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concerned, I record with gratitude the invaluable help given to us by
the staff of the Bermondsey Medical Mission Hospital. There was
always a doctor on call for each First Aid Post, usually a general
practitioner, but sometimes one of our own staff, and some of the
doctors of the district helped in this way from beginning to end of
the war period. All the First Aid Posts suffered damage by enemy
action. The Post at the Central Baths was twice damaged, but never
put out of action. The Post at St. Olave's Hospital was partially
wrecked by a high explosive bomb in September, 1940, and had to
be re-established in Rotherhithe Town Hall. Both St. Olave's
Hospital and the Rotherhithe Town Hall were subsequently very
seriously damaged, twice by flying bombs and twice by rockets, and
Guy's Hospital, the only other hospital connected with the Borough,
also suffered damage, but was never totally out of action. The First
Aid and Stretcher Party Post at the Redriff School, in the Surrey
Dock area, was destroyed by fire on the exciting night of Saturday,
September 7th, 1940. It was subsequently replaced by a Mobile
Unit stationed at a Fixed Aid Post in Amos Estate.
The Stretcher Party Posts suffered less severely than the First Aid
Posts and, with the exception of the combined post at Redriff, not
one of them was severely damaged, though every one of them did
receive some damage, and the post at Rotherhithe New Road School
was evacuated on account of a time-bomb and was not re-occupied.
The other Stretcher Party Posts were situated at Neckinger Depot,
St. Olave's Grammar School, Corbett's Passage and Sunderland
Wharf, the latter replacing the Redriff Stretcher Party Post. From
the outbreak of war until June, 1940, Mr. J. Blake was in charge of the
stretcher parties; at that time he was transferred for whole-time
work with the controller, where he subsequently gained the George
Medal, and the parties were then put in the charge of Mr. W. A.
Campbell (Factories Inspector). When Mr. Campbell took over this
work there were about 250 men employed in the service and thirty
second-hand cars were in use. There were constant difficulties with
the cars, which broke down frequently and caused us much worry.
So far as the force itself was concerned, the men worked willingly
and hard whenever they were called to an incident, but there were
long spells of idleness and as no code of discipline had been laid down
by the Government a high degree of tact and considerable weight of
personality was called for in the officer controlling them. In April
1942, the Stretcher Parties were merged in the Rescue Service and
became Light Rescue squads, which, by agreement with the Controller,
were transferred to his department.
Apart from their work at incidents, the Stretcher Party men gave
much valuable aid in other directions, such, for instance, as in the
removal of furniture from bombed houses, the distribution of food
and the carriage of stores. We were often by their means enabled to
repay some of the multitudinous debts owed to the W.V.S., who