Early Ford Model T Field Ambulance Training in WW1

A rare early photograph captures a Ford Model T field ambulance during a World War I training exercise at a Royal Army Medical Corps barracks in Britain. Five medical orderlies stand ready for instruction as they rehearse loading procedures using two comrades posed as casualties. This staged yet revealing scene highlights the rapid evolution of military ambulance services—from slow, uncomfortable horse‑drawn wagons to the first motorised vehicles that transformed battlefield medical care.

From Horse‑Drawn Ambulances to Motorised Medical Transport

This photographs shows an early Ford Model T Field Ambulance used on a training exercise in a Royal Army Medical Corps barracks in Britain. Five medical orderlies await instructions from their sergeant as they practice loading procedures using two of their comrades on stretchers as make-believe casualties.

Horse Drawn Ambulance attended by medical staff during World War 1.

Training the Royal Army Medical Corps for Battlefield Casualties

Ambulances during this time comprised of a canvas top on a wooden frame which were horse drawn. As can be appreciated, the Medical Corps faced many challenges, not least the lack of speed the vehicles were able to travel. The ride would have been bumpy and conditions inside would have been basic and uncomfortable.

The Shift Toward Motorised Ambulances by 1916

But by 1916, the Red Cross saw the first motorised ambulances. It didn’t take long before the horse-drawn variety was phased out. Similarly, equipment within was changing rapidly, seeing the first two-way radios, more advanced medical equipment and trained physicians.

To aid the war effort, undertakers donated hearses, as these could ferry a patient whilst supine.

In 1900, more than 300,000 horses were used in London alone. They pulled everything from buses and trams and delivery vans. The start of World War One saw a huge rise in demand, but the motor engine was about to change everything.