#Dunkirk80 #Dunkirk1940 A thread concerning the happenings of 133 & 132 Field Ambulances, 44th Div on this day 80 years ago. These RAMC units are often forgotten, lost in the fog of war or just ignored but they, and the men running them, deserve recognition too...1

On this day, 133 were running the divisional MDS in a farm at Blanche Maison, south of Bailleul. They were exceptionally busy this day, taking in casualties from the fighting in the Foret de Nieppe. By the time they closed at 9 that night over 200 had passed through... 2

My father later recalled the day "I remember one casualty who came in with terrible abdominal wounds. He was a young man of similar age to myself - say nineteen or twenty - with red hair. His skin had a green complexion to it, presumably the result of the injuries and shock... 3

"It was clear that we could do nothing to save this man’s life so the doctors just gave him high levels of morphine to ease the pain, and he was then moved to a corner of the room and left to die. I still see that young mans face today, it was terrible... 4

The 5 men were buried behind the farm, using slit trenches previously dug to provide cover. I've not been able to find the ID of these men, but I think we found the farm, 4 years ago today. Unlike @Dunkirk_1940 I didn't have the nerve to knock on the door...5

On the same day 132 (and 131) were operating ADS's and collecting posts along the Neuf Berquin-Vieux Berquin road, evacuating casualties back to the MDS run by 133. 132's HQ and B Company were back at Nouveau Monde on the outskirts of Bailleul... 6

Despite being under constant fire for the last few days the 3 units had not suffered any casualties, but that changed after 132's B Company was dive bombed the following morning. Ted Gedge, a Chaplain attached to the unit wrote about the vents in his diary... 7

"I didn’t waste time getting into the ditch I was walking along. The whistle of the diving machines & the scream of the bomb falling were rather worse than the explosion over the top of the ditch. It was quickly over...found the nearest bomb had dropped about 20 yards away... 8

"The only casualty being the man from Redhill who was killed by the blast while running to the trenches. I buried him in the afternoon at the corner of a wood". L/Cpl John Forest Lewis Creffield was just 19 & today he lies in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension...9.

More tomorrow, I hope some find this thread of interest and apologies for any errors, this is not something I do that often #Dunkirk80 #Dunkirk1940