Salud! : British Volunteers in the Republican Medical Service During the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

ISBN-13: 9781845195199 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 372 str.

Linda Palfreeman

Opis

In this response to the lack of accessible literature on what was surely one of the most important aspects of the conflict health care and medical assistance during wartime this book reviews the enormously valuable contribution of the volunteers who left Britain to serve with the Republican Medical Services during the Spanish Civil War. Acknowledgement is also given to the immense effort and self-sacrifice made by men and women from all walks of life who, working ceaselessly at home, made it possible for the medical teams to function in Spain. The first British Medical Unit in Spain had immense political significance for the Spanish Republic. Barely a month into the start of the civil war and this small group was the first visible sign of international support. It would later become part of the Republican Medical Service and, within that, of the Medical Service of the International Brigades. Not only did volunteers help to create and to maintain an emergency medical service, some of the individuals involved were also responsible for important developments that were of relevance to later military-medical practice and also to the history of medicine in general. Medical personnel generally worked in dreadful conditions, for hours and even days without rest, and with a lack of equipment and provisions of all kinds; that they rose to the challenge is in itself worthy of tribute, but this book details their experiences, giving them the credit they so richly deserve."