181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
Encyclopedia
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 on the French coast in 1942. The unit then moved to Tunisia for operations in the Mediterranean theatre.
During Operation Ladbroke
, part of the Allied invasion of Sicily
, a shortage of gliders resulted in only six, instead of the required thirty, being allocate to the Field Ambulance. Of those six, only one reached land the others crashed into the sea. They were next deployed during the Allied invasion of Italy
in Operation Slapstick
. Soon afterwards the Field
Ambulance returned to the United Kingdom, then in September 1944, they landed by glider in the Netherlands. In the battle of Arnhem
the Field Ambulance remained behind with the wounded, and the majority of its men became prisoners of war.
The 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance was reformed after Arnhem, and were sent to Norway at the end of the war to assist in the repatriation of the German forces. The 1st Airborne Division including the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance were disbanded after serving in Norway.
, 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, soon after followed by the glider borne 1st Airlanding Brigade and the 1st Airborne Division. 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
units. 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
.
but in December moved to Hungerford
, and in May 1942 to Carter Barracks in Bulford
. Once formed the 181st were assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division. Airborne infantry platoons were required to march a distance of 50 miles (80.5 km) in 24 hours, and battalions 32 miles (51.5 km). The same stamina was expected of the Field Ambulance and in October 1942, they covered 31 miles (49.9 km) in eight and a half hours. The first commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Norman Gray Hill who was soon succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Graeme Matthew Warrack, and by January 1942, the 181st had an establishment of 234 all ranks. These were formed into two surgical teams and five sections
. Together they were expected to deal with 330 patients in twenty-four hours. With the surgical teams completing 1.8 operations an hour, but if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. A non-medical part of the field ambulance establishment was the Royal Army Service Corps
detachment, commanded by a Captain
, with seventy other ranks
, the detachment provided the transport for the field ambulance and was composed of a combination of drivers, motorcyclists and vehicle mechanics.
, was carried out by 'C' Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion commanded by Major John Frost
. The raid entailed the parachute company being landed near Bruneval, secure and dismantle a German radar
station, then be evacuated by sea. A section from 181st were selected to go on the raid, however they would travel across the English channel
by boat and not by air. The raid was of necessity a secret and the one officer and twenty men involved were told they were going on a training course in Scotland. The 181st section were accommodated on HMS Prins Albert, and practised for the mission on Loch Fyne
in Assault landing craft
(ALC). The operation took place over the night of 27–28 February 1942, it had been planned that the men of 181st would be landed to treat casualties, but this was not needed. The parachute company had six wounded men that were evacuated by the ALCs and treated by the 181st section. The wounds treated were all bullet wounds; two abdominal, one thigh, one foot, one scalp and one leg.
for operations in the Mediterranean. On arrival they were billeted just outside Oran
. But on 9 June moved to join the rest of 1st Airlanding Brigade at Froha
. On 9 July 1943, only 2,075 men of the 1st Airlanding Brigade along with seven jeeps
, six anti-tank guns and ten mortars, boarded their gliders in Tunisia
and took off at 18:00 bound for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds, poor visibility and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and sixty-five of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. The 181st required thirty-two Waco gliders for the mission, but with the overall shortage, they were only allocated six, and five of their gliders were amongst those that failed to reach Sicily and crashed into the sea.
The allocation of gliders does not correspond with the expected casualties for the mission of thirty per cent, suggested by the planners before they left Tunisia. The six gliders of the 181st, were loaded with two jeeps, a two stretcher trailer, two handcarts and three folding airborne bicycles
and what medical stores they could take was in 25 pounds (11.3 kg) man portable packs. With the No. 1 Surgical Team and No. 5 Section s divided between the gliders. Space was found on the infantry battalions gliders for some of 181st units; No. 1 Section went in with the 1st Battalion, Border Regiment
, While No. 2 Section went with the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
. The commanding officer
Lieutenant-Colonel Warrack, the Regimental Sergeant Major
and an orderly were able to go with brigade headquarters. In total only seventy-two from their establishment of 234 men were to go on the mission.
