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Royal Army Medical Corps




The RAMC does not carry a Regimental Colour or Queen's Colour . Nor does it have Battle Honour s, as elements of the corps have been present in almost every single war the army has fought. Because it is not a fighting arm, under the Geneva Convention , members of the RAMC may only use their weapons for self-defence. For this reason, there are two traditions that the RAMC perform when on parade:
  • Officers do not draw their swords - instead they hold their scabbard with their left hand while saluting with their right.

  • Other Ranks do not fix Bayonets .



HISTORY


Medical services in the British military go as far back as the formation of the Regular Army after the Restoration in 1660 ; each Regiment had its own Regimental Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon. In 1898 , Officer s and Soldier s providing medical services were incorporated into one body known by its present name, the Royal Army Medical Corps.

The RAMC began to develop during the Boer War, but it was during the First World War that it reached its apogee both in size and experience. During Britain's colonial days the RAMC had set up clinics and hospitals in countries where British troops could be found. In modern times it has once again contracted and its main bases, the Queen Alexandra Hospital Millbank, and the Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot, are now closed, with the majority of work concentrated at Haslar, near Portsmouth.


Colonels-in-chief




SUCCESSIVE CHANGES IN TITLE


  • Medical Staff Corps (1855–1857) (other ranks only)

  • Army Hospital Corps (1857–1884) (other ranks only)

  • Army Medical Department (1873–1898) (officers only)

  • Medical Staff Corps (1884–1898) (other ranks only)

  • Royal Army Medical Corps (1898–present)



SEE ALSO




REFERENCES


  • Blair, J.S.G. ''Centenary History of the Royal Army Medical Corps, 1898–1998''. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1998.

  • Brereton, F.S. ''The Great War and the RAMC.'' London: Constable, 1919.

  • Lovegrove, P. ''Not Least in the Crusade.'' A Short History of the RAMC. Gale and Polden, 1955.



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