Current Information:

Age-30

34, Delaware Mansions, Maida Vale

The field ambulances provided by the Royal Army Medical Corps were mobile medical units whose function was to provide stretcher bearers to collect the wounded and to give emergency aid before sending them back to Casualty Clearing Stations and then Base Hospitals. Working close to the front line they were often victims themselves of enemy fire, especially the stretcher bearers. 

The Battle of Cambrai

This was a major British offensive on the Western Front that was launched on 20th November, 1917 and lasted through to the beginning of December. As the name suggests it was an attack towards the city of Cambrai and the important German railhead there, which it was hoped would be captured. The battle was notable for two things: the massed use of tanks for the first time and the success of the first day’s fighting when the formidable Hindenburg Line was breached and gains of five miles were made in places. In celebration the church bells throughout Britain were rung. However this success was short lived. The tanks were not reliable and the German defence stiffened as the fighting progressed and when they counter attacked in force on 30th November, the British came under so much pressure that they were forced to withdraw from many of the positions they had captured earlier on. Both sides suffered around 45,000 casualties during the course of the fighting.

60th Field Ambulance was part of 20th Division which, when the Germans attacked on 30th November, 1917, were holding the line from Masnières down to Lateau Wood.  The division was heavily attacked and at some stage during the day John Edmund was killed.