The only 181st glider to reach Sicily was the one carrying the majority of No. 1 Surgical Team, a surgeon, nine men with a handcart loaded with Don
and Sugar
packs. The glider had landed on the South Staffords landing zone south of their objective the Ponte Grande Bridge. The South Staffords had suffered the same fate as the 181st and instead of a battalion less than a company on troops landed and secured the bridge. The surgical team set out for the location designated their Main Dressing Station (MDS), a small village around 3 miles (4.8 km) away, enroute picking up some wounded from the landings. On arrival at the village the surgical team started work, while a group of mixed troops from the brigade formed a road block, capturing forty Italian troops. Later around 15:00 the MDS was attacked by the Italians in about company strength and the men from the 181st had to assist in its defence using captured Italian weapons. After the attack was fought off, the medics then had to treat the casualties from both sides. The next day Lieutenant-Colonel Warrack (who's glider had also landed in the sea) arrived at the MDS with transport from the landing beaches to evacuate the wounded, the surgical team had by then conducted twenty-six surgeries in twenty-four hours. On 13 July the 181st left Sicily for Tunisia. The 181st losses during Operation Ladbroke were one officer and sixteen men who were all drowned when their gliders had crashed into the sea.
, the 1st Airborne Divisions part in the Allied invasion of Italy
. The leading elements were drawn for the 2nd and 4th Parachute Brigades. They had to carry out an amphibious landing at the Italian port of Taranto
.
The landings on 9 September 1943, were unopposed, not least because the Italian Government had on the same day surrendered and the Germans did not have the forces in place to defend all the coastline.
The 1st Airlanding Brigade and the 181st did not come ashore at Taranto until 21 September and the next day took over the 200 bed Maritime Hospital, dealing with the divisions wounded for the next forty-eight hours, when they were relieved by an Indian unit. The airlanding brigade now moved into the front line and the 181st followed opening a MDS at Canossa
and Cerignola
on the 25 and 26 September respectively. The unit was then separated during the advance with sections being attached to the 4th Armoured Brigade and the 78th Infantry Division. But by the 30 September the division was withdrawn from the front line. During this time the 181st took over two small hospitals, one with thirty-nine beds at Putignano
and the other with forty beds at Brindisi
. The division was withdrawn back to England over the following months, the 181st leaving Taranto on 20 November 1943.
and the Battle of Arnhem
. The 181st would be on the first of three lifts spread over three days. Not everyone would be flying into Arnhem, some including most of the vehicles would come by land. The airborne party included the new commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Marrable, another nine officers and 104 other ranks, however No. 5 Section with one officer and twenty-three men were the divisional reserve section. The divisions three field ambulances carried enough medical stores for forty-eight hours, and all the gliders were equipped with two folding airborne stretchers and extra blankets. As the airlanding brigade was the first unit to arrive, the 181st would establish a Main Dressing Station (MDS) at Wolfheze
to treat any casualties from the landings. They would then move into Arnhem, to take over the municipal hospital. The reserve section was under control of division and was on standby to open an Air Casualty Evacuation Centre at Deelen airfield
once that had been secured.
On 17 September on the first day of the operation, the 1st Airlanding Brigade, arrived in the Netherlands between 13:15 and 14:00 a full thirty minutes before the parachute troops. By 16:00 the 181st had established their MDS at Wolfheze and were taking in casualties from the landings. Overnight they conducted eight surgical operations and were treating another sixty men who had been wounded. Casualties in the division were mounting and by 08:00 the following morning the MDS had admitted 180 men. At 17:00 the unit received orders to move closer to Arnhem, and moved into the Hotel Schoonhord on the main road at Oosterbeek
. A second position at the Hotel Taffelberg, around 200 yards (182.9 m) away was fitted out for the surgical teams. Casualties were mounting and as the only firmly established MDS most of them arrived at Oosterbeek to be treated by the 181st. The situation was becoming serious and more buildings were taken over by the MDS including a large house belonging to Kate ter Horst
, and the local school Having remained at Wolfheze with the wounded unable to be moved, the reserve No, 5 Section left to join the rest of the 181st at 20:30 19 September with the casualties that were able to be moved. By this time the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
in Arnhem had been captured by the Germans and the 1st Parachute Brigade units trying to fight through to the bridge, were sending their casualties to the 181st at Oosterbeek.
By the 20 September day four of the operation, the divisions medical services at Oosterbeek consisted of the 181st, and around forty men including the two surgical teams from the 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
of the 4th Parachute Brigade. However during a German assault at 10:00 one of the outlying dressing stations with around 400 wounded, manned by the survivors of 133rd was captured. The walking wounded and most of the medics, excepting the surgical teams were taken away as prisoners of war At the Hotel Schoonhord the MDS was subjected to mortaring and some of the 300 casualties there were wounded for a second time, and the hotel was also captured. The surgical teams at the Taffelberg had continued to operate through the bombardment. But by 15:00 the surgical teams and No. 5 Section which were the only part of the MDS that had not been captured by the advancing Germans. That evening a counter-attack by the 4th Parachute Brigade liberated the Hotel Schoonhord and some of the remaining wounded were moved further inside the divisional perimeter.
