the Ulster Volunteers Women's Ambulance Corps Saturday 27 Jun. 1914
Ulster Volunteers Women's Ambulance Corps. Operations near Cookstown While the men of the 5th Battalion of the Tyrone Regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force, whose headquarters is at Cookstown, have been perfecting themselves in drill and marksmanship under their commander, Mr. T MacGregor GREER J.P., the women have not been idle. Inspired largely by Mrs. MacGregor GREER, they have been fitting themselves for hospital work by attending first aid and nursing classes, which have been held all over the district for the last eighteen months or more. The efficiency of these auxiliaries was put to the test on Friday afternoon at Tullylagan, placed at the disposal of the force by Mr. and Mrs. MacGregor GREER, when field operations on the largest scale yet attempted in Ulster, took place and demonstrated the value of the ambulance detachments. Tullylagan, it should be said, has been selected as a base hospital for the district. The large hall in the yard, heated by hot water and lit by electricity and well ventilated, has already been fitted up and is ready at a moment's notice. Eight beds are provided and twelve more can be accommodated, in addition to an operating theatre, isolation ward and kitchen, reception and other administrative rooms, pack and valuable stores and an outpatients department on the ground floor. It is complete in every detail, down to a furnace for the destruction of refuse. The general idea of the field work was that news had been received that an engagement was likely to take place in the neighbourhood of Tullyhogue. The hospital staff was at once mobilised by despatch riders and signallers who summoned the members of the Nursing and Medical Corps attached to the 5th Battalion. Lady signallers were stationed to receive news from the front and when the engagement began the stretcher squads moved off to the scene of action. There were almost 100 men engaged in this work, 22 of whom came from Bush, Ballinakelly and Duncreevy companies of the Dungannon Battalion and all were under the command of Rev. F. M. MOERAN, M.A. They were followed by the members of the Mobile Nursing Corps who set up an advanced dressing station as near to the fighting line as possible. This consisted of a tent supplied with all necessary appliances, drugs, beef tea, brandy, milk, etc., while a "French Kitchen", constructed by the nurses, of sods, provided plenty of hot water. The ladies mustered to the number of 125, every one of whom had gained a certificate in first aid and in nursing. At their head was Miss RUXTON, assistant county director of Herefordshire British Red Cross society, who is director of the hospital, while the lady superintendent is Mrs. ACTON. Devon 22, British Red Cross society. Miss GREG, who saw a great deal of active work as a nurse in the Balkans during the recent war and is at present staying with Mrs SCOTT at Elm Lodge, Dungannon, was also in the ranks, having volunteered her services to the U.V.F. The staff nurses also included Miss D. ROBINSON, sister King's College Hospital, London; Mrs. FORREST, Cookstown and Miss M'CAUBREY, Cookstown. Mrs. GREER herself acts as matron and the duties of quartermaster are efficiently performed by Miss ADAIR (who supplemented the local class training with a course in a London hospital recently) and she is assisted by Miss RAMSEY. The out-patients€™ department is in charge of Miss HASSARD and the operating theatre is under Mrs. STEELE, while Mrs. BYERS is responsible for the kitchen The nurses, it should be said, were chiefly from the Cookstown, Coagh and Tamlaghmore detachments, supplemented by a contingent from Killyman and Newmills, forming a detachment under Mrs SCOTT. The ladies in charge of the different detachments were; Miss BURGES, Mrs. GARDNER, Miss ADAIR, Mrs. ACTON, Miss ELDER, Miss GREG and Mrs. LEEPER. Mrs WHEELER of the Medical Board Belfast, was also present, while Mrs. M'AFEE who is superintendent of the ambulance detachment at Omagh, also visited the hospital.The medical staff consisted of Dr GRAVES, Cookstown, Dr BURGESS J.P, Coagh, Dr ELLIOTT, Cookstown and Dr. KNIGHT, Cookstown; while Dr WILSON, Dungannon and Dr. M'KINNEY, Sheffield, were also present. Altogether sixteen 'wounded men' were brought in on stretchers and treated in the hospital. They were sent out, in the first place, with labels tied to their coats, stating the nature of the injury supposed to be received and were directed to lie down in the grass in the direction of the line of fire. A few were placed in adjacent fields to give the nurses work at once, but the bulk were sent over the river into the townland of Lisnanane. The stretcher bearers in squads of four, set out in search of the wounded, being directed by the signallers. They carried splints and bandages, as well as water bottles and other restoratives, and when a man was discovered, first aid was administered as in actual warfare, except that they had not to diagnose the injury, which was stated on the label. They had, however, to bandage the patient as carefully, as if the fractures or hemorrhage was real and their work was afterwards checked by the doctors in the hospital. The staff at the dressing station were under the charge of Mrs. CROTHERS and their duty was to administer restoratives and look after the field bandaging before the patients were sent to the base hospital. Prior to the field operations the nurses and stretcher bearers were reviewed by Colonel DAVIS, honorary secretary to the medical board of €œthe U.V.F. Subsequently, he gave a short address to those engaged, in the course of which he expressed his great pleasure at seeing so many people who had joined the ambulance classes and at their great keenness. Mrs MacGregor GREER offered a hearty welcome to Colonel DAVIS to the 5th Battalion of the Tyrone U.V.F. especially as he was a Tyrone man, born in Dungannon. (applause.) Mrs. SCOTT, on behalf of the ladies who came from Dungannon battalion, briefly expressed their thanks to Mr and Mrs. GREER for giving them an opportunity to take part in the field day. Mr MacGregor GREER said that they were glad to see the workers in the Volunteer Force at Tullylagan at any time. It should be mentioned that the signalling was in charge of Mr. VERVON, chief of the Tyrone Signalling Corps, who also assisted in marshalling the nurses. Transcribed by Teena from the Larne Times Cheers! https://cotyrone.com/ _______________________________________________ UlsterAncestry@cotyrone.com UlsterAncestry Mailing List Searchable Archives: https://www.mail-archive.com/ulsterancestry@cotyrone.com/ https://lists.cotyrone.com/mailman/listinfo/ulsterancestry Website: https://cotyrone.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoTyroneIrelandGenealogy/
