The Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt Part 21

"A word must be said here about the work of the Red Cross Stores. The object of the Red Cross has never been to supply in any large quant.i.ties the goods which the War Office sends to the wounded, but it does its best to provide the troops with such things as the War Office does not supply at all or cannot supply at a given time. A State Department, bound as it rightly is by hard-and-fast rules, cannot work as quickly as a private body with more elastic regulations; moreover, the supplies of any department may change at times, hence it happens that the British Red Cross occasionally supply certain things more than the War Office can, or it may supplement the War Office supplies, and it does so until the War Office steps in again. Further, the Red Cross supplies many things or small luxuries which the authorities cannot possibly supply, and these are just the things which are most appreciated by the sick and wounded."

In other words, the function of the Red Cross is to a.s.sist over and above necessity, and to be ready to act in event of emergency.

The following lists of the Australian Branch and Egyptian Branch of the British Red Cross show that in both cases, but particularly in the case of the Australian Branch, the Red Cross is supplying articles which should clearly be supplied by Government. There is considerable danger in allowing this system to become too largely developed. In the first place in the case of the Red Cross there is no rigid system of accountancy such as military regulation requires, and the natural tendency for commanders will be to get goods in the easiest possible manner; nevertheless, it may not be the best thing for the service.

The British Red Cross safeguards the practice more fully than the younger branch, and its lead might well be followed. (See Lists on pp.

212-216.)

AUSTRALIAN BRANCH BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY

LIST OF ARTICLES IN RED CROSS STORES WHICH MUST BE REQUISITIONED FOR BY COMMANDING OFFICERS OF UNITS FOR THE CARE OF THE SICK AND WOUNDED AND WHERE THERE IS NO RED CROSS STORE.

1916

_To the Commissioners, Australian Branch British Red Cross Society, Shepheard's Hotel, Cairo._

Please send to ---------------- the following articles:

Quant.i.ty Description

_Clothing_

Balaclava Caps Cardigans Cholera Belts *Cus.h.i.+ons, Air * " Ordinary Dressing Gowns Facewashers Fly Veils Gloves *Handkerchiefs Mittens *Mosquito Nets m.u.f.flers *Pillows *Pillow Slips Pneumonia Jackets *Pyjamas, Cotton * " Flannel *Quilts *Sheets *s.h.i.+rts, Cotton * " Flannel * " Hospital *Shoes, Deck *Slippers, Hospital *Socks * " Bed *Surgeons' Ap.r.o.ns * " Caps * " Gowns * " Swabs *Towels * " Gla.s.s Underpants, Cotton " Flannel Unders.h.i.+rts, Cotton " Flannel

_Foodstuffs_

Allenbury's Diet " Food Arrowroot Beef Extract Benger's Food Biscuits Bovril Brandy Ceregen Chocolate Cocoa Cocoa-and-Milk Coffee Essence Coffee-and-Milk Condensed Milk Cornflour Cornina Fruits, Dried " Tinned Glaxo Horlick's M. Milk Jam Jelly Crystals Lactogen Lime Juice Linseed Meal Malt Extract Oatmeal Pickles Plum Puddings Port Wine Robinson's Barley " Groats Semolina Soda Water Sweets Tapioca Tinned Rabbits " Tomatoes " Tripe " Vegetables

_General_

*Absorbent Wool *Bandages *Bed Cradles * " Rests * " Screens Books *Brushes, Hair * " Nail * " Tooth *Camp Stools Cigarettes *Combs *Crutches *Deck Chairs Eau-de-Cologne Envelopes Fly Veils Fly Whisks Gramophone Needles *Hospital Basins *Hot-water Bottles Housewives *Insectibane Looking-gla.s.ses Matches *Medicine Gla.s.ses Old Linen *Oil Heaters Pencils Periodicals Pipes *Primus Stoves *Razors *Razor Strops *Rubber Sheeting *Safety Pins *Smoked Gla.s.ses *Soap, Monkey Brand *Soap, Shaving * " Toilet *Splints *Sponges *Tables, Folding *Thermometers Tobacco *Toilet Paper Tooth Paste *Vaseline Writing Pads

_Note A._--As a general rule the Commissioners only supply goods that cannot be obtained from either Ordnance Dept. Army Service Corps, or Base Medical Depot Stores. Any O.C. requisitioning for goods of a kind properly obtainable from those sources should state on the requisition that the goods applied for cannot be obtained from the usual source.

