Casualty Clearing Stations in Belgium during WW2

[andemu]

Hello,
I am doing some research about a Casualty Clearing Station, CCS (something like a field hospital). Periode  end 1944 -1945, possible during the second battle of Nijmegen (Holland). This CCS was at the city Lokeren, Belgium (between Ghent and Antwerp). There was also a dental station in a truck.
We know that there was a field hospital, we know the street where it was and we have some prenames of soldiers who work there (Tag and Bill who wife was living in Canada). It  was from the Canadian army.  But we have no information about the regiment or unit. Is there any possibility to find out more. It's starting from zero I know but it's a part of the history of our village in world war 2.
All kind of information is very welcome
Thanks in advance
Andre

 

[old medic]

Would you have some more exact dates?
Ideally, a photo with some of their signs.

Some CCS's were independent units, other times there were formed from
within a field ambulance for short durations.

 

[Blackadder1916]

You may be able to find the information you seek in the following publication (or at least use it as a starting point in your search):

Official History of the Canadian Medical Services, 1939-1945, Vol 1 Organization and Campaigns

It is available for downloading as a PDF at this Canadian Forces Directorate of History and Heritage webpage.

 

[old medic]

Had some time to dig around and hit the books.

Lokeren Belgium liberated by the 1st Polish Armoured Division (2nd Canadian Corps)
on 12 September 1944.

http://users.telenet.be/Atlantikwall-15tharmy/Liberation.htm

2 September 1944 to 3 November 1944

On 12 September the 1st Polish Armoured Division (2nd Canadian Corps) continued mopping up the northern suburbs of Gent, facing enemy pillboxes and strongpoints. In spite of enemy counterattacks which gained some initial success the 3rd Rifle Brigade reached the line of the river Lieve, some 5 kilometres north of Gent. 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade occupied the Lokeren - Sinaai - Sint-Niklaas area. For the next days, while 3rd Rifle Brigade gradually increased its holding north of Gent, the Cavalry Brigade continued to overrun the eastern sector of the division's area of responsibility.


On 22 September news was received that the 1st Polish Armoured Division (2nd Canadian Corps) should be moved to the east of Antwerp as soon as it had cleared its present operational area east of the Gent-Terneuzen canal. However, the division did not move to its newly-assigned area until 27 September, and until that day it spent its time in harbour and patrol activities in the area Lokeren-Sint-Niklaas-Temse-Axel-Terneuzen.

According to the RCAMC history, the Canadian unit you are probably looking for is
No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station.

You will find this in the link Blackadder1916 posted above.

The first day of September found the 4th Canadian Armoured Division on the
road. By 4 September the whole division was across the Somme preparing to move
forward to Bruges. For the move forward field ambulances were attached to brigades,
with one or two sections detached to serve main and rear divisional headquarters. No. 12
Canadian Field Dressing Station moved at the rear of the column. During the advance a
hospital was taken at Soex, complete with German medical staff. An officer of No. 12
Canadian Light Field Ambulance was left in charge of this group as the column moved
forward. Another hospital building at Dixmude was taken over by No. 12 Canadian Field
Dressing Station on 8 September, thus relieving to some extent the long evacuation route
from the field ambulances back to the advanced surgical centre at Hardinghen.
By 13 September Bruges was in Canadian hands, and on the following
day an unsuccessful attempt was made to force a crossing of the Leopold

Canal. Casualties in the Algonquin Regiment were heavy; over 50 cases were cleared.
From 16 September to the end of the month no further crossing was attempted though the
4th Armoured continued to patrol the canal, and casualties, including sick, were
comparatively light, averaging only 69 daily for the whole division. For this type of
operational employment field ambulances remained attached to brigades with sections
detached to serve headquarters and administrative areas. Evacuation of casualties was to
the advanced surgical centre and No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at Lokeren
until 25 September, when a Corps advanced surgical centre was opened at Eecloo.

 

[andemu]

Hello to all,
Thanks for the your information. I have take a quickly look into that large book and its amazing that they speek about 'Lokeren'.
It looks that I can resume as follow:

N° 3 Canadian Casuality Clearing Station which start in Lokeren on 17th September and stay there till 25th September,  leave then to Eecklo.  There was also an Advanced Surgial Center.

N° 5 Canadian Field Dressing Station leave Lokeren on 16th October and goes to Hoogboom

So they will be there from 17/9 till 16/10 = 1 month

Is it possible to get some War Diary (some reports from the unit) of  this period?

Sorry for some mistakes in my "school English" but I hope that you understand it.
Best regards
Andre

 

[Tharris]

Andre:

Library and Archives Canada has several War Diaries available online or at the very least provides a reference to them.  See link

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/

If nothing turns up PM me and I will pester some contacts.

Kind Regards,

-T.

