The film possibly dates from 26 October 1943 at Methil or Leith. Standard medical supplies were bandages, soap, needles and bedpans, and patients were issued with a clean pair of sheets.

In addition to their sailing crew, these seventeenth century hospital ships were staffed by a surgeon and four surgeons mates. Travel shots from train carrying ex-POWs from port.Īmendment October 2014: A visitor to the site has written in to say the ship in the film is the Empress of Russia, not the Atlantis. In 1691 there were four hospital ships in service, rising to five in 1693 and six in 1696. Some injured ex-Prisoners are helped ashore. A military band is playing on the quay - lots of cheering and singing 'Roll Out The Barrel'. They usually had the task of carrying the wounded to large field hospitals far from the front, but had the medical staff to care for the wounded during the trip. The Royal Navy alone had 77 Hospital ships on service by 1918. Shots of POWs being repatriated in port - possibly Liverpool. Prestigious and massive ships of the transatlantic lines were used, such as the imposing RMS Aquitania and HMHS Britannic. A New Zealand pilot who was shot down over France. Following the sinking of sister ship USS Benevolence (AH-13) off fog-bound San Francisco in August 1950, Haven was taken out of reserve and commissioned 15 September 1950. Shot of ship - possibly 'Empress of Russia'. With the outbreak of the Korean War, hospital ships were desperately needed. They talk about the quality of the Red Cross food parcels. Others included the hospital ship Abessieh. One of the men says he was in Stalag 20 B. Members of the Queen Alexandras Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) served aboard them on the wards. One talks about the poor quality of the food. She was delivered to and accepted by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), Pacific, on 26. Consequently, Repose was transferred to the Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, on 20 July 1950 and ordered activated at the earliest possible date. Shots of the Swedish hospital ship 'Atlantis'.īritish Prisoners of War (POWs) are standing together - they are being interviewed for the camera before being going home. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, however, created a desperate need for hospital ships.

Korean war hospital ships