The following day 21 September No. 5 Sections dressing station with around 100 lightly wounded, was caught in a cross-fire killing the section commander and five medics, as soon as the shooting died down, they evacuated the station and set up in the grounds of the Horst house. By that evening the dwindling medical services around the MDS were dealing with over 1,000 casualties. At 17:00 having completed sixty operations, the two surgical teams from the 181st were forced to stop, when the ceilings in the operating rooms collapsed during an artillery bombardment.
The MDS at the Schoonhord was again captured by the Germans in the early hours of the 22 September. The other nine buildings being used by the medics were by now, almost constantly under fire, and unable to be evacuated many of the wounded were killed in their beds. Orders were issued that the wounded would have to remain at battalion aid posts, as moving them to the MDS was impossible in the circumstances. By now food and water supplies were running out, to solve the water shortage, central heating systems were drained and the Dental Officer
shot two sheep with a borrowed sten gun to help feed the wounded.
On 24 September a truce was arranged with the Germans and hundreds of the divisions wounded were evacuated by the Germans to Arnhem. The Germans took the opportunity to move their troops into the area of the Schoonhord, and in an attack after the truce many of the wounded and medics at the Taffelberg were killed or wounded again, including some German troops who were sheltering in the grounds. By 18:00 that evening the Schoonhord which had had all the wounded evacuated was once more filled with the divisions wounded. The stretcher bearers of the 181st moved the remaining wounded into the building, in preparation for the divisions withdrawal south of the River Rhine that night.
On the 25 September the Germans moved into Oosterbeek and at 18:00 the remaining wounded had been evacuated to Arnhem or Apeldoorn
, together with the survivors from the 181st. Altogether twenty-five doctors and 400 RAMC other ranks from the 1st Airborne Division, stayed with their patients and became prisoners of war. Of the men of the 181st who had landed in the Netherlands, only ten of them were evacuated south of the Rhine.
that evening, establishing a hospital at Nordstrand
. As well as supervising the German surrender the medics were also responsible for treating the numerous ex Russian prisoners of war. Some of the 181st accompanied the Russians to there homeland becoming the first British Army troops to set foot in northern Russia since 1919. On 3 September 1945, the 181st left Oslo and on their arrival in England were quartered near Tidworth
, until 14 November 1945, 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance was disbanded.
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 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 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 on the French coast in 1942. The unit then moved to Tunisia for operations in the Mediterranean theatre.
During Operation Ladbroke
Operation Ladbroke
Operation Ladbroke was a glider landing of British airborne forces near Syracuse, Sicily, that began on 9 July 1943 as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The first Allied mission using large numbers of the aircraft, the operation was carried out from Tunisia by the 1st Airlanding...
, part of the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
, a shortage of gliders resulted in only six, instead of the required thirty, being allocate to the Field Ambulance. Of those six, only one reached land the others crashed into the sea. They were next deployed 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 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...
. Soon afterwards the Field
Ambulance returned to the United Kingdom, then in September 1944, they landed by glider in the Netherlands. In the 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 Field Ambulance remained behind with the wounded, and the majority of its men became prisoners of war.
The 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance was reformed after Arnhem, and were sent to Norway at the end of the war to assist in the repatriation of the German forces. The 1st Airborne Division including the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance were disbanded after serving in Norway.
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, 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, soon after followed by the glider borne 1st Airlanding Brigade and the 1st Airborne Division. 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...
units. 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 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
133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 133rd Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The 133rd Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943, by the conversion of the 133rd Field Ambulance to parachute duties...
, 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...
.
181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance
The 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance was the first Royal Army Medical Corps airborne unit formed on 14 November 1941. It was raised from a cadre of the 132nd Field Ambulance and originally based in LlandysulLlandysul
Llandysul is a small town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The community of Pont Tyweli lies directly across the Teifi River in Carmarthenshire. It is in the valley of the River Teifi and is visited for its fishing and canoeing....
but in December moved to Hungerford
Hungerford
Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...
, and in May 1942 to Carter Barracks in Bulford
Bulford
Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,698.The name is derived from the Old English bulut ieg ford meaning 'ragged robin island ford'....
