An American Ambulance, by Frederic Villiers (1851–1922). 1914. Source: Villiers 89.
For all its horrors, and tragic cost, war also gives opportunities for heroism, self-sacrifice, and extraordinary humanitarianism: it brings out the best as well as the worst of human nature. Villiers gives a glowing account of the American volunteer ambulance staff who tended the wounded right from the start of World War I, and notes that alongside them worked many from the arts, who were in Paris when the war broke out, and even tourists who wanted to contribute in some way to the war effort:
Long before the United States came into the war many volunteer Ambulance Corps had been formed by American citizens in France. The services of hundreds of young men from the United States were gratuitously given, and much good work was done to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded in the early days of the campaign. Sometimes I would join the ambulances at work. Many of the volunteers were painters, sculptors, authors and students working at the ateliers in Paris, with a sprinkling of tourists who were on the grand tour when the war broke out. They all worked with splendid enthusiasm. They would dash down to outlying stations with their motors, secure the weary wounded from the trains and hurry them to the base hospitals. Most wounded lose their caps while fighting, or coming down in the trains. Therefore, directly they arrived, white woolen skullcaps were fixed over head and ears, and then, before they were taken to the base, hot tea, coffee, or cocoa were administered, and then they were gently shifted to the waiting cars and driven to the hospitals. [87]
The tiny detail of the woollen caps is particularly moving. Villers saw with an artist's eye, and with empathy. The very word "gently" at the end is telling: he noted and responded feelingly to the kindness he witnessed.
Scanned image and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. [You may use the image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned it, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Villiers, Frederic. Days of Glory: the sketch book of a veteran correspondent at the front. New York: George H. Doran, 1920. Internet Archive, from a copy in the State Library of Pennsylvania. Web. 28 April 2025.
Created 28 April 2025