supplement their own medical officer and medics.
The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
detachment, commanded by a captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
, with a company sergeant major
Company Sergeant Major
A company sergeant major is the senior non-commissioned soldier of a company in the armies of many Commonwealth countries, responsible for standards and discipline. In combat, his prime responsibility is the supply of ammunition to the company...
as second in command. They had fifty men under them, an electrician, a clerk, thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. It was normal to have at least two RASC drivers with two jeeps
Willys MB
The Willys MB US Army Jeep and the Ford GPW, were manufactured from 1941 to 1945. These small four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep, and inspired many similar light utility vehicles. Over the years, the World War II Jeep later evolved into the "CJ" civilian...
and a trailer attached to each section, the remaining men and vehicles stayed with the headquarters surgical teams.
Airborne operations were in their infancy in the Second World War and the British Army medical services had to design and develop a range of special medical airborne equipment. These included the Don pack
Don pack
A Don pack or Dressing pack, was designed for the airborne forces of the British Army during the Second World War .The Don pack was a standardised haversack sized webbing carrier, composed of anaesthetics, drugs, serum, dressings, tins of tea, milk and sugar powder, cubes of meat extract,...
, the Sugar pack
Sugar pack
A Sugar pack or Surgical pack, was designed for the airborne forces of the British Army during the Second World War .The Sugar pack was a standardised haversack sized webbing carrier, composed of anaesthetics, drugs, bandages, gauze, swabs and plaster of Paris. It was designed to contain sufficient...
, the folding airborne stretcher, the folding trestle table
Trestle table
A trestle table is an item of furniture comprising two or three trestle supports linked by a longitudinal cross-member over which a board or tabletop is placed. It is the earliest form of table, after the basic pedestal-style table known to be used in ancient times, and was a common structure in...
, the folding suspension bar, the airborne operating table, the airborne inhaler and special containers for blood and plasma.
Italy
The first combat operation the 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance was involved in was Operation SlapstickOperation Slapstick
Operation Slapstick was the code name for a British landing from the sea at the Italian port of Taranto during the Second World War. The operation, one of three landings during the Allied invasion of Italy, was undertaken by the British 1st Airborne Division in September 1943.Planned at short...
, a landing at the port of Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
during the Allied invasion of Italy
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
in September 1943. Slapstick was in part a deception operation, to divert German forces away from the main Allied landings at Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
(Operation Avalanche), which would be taking place on the same day and also an attempt to seize intact the ports of Taranto and Brindisi. The main advantage of Tranato was its large port. Positioned on the eastern side of the country, together with the expected capture of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in the west by the Americans, it would give the Allies two supply points, on opposite sides of the country.
The main part of the 1st Airborne Division sailed from North Africa for Taranto on 8 September 1943, landing on the 9/10 at Taranto unopposed. The 133rd after landing established their Main Dressing Station (MDS) with sixty beds at the Rendinella Hospital. The first casualties at the MDS were from the 156th Parachute Battalion following their capture of Mottola
Mottola
Mottola is a town and comune in the province of Taranto, in the Puglia region of southeast Italy.It is situated on a hill in the sub-region of Murgia. It is also called "The Ionian Spy" for its strategic geographical position...
. By the 15 September the MDS was looking after sixty-seven wounded. In the first nine days of the operation the brigade had 101 casualties.
By 22 September the 133rd had taken over, 320 beds in the Rondinella Hospital (the size of a normal army general hospital) and as such was taken over by No. 70 General Hospital when they landed. On 30 September the 133rd moved to Gioia del Colle
Gioia del Colle
Gioia del Colle is a town and comune in the province of Bari, Apulia, Italy. The town is located on the Murge plateau at 360 metres above sea level.- History :...
establishing a 140 bed MDS in a school. soon after the 1st Airborne Division was withdrawn back to England. While in Italy the division's field ambulances had treated 1,728 wounded and performed 194 surgeries.
