(tlintea! anb other 1Rotes.

Transcription

1 579 (tlintea! anb other 1Rotes. A CANAL BARGE ADAPTED FOR TilE TRA:'lSPORT OF WOUKDED. By W. EnKES'l' NELBOK. Commandant, Warwick, No.1I, Delachmr.:lIl. TilE following is a short account of bow an ordiuary oanal barge was fitted out for the transport of the wounded, at a Red Cross Inspection held at W.. rwick on June 29, 1912, by the Henley-in-Mden Men's Detachment (Warwick, No. 11) of the British Red Cross Society's Voluntary Aid Detachments. The barge provided on this occasion was an ordinury canal coal barge. Theso barges measure some 60 ft. to 70 ft. in total length. Some have a covel'ed cabin a.t each end, others at one end only. The available space for practical purposes is, howover, about 50 ft. x 6 It. inside measurement. It should be noted that these barges vary somewhat in their measurements; 1 measured three barges before the date of this demonstration, and founu that all differed somewha.t, and the barge which was finally provided on,tune 29 differed again from these others. The barge in question proved to have a working space 50 ft. X 6 ft. 3 in., inside measurement, a good-si:tjed covered c:.1biu in the storn, and a kind of small covered compn.l'tmcnt in the bows, the latter being lihlc more than a large box Cor ca,rrying spare rope, &c. The first thing to be done was to clear the ava.ilable working space of all cross boards and other fitlings. On this being done, a clear working space was left measuring 50 ft. X G ft. 3 in. X 4 ft. deep. A lrlea.suring tape was then run along the side o( the barge and the ccntre point was marked on the gunwale in rcd chalk. As the plans had to be prepared beforehand it was thought auvisable to work from the centra in all cases, ne the ex[l,ct length of the barge \v~~s not known; this ensured an equal spnce being left at each end after thc berths for the stretchers had been fixed. Still working from lite centre the gunwale was then ma.rked off in feet in white ohalk and every five-foot mark was numbcred, viz: 0, 10, 15,20, &0. Lastly, the positions of the cross-poles. which formed the berths for the strelchers, were marked in green cbalk-these were practically all the measurements that were required. The measurements in this description aro taken for "Furle)''' stretchers, though on the actual d",y we used stretoher. of all kinds, and the measurements had to be modified accordingly. If the regulation ArIDY stretcher were used, t.he poles forming the

2 E)ISCOTE \VJlARF, \VARWICK, JU~E 2[1, 1[112. }'IC. I.-The b:\t"gc bei ng fit.~cd up Itt the wharf "idc. J R Army Med Corps: first published as /jramc on 1 November Downloaded from FIG. Il.-'l'he barge, end view. The top tier of berths not yct fitted. [1'hotvgrapll$ ',ijvuy ~uppijtll 1//1 lht Daily Grap/tlc. on 13 June 2018 by guest. Protected

3 EMSCOTE "Vli.HI.I,., \VARWICK, Jt.T~E 29, FIG. tli.- InspecLioll of barge, before t he top bcrlh:; were titted up. FIG. I V. -Com'eying the" wolluded " Lram the barge to the wagons. lphotggtap/" IdluUy II~PJ!I"'tl "ll tlll: Daily GWl./ti('.