. Once formed the 181st were assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division. Airborne infantry platoons were required to march a distance of 50 miles (80.5 km) in 24 hours, and battalions 32 miles (51.5 km). The same stamina was expected of the Field Ambulance and in October 1942, they covered 31 miles (49.9 km) in eight and a half hours. The first commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Norman Gray Hill who was soon succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Graeme Matthew Warrack, and by January 1942, the 181st had an establishment of 234 all ranks. These were formed into two surgical teams and five 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:...
. Together they were expected to deal with 330 patients in twenty-four hours. With the surgical teams completing 1.8 operations an hour, but if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. A non-medical part of the field ambulance establishment 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 seventy other ranks
Other Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
, the detachment provided the transport for the field ambulance and was composed of a combination of drivers, motorcyclists and vehicle mechanics.
France
The first parachute raid on the coast of France Operation BitingOperation Biting
Operation Biting, also known as the Bruneval Raid, was the codename given to a British Combined Operations raid on a German radar installation in Bruneval, France that occurred between 27–28 February 1942 during World War II...
, was carried out by 'C' Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion commanded by Major John Frost
John Dutton Frost
Major General John Dutton Frost CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was a British airborne officer best known for being the leader of the small group of airborne forces that actually got to Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem...
. The raid entailed the parachute company being landed near Bruneval, secure and dismantle a German radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
station, then be evacuated by sea. A section from 181st were selected to go on the raid, however they would travel across the English channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
by boat and not by air. The raid was of necessity a secret and the one officer and twenty men involved were told they were going on a training course in Scotland. The 181st section were accommodated on HMS Prins Albert, and practised for the mission on Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
in Assault landing craft
Landing Craft Assault
The Landing Craft Assault was a British landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. During the war it was manufactured throughout...
(ALC). The operation took place over the night of 27–28 February 1942, it had been planned that the men of 181st would be landed to treat casualties, but this was not needed. The parachute company had six wounded men that were evacuated by the ALCs and treated by the 181st section. The wounds treated were all bullet wounds; two abdominal, one thigh, one foot, one scalp and one leg.
Sicily
On 5 March 1943, 181st were informed they would be moving overseas. After returning from embarkation leave on 15 May, the unit was sent to TunisiaTunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
for operations in the Mediterranean. On arrival they were billeted just outside Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
. But on 9 June moved to join the rest of 1st Airlanding Brigade at Froha
Froha
Froha is a town and commune in Mascara Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 11,969.-References:...
. On 9 July 1943, only 2,075 men of the 1st Airlanding Brigade along with seven 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...
, six anti-tank guns and ten mortars, boarded their gliders in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and took off at 18:00 bound for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds, poor visibility and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and sixty-five of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. The 181st required thirty-two Waco gliders for the mission, but with the overall shortage, they were only allocated six, and five of their gliders were amongst those that failed to reach Sicily and crashed into the sea.
The allocation of gliders does not correspond with the expected casualties for the mission of thirty per cent, suggested by the planners before they left Tunisia. The six gliders of the 181st, were loaded with two jeeps, a two stretcher trailer, two handcarts and three folding airborne bicycles
Folding bicycle
A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings and workplaces or onto public transportation or more easily stored in compact living quarters or aboard a car, boat or plane...
and what medical stores they could take was in 25 pounds (11.3 kg) man portable packs. With the No. 1 Surgical Team and No. 5 Section s divided between the gliders. Space was found on the infantry battalions gliders for some of 181st units; No. 1 Section went in with the 1st Battalion, Border Regiment
Border Regiment
The Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 34th Regiment of Foot and the 55th Regiment of Foot....
, While No. 2 Section went with the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment
South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 38th Regiment of Foot and the 80th Regiment of Foot. In 1959 the regiment was amlagamated with the North Staffordshire Regiment to form the Staffordshire Regiment...
. The commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
Lieutenant-Colonel Warrack, the 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...
and an orderly were able to go with brigade headquarters. In total only seventy-two from their establishment of 234 men were to go on the mission.
