Ayrshire general practitioner Charles McKerrow was appointed
regimental medical officer (RMO) to the 10th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers
in 1915. At this time, fundamental restructuring of the military medical service on
the Western Front had two main effects: surgical capability was moved forward as
close to the front as possible and specialist stretcher bearers were trained to apply
emergency first aid at the place of injury and to triage casualties appropriately. The
specialist stretcher bearers were the equivalent of today’s combat medical
technicians. The reorganisation was undertaken in a rapid, improvised ‘bottom-up’
manner and there are very few official records to detail the process. McKerrow and
RMOs of his calibre were integral to the successful implementation and operation
of this reorganisation so their personal archives are the primary sources for its
history. McKerrow’s record is particularly detailed and insightful on the process; he
was not only an extraordinarily fine medical officer but also provided expert
testimony on a period of military medical change that was enduringly successful.
