WHAT WERE SOME OF THE COMMON INJURIES IN WW1?

Trench foot- Is where the foot goes numb, changes colour, swells and starts to smell because of damage to skin blood vessels and nerves to the feet. Trench foot is caused by the foot being exposed to damp cold and unsanitary conditions for long periods of time.

Not only did soldiers in WW1 suffer from physical injuries, but some also suffered from mental illness. Mental illness caused by being exposed to rotting corpses and exploding shells was called Shell Shock. Sufferers from this illness could be hysterical, disoriented or paralysed.

Soldiers also suffered from gunshot wounds and trauma from being on the front line.

HOW DID THEY TRANSPORT PATIENTS?

In World War 1 casualties were taken from the battlefield by stretcher bearers to the Regimental Aid Post, from there they were taken by Motor Ambulance to a casualty clearing station, where they would then be transported by hospital train to a base hospital.

This process would of varied for some soldiers, In some situations a solider could be evacuated from the battlefield to a base hospital in less than 24 hours.

WHAT WAS THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC?

The influenza pandemic started in January 1918, it was at the same time as the war for nine months, it continued to spread by people returning home after the war ended. In the summer of 1919 the influenza pandemic came to an end.

The influenza pandemic killed more people than World War 1.

WHAT ROLE DID WOMEN HOLD?

In World War 1 thousands of Australian women became nurses, they served overseas in places like Egypt, England, France, Italy, Burma, Greece and India. Nurses in World War 1 faced challenges like staff shortages, exposure to disease, inadequate food supplies, fresh water and medical equipment. Nurses often worked close to battlefields which meant that they were exposed to shelling aerial bombardment. An Australian nurse Sister Alicia Kelly shielded her patients heads with enamel wash basins and bedpans during a bombing raid in August 1917.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic

www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zs3wpv4#z3n4mp3

http://www.foot-pain-explored.com/trench-foot.html

Anzac Centenary - World War One History