The only 181st glider to reach Sicily was the one carrying the majority of No. 1 Surgical Team, a surgeon, nine men with a handcart loaded with Don
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,...
and Sugar
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...
packs. The glider had landed on the South Staffords landing zone south of their objective the Ponte Grande Bridge. The South Staffords had suffered the same fate as the 181st and instead of a battalion less than a company on troops landed and secured the bridge. The surgical team set out for the location designated their Main Dressing Station (MDS), a small village around 3 miles (4.8 km) away, enroute picking up some wounded from the landings. On arrival at the village the surgical team started work, while a group of mixed troops from the brigade formed a road block, capturing forty Italian troops. Later around 15:00 the MDS was attacked by the Italians in about company strength and the men from the 181st had to assist in its defence using captured Italian weapons. After the attack was fought off, the medics then had to treat the casualties from both sides. The next day Lieutenant-Colonel Warrack (who's glider had also landed in the sea) arrived at the MDS with transport from the landing beaches to evacuate the wounded, the surgical team had by then conducted twenty-six surgeries in twenty-four hours. On 13 July the 181st left Sicily for Tunisia. The 181st losses during Operation Ladbroke were one officer and sixteen men who were all drowned when their gliders had crashed into the sea.
Italy
After Sicily the 1st Airlanding and 1st Parachute Brigade's casualties relegated them to the reserve for the initial landings in 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...
, the 1st Airborne Divisions part in 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 leading elements were drawn for the 2nd and 4th Parachute Brigades. They had to carry out an amphibious landing at the Italian 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....
.
The landings on 9 September 1943, were unopposed, not least because the Italian Government had on the same day surrendered and the Germans did not have the forces in place to defend all the coastline.
The 1st Airlanding Brigade and the 181st did not come ashore at Taranto until 21 September and the next day took over the 200 bed Maritime Hospital, dealing with the divisions wounded for the next forty-eight hours, when they were relieved by an Indian unit. The airlanding brigade now moved into the front line and the 181st followed opening a MDS at Canossa
Canossa
Canossa is a comune and castle town in Emilia-Romagna, famous as the site where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077, standing three days bare-headed in the snow, in order to reverse his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII...
and Cerignola
Cerignola
Cerignola is a town and comune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, 40 km southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any comune in Italy, at 593.71 km², after Rome and Ravenna.-History:...
on the 25 and 26 September respectively. The unit was then separated during the advance with sections being attached to the 4th Armoured Brigade and the 78th Infantry Division. But by the 30 September the division was withdrawn from the front line. During this time the 181st took over two small hospitals, one with thirty-nine beds at Putignano
Putignano
Putignano is a town and comune in the province of Bari, Puglia, Italy.-Economy:In the past the economy of the city was principally based on agriculture, but soon the population converted the rural village into an industrial center...
and the other with forty beds at Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
. The division was withdrawn back to England over the following months, the 181st leaving Taranto on 20 November 1943.
Arnhem
The 1st Airborne Division, was not involved in the Normandy landings and was next in action in 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....
and the 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 181st would be on the first of three lifts spread over three days. Not everyone would be flying into Arnhem, some including most of the vehicles would come by land. The airborne party included the new commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Marrable, another nine officers and 104 other ranks, however No. 5 Section with one officer and twenty-three men were the divisional reserve section. The divisions three field ambulances carried enough medical stores for forty-eight hours, and all the gliders were equipped with two folding airborne stretchers and extra blankets. As the airlanding brigade was the first unit to arrive, the 181st would establish a Main Dressing Station (MDS) at 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...
to treat any casualties from the landings. They would then move into Arnhem, to take over the municipal hospital. The reserve section was under control of division and was on standby to open an Air Casualty Evacuation Centre at Deelen airfield
Deelen Air Base
Deelen Air Base is a military air base in the Netherlands in the province of Gelderland...
once that had been secured.
On 17 September on the first day of the operation, the 1st Airlanding Brigade, arrived in the Netherlands between 13:15 and 14:00 a full thirty minutes before the parachute troops. By 16:00 the 181st had established their MDS at Wolfheze and were taking in casualties from the landings. Overnight they conducted eight surgical operations and were treating another sixty men who had been wounded. Casualties in the division were mounting and by 08:00 the following morning the MDS had admitted 180 men. At 17:00 the unit received orders to move closer to Arnhem, and moved into the Hotel Schoonhord on the main road at 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...
. A second position at the Hotel Taffelberg, around 200 yards (182.9 m) away was fitted out for the surgical teams. Casualties were mounting and as the only firmly established MDS most of them arrived at Oosterbeek to be treated by the 181st. The situation was becoming serious and more buildings were taken over by the MDS including a large house belonging to Kate ter Horst
Kate ter Horst
Kate ter Horst MBE was a Dutch full-time housewife and mother who tended wounded and dying Allied soldiers during the Battle of Arnhem. Her British patients nicknamed her the Angel of Arnhem.Ter Horst was born Kate Anna Arriëns, daughter of Pieter Albert Arriëns and Catharina Maingay...