Arnhem
The next mission the 133rd were involved with, was Operation Market GardenOperation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
in September 1944. In particular the airborne assault to capture bridges crossing the River Rhine at Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
in the Netherlands. There was a shortage of transport aircraft, with three airborne divisions being deployed. So the 4th Parachute Brigade were on the second of what was supposed to be three lifts over three days. Only ten officers and 119 other ranks would go by air, the rest of the unit would join them by land when the Allied advance reached Arnhem. The plan called for the 133rd to join the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 16th Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The unit was the first parachute field ambulance unit of the British Army. Their first deployment was in Operation Torch the Allied landings in North Africa. This was followed...
who had landed the previous day, at the St Elizabeth Hospital in Arnhem.
On Monday 18 September 1944 the second day, 4th Parachute Brigade's lift of ninety-two C-47s (for the paratroops), forty-nine Horsa
Airspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
and nine Hamilcar
General Aircraft Hamilcar
The General Aircraft Limited GAL. 49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mark I was a large British military glider produced during the Second World War, which was designed to carry heavy cargo, such as the Tetrarch or M22 Locust light tank...
gliders, were scheduled to arrive furthest away from Arnhem on Ginkel Heath drop zone
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
'Y', as early as possible on 18 September. Bad weather over England kept the second lift on the ground and the first troops did not arrive in the Netherlands until 15:00. The delay gave the Germans time to approach the northern landing grounds and engage the defenders from the 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers
King's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
.
Landing under fire the 133rd were widely scattered and it was not until 20:30 that some non commissioned officers and men reached Wolfheze
Wolfheze
Wolfheze is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, 10 km northwest of the city of Arnhem.-History:Wolfheze has had a train station on the railway line between Utrecht and Arnhem since 1845...
. By dawn 19 September, the two surgical teams and the majority of the unit had reached Wolfheze. Lieutenant-Colonel Alford decided to open a MDS where they were to support the brigade's advance towards the high ground north of Arnhem. By 19:30 Alford and forty-one other men, including the two surgical teams moved into Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, about 5 km west of Arnhem.The oldest part of the village of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp , on the northern bank of the river Rhine...
to establish a MDS, linking up with the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
The 181st Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The Field Ambulance was assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, the glider borne element of the 1st Airborne Division. Some men of the unit took part in the first parachute raid...
and started moving the less serious wounded to Oosterbeek. A German attack on Wolfheze early on 20 September, captured those men still in the village either treating or trying to move the wounded. All that now remained of the 133rd was the commanding officer, the two surgeons, the dental officer (who was also the anaesthetist) and ten other ranks. On the 20 September the 133rd opened a new dressing station about 100 yards (91.4 m) from the division's main MDS at the Hotel Taffelberg, by that evening there were around 1,000 wounded being treated by the divisions medical staff. Over the following days the dressing station was subjected to artillery and mortar fire. Then on the 24 September a local armistice was agreed and the majority of the division's walking wounded in the hospital area were evacuated leaving around 300 men who were unable to be moved. By the next day the shelling around the hospital area made it safer for the wounded to remain at their regimental aid posts, rather than take the risk of moving them. By that evening the hospitals had been over run by the Germans. But 2,100 of the 10,000 men of the 1st Airborne Division were evacuated south of the River Rhine that night. However almost all the division's medical staff twenty-five officers and 400 other ranks had been taken prisoner.
Post war
The 133rd was reformed after Arnhem, and after he was released from custody at the end of the war Lieutenant-Colonel Alford was once more given command. The division never fought another battle in the war but was strong enough for Operation DoomsdayOperation Doomsday
In Operation Doomsday, the British 1st Airborne Division acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945, immediately after the victory in Europe during the Second World War. The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the remainder of Force...
the disarming and repatriation of the German forces occupying Norway. On 1 May 1945 the 133rd landed at Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, then moved to Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
taking over the St Joseph's hospital and other smaller hospitals at Evji Nlosen, Moi and Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
. They were also made responsible for the medical care of 4,500 Russian prisoners of war in the area. The 133rd left Norway for England on 29 June and on 15 November was disbanded with the men not being demobbed sent to the division's other medical units.