 

[andemu]

Hello,
Can somebody tell me what's the meaning of next abbreviations , found in war diarees of the 3 CCS:

to the D.D.M.S.
3th N.E.T.D.
9th Canadian F.D.S.

From cars: (images available?)
ACC car
MAC ambulances
TCV

Is this correct:  GWS = gun shot wound
"A" time = wintertime
provost = military police or head of the MP's

What is a " orderly room" in a CCS

Thanks in advances
best regards
Andre

 

[Old Sweat]

I can help with a number of your queries as I have a collection of Second World war pamphlets, but a few have stumped me..

to the D.D.M.S. Deputy Director of Medical Services
3th N.E.T.D. Non-Effectives Transient Depot
9th Canadian F.D.S. Field Dressing Station

From cars: (images available?)
ACC car
MAC ambulances Motor Ambulance Convoy
TCV Troop Carrying Vehicles

Is this correct:  GWS = gun shot wound
"A" time = wintertime  "A" denotes the A time zone which is used on the continent and is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
provost = military police or head of the MP's Correct

What is a " orderly room" in a CCS An orderly room is the office where the unit clerks complete the paper work involved with the administration of the CCS as well as the various reports and returns involved with handling the casualties.

 

[Gunner98]

GWS sometimes refers to:  Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field

ACC could refer to Ambulance or Allied Casualty Collection

 

[mariomike]

ACC could refer to Ambulance or Allied Casualty Collection

I guess S.T. is correct. We had two of them in Toronto, and they were directly from the Government of Canada. Early 1950's vintage. They were never used, and never responded to anything, but, I well remember my partner and I regularly taking them for nocturnal expressway runs so the engines did not seize up. They were called: Casualty Collection Units CCU's. They were for Cold War civil defence from Emergency Measures Organization EMO. The equipment inside was sealed and never checked, as far as I know. Lots of moldy green canvas, I remember. Nobody seemed to know much about them.
They were originally stockpiled in Ottawa, to be distributed across Canada via rail or truck in case of emergency. It was all in crates. But, EMO decided they wanted two permanently stationed in Metro. It was all new stuff that was never used, and eventually discarded.

I was told today by a T-EMS supervisor who is much better informed than I am, that a lot of it was high-end stuff, such as dental equpment. He actually saw the Casualty Collection stock piles in Ottawa.

The ones that I remember from the 1970's are long gone, but they have been replaced with new ones in roll-off  containers that we have trucks for:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/program/emu/ness/ccu_storage.html

They can be picked up at HQ and dropped off and left at a scene:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gopherit2/4859171676/in/photostream/

 

[Blackadder1916]

Old Sweat beat me to it, but I can provide a little more clarification

D.D.M.S. Deputy Director of Medical Services - the senior Medical Officer in a corps headquarters (his counterpart in a division HQ was the A.D.M.S.  i.e. "Assistant").  Besides being the medical advisor to the corps commander, he (along with his very small staff) also exercised medical operational and technical control over the medical units in the corps.

F.D.S. Field Dressing Station - an RCAMC unit that provided sustaining care for casualties between the dressing stations of the field ambulances (brigade/division units) and the basic level of hospitalization found at a Casualty Clearing Station.

Motor Ambulance Convoy - a Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) unit that provided ambulances for movement of patients rearward of the division.  In the Canadian Army at the beginning of the war, the M.A.C.s were originally organized as RCAMC units but once overseas they were renamed/rebadged as RCASC units following the British model.

The "ACC car" has me stumped, but I have a feeling I have seen this before and should know what it means.  Since notations in the diary differentiate between (ambulance) cars of "ACC'' and "MAC", it possibly could be an indication that the "ACC" refers to the ambulance vehicles integral to a field ambulance.  It may also mean "Ambulance Car Company" in reference to the title used for the ambulance units provided by the "American Field Service" (a civilian volunteer organization).  However, I wasn't aware that the AFS had been active in the Canadian Army area of NW Europe during WW2.  They were more associated with the Middle East, Africa, Italy, India and with the Free French.

 

[andemu]

Thanks to all who help me, and for the quick answers, very nice.
best regards to all
Andre

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . . . . found in war diarees of the 3 CCS:

From cars: (images available?)
ACC car
MAC ambulances
TCV

ACC could possibly mean "Army Car Company".  This would refer to an RCASC unit that provided transport support at the army headquarters level.  Since you indicate that these are notations in the war diary, could you provide an example of how they are used?  When seen in context of a diary entry, it may provide a clue as to its meaning.

 

[Tharris]

I would have to see the documents in question but I have seen ACC refer to Army Catering Company (at least on the Brit side) so the cars could be there to provide food to the wounded (just throwing it out there).  I am not sure if the RCASC was divided in the same manner, so this is a speculation.

Kindest Regards,

-T.