4 582 Clinical a,nd other Note8 berlhs could be placed in such a position that the slrelcher, could be fixed in position by the '~runners" coming into contact with the poles; this, however, is not advisable with the" Furley" stretcher as the runner is much farther from the handle of the stretcher than in the Army stretcher, which would cause the pole to come into contact with the patient's back, if the canvas of the stretcher were at &11100ge. The measurements having been made and the points fixed, tbe next slep was 10 fix Ihe upper herths. These con,istod of,toul osh poles some 3 in, in diameter and 6 ft. n in. long. For the "Fm'loy" stretcher they were fixed 7 ft. 1 in. apart (measuring from the centre point to allow for any difference in the Ihickncss of Ihe poles). A space of 3 ft. 3 in. was lefl between each berlh. Four berths wore fixed in this manner, forming the upper tier. The poles were cut out one-third of their thickness at each end and rested on the gunwales, where tbey were fixed by iron pins. The upper tier having been fixed in position, the lower tiel' was then fixeu immediately under the upper one. As each berth in the lower tier was only intended to hold two stretchers, lighter poles were used, viz.-l?i in. in diameter only. Pieces of wood some 6 in. X [) in. x 1~ in. were fixed Oil either side or the barge, resting on the floor, a notch was Cllt in the top about 1 in. deep by l~ in. to receive the pole and hold it in position. The dislance belween Ihe poles w.s 71t. 1 in. (measured from Ihe centre point as before). Thus, when u.1l \vere fixed, there were two tiers of berths, an upper and a lower, each tier ba.ving four berths. The upper four berths were capable of holding three stretchers each and the lower four berths two stretchers each-twenty stretchers in all. (See diagram, figs. 1, 2 and 3.) Probably the idea.l number would be sixteen stretchers- eight above and eight below, as with this Dumber there would be room for a gangway right do\'.. n the centre of the barge for upper and lower berths alike. Dut if necessary twelve stretchers could be put on the upper berths and the attendants could administer to the wants of the patientr from the spaces al eilher end of Ibe strelcher,. Ihough this would not be quile so convenient as standing at the sides. The tra.nsverse section shows an upper and a lo\... er berth with five stretchers in position, three on the upper berth and two on the lower one, with a gangway between the stretchers in the lower berth. "When all the berths, upper and lower, had been fixed it wa.s found that there was a space of 6 ft. lefl al eilher end of the barge. Step' were fixed al Ihe side 10 each of Ihese spaces and also seats lor Lhe allendanls. The spaces would also he available for water butts, cases of dressings, provisions, &c. The framework for the awning was next erected.; this was carried on fourleen uprighl poles 6 fl. 6 id. in heighl. Ihe tolal heighl 10 Ihe highe'l

5 Cf1Nf1L 6/jramc on 1 November Downloaded from R.C.S V.fLDs 13f1RGE for TRf1NSPORT Of WOUNDED. ErlSCOTE WHf1Rf Wf1RWI C K, JUN E 29, 1912.,., 3 " on 13 June 2018 by guest. Protected ~,. A

6 584 Clillic!tl!wd otiter Nutes point being 8 ft. from tbe bottom of the barge, it being estimated th.t carrying au awning of this height an empty barge could pass under the various bridges on this particular canal. A part of the awning fra.me was then co\'e1'6d, both on the top and at the sides, with unbleached calico to represent cauva.s, and a Red Cross flag,...-as fixed at ea.ch end, A professional bal'gee had charge of the tiller and another of the horse. rrwq nurses were a.ccommodated in the cabin, and two a.ltendants, onc at either end of the barge..:\. thin layer of clean stra.w was laid on the floor of the barge which was then ready for the reception of the wounded. The lower berths were first filled up. To do tbis one of the poles was removed from one oc the centre berths of the top tier, thus giving a clear space measuring 10 ft. 4 in. to work in. The metbod adopted of getting the s~l'etcher8 on board was the ordinary method of taking a stretcher over a wall or any other obstacle, with very slight modifications. \Vhen the lower berths hud been filled, the pole which had been laken out was replaced and tbe upper berths were filled up in the same manner; tben, to make all secure, the baudles of the stretchers were lasbed to the poles with thin cords. The following suggestions \,"81'8 also made, but not put into practice :- (I) That tbe barge sbould be thoroughly cleaned inside and receive two coats of 80me light brown or bufl'-coloured distempm', mixed with u. suitable disinfoctant. (2) That a falso floor shonld be placed over the bottom of tbe barge, consisting o! narrow boards fixeu on cross pieces and placed so as to leave a space between each board, 80 that water, due to rain or leakage, would lie unc1er this second flooring. This false flooring sbould be made in sections to be taken out for cleaning purposes. If this were done t.he straw could be dispensed with. The easy motion of a barge, on the still waters of a ca.nal, would make this an ideal method for the transport of the wounded if time were no great object. But the passage is necessarily slow, especially if there arc many locks, and it would probably not be easy to average more than two miles an bour. On the other hand, a barge fitted out as described above would have none of the disadvantages of country carts 01' even of ambulance \vagons, and if a. medical officer were l1dded to the staff, or one in charge of a string o[ barges, so fitted, they would resemble a. floa.ting hospital.