_Note B._--Regimental Medical Officers can obtain their requirements from the O.C. of the nearest Field Ambulance, who will forward requisitions to Red Cross.

---------------- Officer in charge of Hospital.

[All the articles marked * were permanent Government issues, and any of the foodstuffs would have been supplied by Government if necessary.

There was no practical difficulty in obtaining any articles from Government on proper application being made.]

BRITISH RED CROSS AND ORDER OF ST. JOHN

_No. of Patients_ -------- _For the Use of Patients_

LIST OF ARTICLES IN RED CROSS STORES WHICH MAY BE REQUISITIONED FOR.

---------------- 191

_To the Commissioner_, _British Red Cross and Order of St. John_ _Gresham Buildings, Cairo._

Please send to ---------------- the following articles:

Quant.i.ty Description

B.D.M.S. Air Beds (Rubber) Air Rings (Rubber) B.D.M.S. Air Cus.h.i.+ons (Rubber) Ash Trays Balaclava Helmets B.D.M.S. Bandages Bandage Winders B.D.M.S. Bellows (for Air Beds) O.D. Bed Pans O.D. Bed Rests O.D. Bed Trays Bed Jackets Bed Pockets O.D. Blankets Blacking B.D.M.S. Boric Lint Books and Magazines Boot Brushes A.S.C. Bovril Biscuits Brandy O.D. Camp Stools O.D. Caps O.D. Cardigans Carrying Chairs Cholera Belts Chocolate A.S.C. Cigarettes Cloths (Pantry and Kitchen) O.D. Combs B.D.M.S. Cotton Wool B.D.M.S. Crutches Dressing Gowns Dressings Deck Chairs Eau-de-Cologne Face Flannels Face Nets Fans O.D. Fly Whisks Fly Veils Food Slicers O.D. Feeding Cups Games B.D.M.S. Gauze Tissue Goulas Gramophones Hair Brushes O.D. Handkerchiefs Head s.h.i.+elds O.D. Hot-water Bottles and covers B.D.M.S. Ice Bags Jug Covers Kit Bags B.D.M.S. Linen (Old for Bandages) A.S.C. Matches Mirrors O.D. Mosquito Netting O.D. Mugs, Enamelled O.D. m.u.f.flers Mittens Nail Brushes Nightingales Officers' Outfits Operation Stockings O.D. Overalls O.D. Pants Pencils Pipes O.D. Pillows O.D. Pillow Cases Playing Cards Pneumonia Jackets Post Cards O.D. Pyjamas O.D. Razors Razor Blades Reading Matter Rum B.D.M.S. Rubber Gloves O.D. Shaving Brushes Soap (Toilet) Spirits Stationery Sweets Sun Hats O.D. s.h.i.+rts (Flannel) " (Cotton) " Helpless Case " Helpless Case (Night) O.D. Screens O.D. Sheets O.D. Socks Sponges O.D. Slippers B.D.M.S. Swabs Testaments O.D. Tooth Brushes Tooth Powder A.S.C. Tobacco O.D. Towels O.D. Urinals Vests Walking Sticks Whisky Wool, Absorbent B.D.M.S. Water Beds B.D.M.S. Waterproof Sheeting (Pluviusin)

_Extras_

_Items marked_-- _A.S.C._ (_Army Service Corps_), _O.D._ (_Ordnance Dept._), _B.D.M.S._ (_Base Depot Medical Stores_),

will only be provided by the British Red Cross on the understanding that the Military Departments have been applied to and cannot supply, or that it is a case of grave or unexpected emergency. Such a demand to be supported by signature of O.C. Hospital, which implies he has indented on the department concerned and failed to obtain.