 

[mariomike]

I would have to see the documents in question but I have seen ACC refer to Army Catering Company (at least on the Brit side) so the cars could be there to provide food to the wounded (just throwing it out there).  I am not sure if the RCASC was divided in the same manner, so this is a speculation.

If this helps:
"The 1st Canadian Army Catering Corps, Group "A" arrived to control catering, operate the Canadian military hotels and rest areas and to co-ordinate the work of the two RASC Field Bakeries that were attached to them.":
http://rcasc.org/rcasc_hist_breif.html

Edit to add
Canadian Army Catering Corps:
http://28330.vws.magma.ca/en/lastpost/details.asp?alpha=R&offset=600&LastPostData_ID=39023

 

[Tharris]

If this helps:
"The 1st Canadian Army Catering Corps, Group "A" arrived to control catering, operate the Canadian military hotels and rest areas and to co-ordinate the work of the two RASC Field Bakeries that were attached to them.":
http://rcasc.org/rcasc_hist_breif.html

I think that might have hit it on the head - great catch.

 

[Blackadder1916]

I would have to see the documents in question but I have seen ACC refer to Army Catering Company (at least on the Brit side) so the cars could be there to provide food to the wounded (just throwing it out there).  I am not sure if the RCASC was divided in the same manner, so this is a speculation.

Kindest Regards,

-T.

I think this unlikely due to the organization of feeding in the Army.  Generally, individual field units have (and had during WW2) cooks and cooking facilities (kitchen trucks) integral to their organization.  At the beginning of the war, in the Canadian Army (and likewise in the British Army) cooks (and bakers and butchers) were badged to their respective regiments/corps and the quality of catering was dependent on finding a soldier (whether an infantryman, signaller, engineer . . . ) who could cook or could learn some basic cooking skills while remaining in his parent unit.  By 1942, all army cooks had been badged to the RCASC (and earlier in the British Army to the RASC - Army Catering Corps) and there were established standards and training that cooks had to meet.  The rebadging of these pers did not change the establishments of the units - the (now rebadged to RCASC) cooks were still within the individual units.

RCAMC Casualty Clearing Stations (despite a name that suggests a function rather than a unit) were self contained units that had all the trappings of other units of company and larger size including an administrative element that had cooks and cooking equipment.  Being a medical unit that provided hospitalization of patients it would have been even more important that they were capable of their own catering rather than relying on cooked food being provided from a larger central kitchen (?possibly located a distance from its position).  There were some centralized food preparation units in the RCASC (and RASC), but they were like the "field bakeries" mentioned in the link from mariomike; they were units that prepared items (like loaves of bread and butchered meat) for distribution by the normal supply system.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Found some further info about MAC and ACC (Ambulance Car Company).  While Motor Ambulance Convoys were RCASC units (as well as in the RASC) I haven't found any information that Ambulance Car Companies were established in the Canadian Army.  It is possible they were only RASC motor transport units.

This is from a site/thread that discussed war establishments of RASC motor transport units in 21st Army Group.
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/rasc/28507-motor-transport-units-rasc.html

NON DIVISIONAL UNITS (MEDICAL)

Motor Ambulance Convoy
The Motor Ambulance Convoy was a Corps unit used for evacuating casualties to Casualty Clearing Stations. These were originally Corps units but were removed to Army control later. Motor Ambulance Convoys were driven and maintained by the RASC but were operated under the control of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Headquarters of a Mechanical Transport Company
The headquarters will have the following additions
Captain
batman
cook ACC
2 X Transport Platoons each with five sections of ambulances.
1 X Transport Platoon with four sections of ambulances and one section of troop carrying lorries for walking wounded.
2 X Relief Driver Increments
1 X Workshop Platoon, Serial 3.
A Medical Platoon RAMC, War Establishment III/178/1, was attached.

Note:
Lmg section weapons, personnel and vehicles were deleted from company and platoon headquarters in a Motor Ambulance Convoy Company.


Ambulance Car Company (Lines of Communication)
This provided transport for casualties on the Lines of Communication.
Headquarters of a Mechanical Transport Company
The headquarters will have the following additions
Captain
batman
cook ACC
4 X Transport Platoon each with five sections, four sections operated four berth
ambulance cars while the fifth section operated 3ton troop carrying lorries.
2 X Relief Driver Increments
1 X Workshop Platoon, Serial 3.
A Medical Platoon RAMC War Establishment IV/119/1 could be attached.
Note:
Lmg section weapons, personnel and vehicles were deleted from company and platoon headquarters in an Ambulance Car Company.

Each platoon had five sections, each of six task vehicles. Four sections operated four berth ambulance cars while the fifth section operated 3ton troop carrying lorries.

 

[andemu]

To Tavor,
I attach here the pdf page from the war diary where the talk about ACC cars.
best regards
Andre