Network born out of a bloody battle (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Network born out of a bloody battle

11:16am Wednesday 10th June 2009 in

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THE bloody battle of Solferino had a profound influence on world affairs, not only playing a key part in the unification of Italy, but also with establishing the world’s largest humanitarian network – the Red Cross.

Solferino, a small village in northern Italy, bore the brunt of an alliance of France and Sardinia fighting the Austrian army, on June 24, 1859.

That day more 40,000 men were killed or injured and the surrounding villages were overwhelmed by the wounded with many going to a place called Castiglione, where a small medical service attached to the French and Sardinian forces was unable to cope.

Many died from simple wounds due to a lack of knowledge or care.

A passing Swiss businessman called Henry Dunant was appalled by what he saw.

It was this shocking experience which led him to found the International Red Cross in 1863.

This story can be seen at a comprehensive exhibition at Milestones museum in Basingstoke, marking the centenary of the British Red Cross Society in Hampshire.

Comprising material supplied by The Balfour Museum – the Red Cross Museum in Winchester – the exhibition covers not only Henry Dunant, and the inaugural meeting of the Hampshire branch at Winchester Guildhall, on October 1909, but it goes into detail about the international organisation’s role in times of war and peace.

Alan Williams, managing curator of The Balfour Museum, said: “Our exhibition tries to show what the Red Cross is all about and what it stands for, its guiding principles and the work it does.

“It also focuses on the stories of individuals, particularly those from Hampshire.”

In 1909 the Government instigated a scheme for the Organisation of Voluntary Aid and the British Red Cross Society was given the role of providing supplementary aid to the Territorial Forces Medical Service in the event of war.

Units called Voluntary Aid Detachments, known simply as VADs, were formed where men and women were trained in First Aid and nursing.

Mr Williams said: “They were trained initially along military lines by military personnel such as medical orderlies, together with Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps and the training was to a very high level.

“Depending on what level the individual nurses obtained, they could do anything from driving ambulances to being cooks as they were there in a support capacity to the other medical staff.”

With the outbreak of World War One, the British Red Cross Society and St. John Ambulance members, joined forces forming the Joint War Committee (JWC) to administer war time relief work, all under the protection of the Red Cross name and emblem.

Mrs Williams said: “The First World War was a real test for the British Red Cross, not just in Hampshire, but across the country, of how well it could perform and it stood up very well in supporting the other services.”

In between the two world wars, the Red Cross continued with its training programme.

“We set up large training camps to train nurses, who went away to learn how to deal with national emergencies and to prepare themselves in the event of another war,” said Mr Williams.

When war broke out again in 1939, the Red Cross and St John Ambulance joined forces again, this time calling themselves the Joint War Organisation (JWO).

One former VAD who served during World War Two was Judy Stokes, who worked at Park Prewett Hospital.

The psychiatric hospital had been taken over by the Emergency Medical Service to provide beds for civilian and service casualties.

Mrs Stokes, who has been a member of the Red Cross for 65 years, recalled: “My elder sister was in the Red Cross and I was still at school when war broke out, but patients were required for Sunday morning practice and my sister volunteered me.

“So, obviously, when I was old enough, when I had left school, I naturally went into the Red Cross.”

When Mrs Stokes arrived at Park Prewett, she worked in the Plastic Surgery Unit, at Rooksdown House.

The man in charge there was the pioneering plastic and jaw surgeon, Sir Harold Gillies.

“The Red Cross at Park Prewett were mainly employed at Rooksdown House, and we were blissfully unaware we were making history at the time,” said 84-year-old Mr Stokes, who lives in Titchfield, near Fareham. The Rooksdown VADs main roles included assisting in proving dressings, making beds, bathing patients, providing meals and generally being useful.

Before Mrs Stokes could work at the unit, she had to pass a test.

She explained: “It was necessary to go through, what people politely called, the Chambers of Horrors, where we had to look at these photographs of the worst cases, and where our reactions were recorded, because working there wasn’t for everybody.

“But it was extraordinary, once you started working with the patients and getting to know them, you simply didn’t see their injuries – you saw the man underneath.”

Mrs Stokes will be at Milestones museum at Basingstoke Leisure Park on June 24, with other members of the Red Cross on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Solferino.

There, she will be on hand to talk about her experiences with working with the British Red Cross Society, from around 11am to about 3pm.