New insights into the paradigm shift in battlefield medicine in WWIInfo Location More Info Event Information
DescriptionDate: Wednesday 6 December 2023, 16:30-18:00 Location: St. Alphege Buildings 202 and on Teams Organizer: Modern History Research Centre (MHRC) Speaker: Dominic Hodgson (University of Winchester) Medicine, it has been said, progressed more in the four years of the First World War than at any other time. In the early stages, antiquated care and ill-preparedness resulted in many deaths from delayed surgery following lengthy transfers, inadequate initial wound care, rudimentary anaesthetic techniques and understanding of the physiological consequences of injuries.
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More InformationThis talk, organized by the Modern History Research Centre (MHRC), will focus on the experience of the surgeon Kenneth Walker (1882-1966) who later in life became an author and sexual reformer. In 1914, he volunteered to practise in a base hospital in Le Touquet (France) where he was appalled at the condition of men who had endured prolonged evacuation. Later enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps, he ran an advanced operating centre close to the Somme battlefield. He transformed the trench management of shattered thighs by improving splinting, which stabilised painful injuries crucially reducing blood loss and resultant shock. From 1917 he was a visiting member of the Shock Committee in London through which study of the physiology of acute wounding and trialling of corrective techniques were co-ordinated. He ran a “shock centre” on the Western Front and working with colleagues from North America he introduced blood transfusion into the army, with subsequent benefits for post-war civilian practice. Dominic Hodgson is currently a PhD student in History at the University of Winchester, but he is coming from a career in medicine, sharing the same specialty (urology) as Walker whom he has chosen to investigate as a vehicle to throw new light on a wide range of innovations in 20th century medicine, social attitudes, and masculinity. Chairs: Prof. Chris Aldous (University of Winchester) and Graciela Iglesias-Rogers (University of Winchester). Everybody is welcome. Tickets are FREE for all members of the University of Winchester (please register with your university email address) and MHRC subscribers (information on how to subscribe here). Otherwise, Individual entry cost £6 and £3 for concession. Do you want to help us to stand for the pursuance of innovative, rigorous, and independent research in Modern History made accessible to all? Consider giving a Donation (no matter how small), follow our YouTube channel and share this email with colleagues or students who might be interested in the future of Modern History research. And if you don't receive it yet, ask to join our mailing list at [email protected] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||