IN an arena of death, they preserved life. They were the unarmed Gwent men who braved enemy fire to bring the wounded from the hellish killing field of Mametz Wood, where so many Welshmen were to die.

Without their efforts, many more would have lost their lives. Martin Wade tells the story of They were the men of the 130th (St John) Field Ambulance.

Today marks the start of the Battle of the Somme which would result in over a million casualties. A battle within this would become famous in Wales as thousands of her sons died trying to capture Mametz Wood.

The 38th Welsh Division was tasked with seizing the forest during the Battle of the Somme. The plan was for it to be taken on July 7 in a matter of hours, but 400 were killed as they came up against heavy German fortifications and machine-guns and it took five days to take and around 4,000 Allied soldiers died or were injured in the struggle to take it.

The Division was recruited from across the country, but one unit in particular saw many men from Gwent serve together.

The 130th (St John) Field Ambulance, was unique. It was the only medical unit allowed to use ‘St John’ in its title because it took so many of its members from the St John Ambulance.

The men, many of whom were drawn from Monmouthshire towns and villages like Cwmcarn, Pontywaun and Abersychan, were imbued with the St John ethic of lifesaving and doing good for others.

South Wales Argus:

Cwmcarn man Stephen Lyons has spent the last 18 months researching this little-known Welsh unit. In 2014 he and his wife found a trunk in her father’s house containing photos of the 130th and diaries telling of her grandfather's service in the unit. He says he and fellow researcher David Penman have since tried to tell the story of the 130th. He admits it has become “a very moving journey”, adding: “Because of the many personal diaries we have unearthed I have developed an immensely personal bond with the men and officers.”

Those diaries he uncovered tell a vivid and terrible story.

Before the wounded could be treated, they had to be taken from the battlefield. The medics would have to carry them across 2.5 miles to the Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) at Minden Post. There were further dressing stations before the main treatment area around 10 miles away.

The journey was across ground torn up by shell-fire and clogged with mud. The ground had been used by both sides for their trench network which had churned the earth still further.

As medics, the quagmire made their job harder. The wounds caused by bullet and shrapnel would be especially vulnerable to mud, debris and fragments of clothing. In these conditions infection would rapidly set in. The ambulance men were worked hard.

Between July 6-12, the unit treated 112 officers and 2,947 men. Stephen says that one of the most difficult aspects of their job was dealing with the vast numbers of wounded men.

Sgt Frank Sumption from Blackwood recalls the scale of their challenge: “Today (July 11) has been the limit. From the time I came on duty until I went off the place has been simply teeming with wounded. We passed through 700 (wounded) today. You become dead beat by the end of the day.”

The sheer volume of casualties caused other nightmarish problems. The men of the 130th had to take the wounded from Mametz Wood and evacuate them through the trench network which gave them some cover. One of the main trenches was called ‘Caterpillar’, so-called because it meandered through the wood of the same name. The trench connected to another by a ‘T’ junction.

At the height of battle, hundreds of troops would be streaming through the trenches on their way to the front line. Medics like the 130th would be trying to travel the other way. The area could be seen from German gun positions, so to leave the security of the trench would be suicidal. But at times, the medics had no choice but to do this.

In a letter home, Private Timothy Richards told how on one occasion it took them 12 hours to travel 400 yards. He wrote: “One of the boys shouted, ‘Over the top, boys, and take our chances,’ and we were ready for it. An officer waiting to pass us shouted ‘For God’s sake come back.’ Of that we took no notice, as it was the only chance we had to get the boys back.” They left the safety of the trench and risked a journey over open ground.

It was a hellish place. An officer in the unit, Lieutenant Page, told how ‘No Man’s Land’ was full of large craters, and the German trenches were battered to pieces. He wrote: “The stench was awful, and the shell holes were full of blood-stained water.”

Sgt Sumption described the battle with mud and told how the men would take their chances out of the trench.

“The rain out here has made the trenches perfectly dreadful. Shell fire has cut them up and the rain has made it into mud. When our bearers walk up the trenches they sometimes sink up to their thighs and many of them would rather risk a bullet in the open than do it.”

To try and to avoid moving the wounded in sight of the German gunners, the 130th found some deserted German dugouts where the wounded could shelter until darkness fell. Then the medics would have a chance to pluck them to safety. But still this was not without risk. One night they asked for support from 100 cavalrymen. Fresh to the front, they had not yet been under fire. They flinched as the Germans lobbed shells while the unarmed, yet battle-hardened Welsh medics calmly went about their business.

Miraculously, the unit only lost eight men during the entire war. But the first member of the 130th to die in the fight for Mametz Wood met his end in brutal fashion. Lance Corporal William John West from Cwmcarn died when a shell exploded close by, taking his head off. The next day a sniper’s bullet felled William Houston and he died soon after.

As the battle wore on, the men kept working. At 4am On July 11, the regimental diary tells how Capt Anderson of the 130th sought relief for his “extremely exhausted” men. “None was available” the diary noted, adding: “the men of the 130th were obliged to carry on until 5pm.”

Sgt Sumption tells how the unit became quick and adept at their jobs. They used a derelict church dating from 1741 at Morlancourt as their main dressing station.

The men adapted quickly. “We march into the hospital and take up our jobs. We open up and close down the hospital quite mechanically now, the orderlies knowing all their various duties.

“The patients walk up one aisle to the dressing room which is near the altar and when they are dressed they walk down the other. We are all arrayed in white gowns and I should think look very neat.”

During a lull in the fighting they prepare for the rush they know is coming. “All the tables are set out properly, pads of cotton wool are cut, swabs are prepared.”

Professional though they were, there were cases which shook the men.

The diary notes: “A bad case of shell shock came down today. The lad’s companion had been blown to pieces at his side and every now and then he would cry “Greenway’s killed” and would jump with horror. A few men had to hold him down while I gave him morphia hypodermically.”

The story of what the men of the 130th endured and achieved has affected Stephen profoundly.

He admits he is “deeply moved” by the conditions these men endured. He says: “Every day I write a paragraph on our Facebook group page, giving an insight to what the unit was up to 100 years ago on a particular day. I feel as if a part of myself is now forever entangled in their lives.”

The memorial – a Welsh dragon in dull red metal near Mametz Wood where so many Welshmen died is a powerful tribute to the fallen. But those brave men from Gwent who faced danger unarmed, those overlooked men who risked their lives to save many more, should also be remembered.

CREDITS:
Diaries published with kind permission of David Griffiths, grandson of Sgt Frank Sumption and Elizabeth Coggin, granddaughter of Cpt Page.

Regimental diary ref WO/95/2549/2 130th St John Fld Amb War Reg war diary courtesy of the National Archive.

Are you a relative of one the men of the 130th? Find out more here: 130thstjohnfieldambulance.co.uk

You can read more of Lieutenant Douglas Page's diary here.