COMMONWEALTH MEDICAL CORPS

During World War II, several dozen divisions were formed as part of the British Army, and at the end of the war they served in its ranks about 2.9 million people. However, in the course of the entire conflict, approx. 300 thousand people died. British soldiers, and about 375 thousand. were injured. The Royal Army Medical Corps, established in 1898, was primarily responsible for the medical care of British soldiers. (abbreviated: RAMC), which in turn was part of Army Medical Services. Shortly before the start of World War II, volunteers joining RAMC should meet certain physical conditions and be under 30 years of age. The service lasted 7 years, and the volunteer spent the next 5 years in reserve. From 1938, RAMC soldiers received 6 months of training at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Church Crookham in southern England. It is worth adding that the British medical service in the years 1939-1945 used motorized and air transport on a large scale, as well as began to use the first antibiotics (penicillin) and - successfully - blood transfusions. Incidentally, penicillin was first used on a large scale in the British Army during the 1940-1943 North African campaign.