_N.B._--_All indents to be countersigned by the O.C. Hospital._

The British Red Cross has definitely been placed under military control, and the Chief Commissioner has been attached to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief. The work goes on just as usual, but if necessity arose the Commander-in-Chief could exercise his authority.

I understand that in France the Australian Branch British Red Cross has now been placed under military control; the Director of Medical Services, Australian Expeditionary Force, being Chief Commissioner and the other commissioners and officers being graded with various ranks. To me this arrangement is definitely a step in the right direction, though I still think the British system in Egypt is better. The officers of the Red Cross in Egypt have no rank, but are under military direction, and the Chief Civil Commissioner is attached to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief; he has had the rank of Hon. Colonel since the war began. It is interesting, however, to note that the Australian Branch British Red Cross has pa.s.sed through four phases, so far as the work in the field is concerned:

(1) It was a purely military organisation.

(2) When the High Commissioner in Egypt was requested to form a committee it became a combined civil and military organisation.

(3) When the Australian commissioners were appointed it became a purely civil administration.

(4) It has finally become a combined civil and military organisation, in which the military element holds control.

This step further indicates the logical development, in my judgment, of both the Y.M.C.A. and the Red Cross. They should both be regarded as definite branches of the service. They should both be organised in time of peace largely as independent organisations, and as part of the Reserve, and, on declaration of war, they should be incorporated in the service and placed under military control. The function of the one would be to attend to the social wants of the men who are well, the other to attend to the wants of the men who are sick and wounded.

I do not think that any other funds or societies should be permitted to interfere with military arrangements; all those who desire to help with money, with goods, or with personal a.s.sistance could do so through the one channel or the other.

As a corollary to the foregoing it is evident that there should be only one voluntary war fund, which should be placed under the control of a committee representing the Y.M.C.A., the Red Cross, and nominees of the Government and public, who could allocate the money subscribed to the Y.M.C.A. or Red Cross as necessity arose. The following list shows the unnecessary multiplicity of organisations and funds in the State of Victoria alone, viz. at least seventeen societies in a community of about one million and a half people. Even in Egypt enthusiastic people started an "Australian Comforts Fund," a "Soldiers' Outings a.s.sociation," "Camp Welfare a.s.sociation," and so forth, and these bodies simply did for varying periods the work of the Y.M.C.A. or the Red Cross as the case may be, in a more or less patchy way.

MULTIPLICITY OF FUNDS

(_From "The Argus," Melbourne, 1916_)

"WAR RELIEF FUNDS "OBJECTS OUTLINED: A GUIDE TO GIVING

"It is only when one sees the complete list of war relief funds compiled by the State War Council, in connection with its announcement regarding the supervision to be exercised over future collections, that the full extent of the relief organisations and the wide scope covered by the Victorian public's generous giving are appreciated. There are in existence here a score of war funds of one kind or another, and by the devoted efforts of their organisers and the warm-hearted support of the public the lot of our soldiers has been brightened, the burden of pain and suffering borne by the sick and wounded has been eased, a helping hand has been extended to the homeless, broken sufferers of Belgium, Poland, and Serbia, and a gleam of happiness brought to many a home in France whose erstwhile bread-winner is on active service.

"All the Victorian organisations have clearly defined objects, and are working along sound lines. The list of funds is to be increased shortly by the creation of a Repatriation Fund the details of which are now being worked out. The money raised will be devoted to the settling in suitable employment of soldiers who have fulfilled their service. A similar object is aimed at in the repatriation scheme which has been launched with such marked success by Mr. Rodgers, M.H.R. The objects of the other funds, which have been and are doing so much, are thus summarised for the information of the public by officials of the organisations:

"_British Red Cross Society_ "(Australian Branch)