Light Horse Field Ambulance - Transport

Transport

The light horse field ambulances operated in the Middle East theatre; Egypt, the Sinai peninsula, Palestine and Syria. The methods used to transport the wounded had to operate effectively in the sandy, dusty environment.

Stretcher

As in infantry field ambulances, stretchers were used for transport over short distances, rough terrain or when bearer animals could not be safely employed due to enemy fire.

Cycle stretcher

Unpopular and ineffective, the use of cycle stretchers was abandoned after the Gaza battles.

Sand cart

The mainstay of the transport section was the sand cart, featured wide steel rims and was designed to run over soft sand and drawn by 6 horses or mules. It normally carried 3 stretcher cases. The sand cart was poorly suited to operating on the hard, rough ground of Palestine and Syria, and breakdowns were frequent.

Sand sledge

Used to transport one stretcher case over sand, pulled by two horses.

Light ambulance wagon

Drawn by a four horse team, the light ambulance wagon was designed by Surgeon Colonel W.D.C. Williams. Wagons of this type were taken to Egypt by some of the field ambulance units during the early days of World War I.

Camel cacolet

The camel cacolet was used to carry wounded over long distances on rough terrain that was impassable to wheeled transport. Two types of cacolet were used; the sitting and the lying down type. A pair of patients would be mounted on the camel, either side of the camel's hump.