Medic

By John Nicol, Tony Rennell

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The Royal Army Medical Corp has as their motto ‘In Arduis Fideles’; John Nicol and Tony Rennell show in Medic how these men and women armed with bandages and stretchers are indeed ‘Faithful in Adversity’.

Soldiers have traditionally been regarded as ‘cannon fodder’ and left to die on battlefields. Although Julius Caesar had surgeons with his armies, Wellington was contemptuous of doctors; Napoleon however, had innovators in medicine. The Great War had ‘butchers shops’ in dugouts amidst the carnage. It was disease that killed, more than arrows and bullets, until antiseptics were developed. By World War Two advanced technology had created war zones with huge levels of destruction, the horrors suffered by our troops bordering on the unimaginable.
Here is an account of warfare with true stories of valour and human endurance centered on those whose role is vital to saving lives. Mostly unarmed, medical personnel are placed with the front-line troops in the middle of the fighting, for if the injured can be treated immediately, the survival rate is greatly increased.

Compelling, incredibly moving and extremely well told, I defy anyone to come from the experience dry-eyed. Medics are often unsung heroes until the going gets tough and the battle gets bloody.