, and the local school Having remained at Wolfheze with the wounded unable to be moved, the reserve No, 5 Section left to join the rest of the 181st at 20:30 19 September with the casualties that were able to be moved. By this time 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...
in Arnhem had been captured by the Germans and the 1st Parachute Brigade units trying to fight through to the bridge, were sending their casualties to the 181st at Oosterbeek.
By the 20 September day four of the operation, the divisions medical services at Oosterbeek consisted of the 181st, and around forty men including the two surgical teams from the 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 133rd Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.The 133rd Field Ambulance was formed in Palestine in January 1943, by the conversion of the 133rd Field Ambulance to parachute duties...
of the 4th Parachute Brigade. However during a German assault at 10:00 one of the outlying dressing stations with around 400 wounded, manned by the survivors of 133rd was captured. The walking wounded and most of the medics, excepting the surgical teams were taken away as prisoners of war At the Hotel Schoonhord the MDS was subjected to mortaring and some of the 300 casualties there were wounded for a second time, and the hotel was also captured. The surgical teams at the Taffelberg had continued to operate through the bombardment. But by 15:00 the surgical teams and No. 5 Section which were the only part of the MDS that had not been captured by the advancing Germans. That evening a counter-attack by the 4th Parachute Brigade liberated the Hotel Schoonhord and some of the remaining wounded were moved further inside the divisional perimeter.
The following day 21 September No. 5 Sections dressing station with around 100 lightly wounded, was caught in a cross-fire killing the section commander and five medics, as soon as the shooting died down, they evacuated the station and set up in the grounds of the Horst house. By that evening the dwindling medical services around the MDS were dealing with over 1,000 casualties. At 17:00 having completed sixty operations, the two surgical teams from the 181st were forced to stop, when the ceilings in the operating rooms collapsed during an artillery bombardment.
The MDS at the Schoonhord was again captured by the Germans in the early hours of the 22 September. The other nine buildings being used by the medics were by now, almost constantly under fire, and unable to be evacuated many of the wounded were killed in their beds. Orders were issued that the wounded would have to remain at battalion aid posts, as moving them to the MDS was impossible in the circumstances. By now food and water supplies were running out, to solve the water shortage, central heating systems were drained and the Dental Officer
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...
shot two sheep with a borrowed sten gun to help feed the wounded.
On 24 September a truce was arranged with the Germans and hundreds of the divisions wounded were evacuated by the Germans to Arnhem. The Germans took the opportunity to move their troops into the area of the Schoonhord, and in an attack after the truce many of the wounded and medics at the Taffelberg were killed or wounded again, including some German troops who were sheltering in the grounds. By 18:00 that evening the Schoonhord which had had all the wounded evacuated was once more filled with the divisions wounded. The stretcher bearers of the 181st moved the remaining wounded into the building, in preparation for the divisions withdrawal south of the River Rhine that night.
On the 25 September the Germans moved into Oosterbeek and at 18:00 the remaining wounded had been evacuated to Arnhem or Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn
Apeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
, together with the survivors from the 181st. Altogether twenty-five doctors and 400 RAMC other ranks from the 1st Airborne Division, stayed with their patients and became prisoners of war. Of the men of the 181st who had landed in the Netherlands, only ten of them were evacuated south of the Rhine.
Norway
Using the few men that returned from the battle of Arnhem, the rear party of the seaborne tail and volunteers from other units, 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance was reformed on 1 March 1945, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel I.C. Gilliland. However by this stage in the war the 1st Airborne Division still reforming was not used in combat again. Instead following the surrender of the German occupation troops in Norway the division was sent there on 9 May 1945. The 181st left England on the 11 May and landed at OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
that evening, establishing a hospital at Nordstrand
Nordstrand, Norway
Nordstrand is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.The borough is located in the southern part of the city and is the second most populated district of Oslo with over 40,000 inhabitants...
. As well as supervising the German surrender the medics were also responsible for treating the numerous ex Russian prisoners of war. Some of the 181st accompanied the Russians to there homeland becoming the first British Army troops to set foot in northern Russia since 1919. On 3 September 1945, the 181st left Oslo and on their arrival in England were quartered near Tidworth
Tidworth
Tidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire, England with a growing civilian population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east...
, until 14 November 1945, 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance was disbanded.