QAHN HERITAGE TALKS - A Motley Crew of Unsung Heroes: Medical Training in the Canadian Army during the First World War

Many historians point to the FIrst World War as the defining moment in the emergence of modern battlefield medicine. Indeed, Canadian doctors and surgeons were at the forefront of battlefield medicine innovations. However, the focus on these modern medical advances obscures the history of a motley crew of unsung heroes: the men who enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps without any prior medical training but performed lifesaving treatments.

Through the biographies and service records of individuals from Brome County who enlisted in the CAMC as "other ranks", this lecture considers our national history through a local sens. Supported by archival documents (letters, diaries, etc.) and artefacts in the Brome County Historical Society's collection, this lecture aims to detail the history of the CAMC's "other ranks". Come and discover the story of Canadians who were farmers, clerks, and other professionals before being transformed into the linchpin of a military medical service that treated over 400,000 Canadian soldiers.