Year 10 have had the privilege of a talk from Mr Eastwood, about medicine in World War one. It was nice to listen to somebody who was clearly passionate about history and see all the interesting items from that period he brought along with him.

Despite the gory details of trench foot and some of the unpleasant tales of shell shock it was interesting to see the different angle of war he took. Instead of focusing on the horrific experience of living on the front line, which you would expect when on the topic of the WWI, he managed to emphasise the fact that soldiers would only spent 4-7 days on the front line at one time. Explaining that for ¾ of the time soldiers we safe and being taken care of.

The soldiers must have been thankful of the respite, not having to take your business to a hole in the ground must have been a pleasant change. I can imagine the food tasting better away from the front line, I had never considered the importance of chefs in the war, but soldiers still relied on horrible tile like biscuits and canned food. I was shocked to find out that England is one of the top consumers of canned food, such as baked beans. Unfortunately, food was not our biggest enemy, I was in fact surprised to hear our soldiers were very healthy.

However, not even the most optimistic person could sugar coat the amount of injuries caused by the war and new technology advancements. Mr Eastwood had some poignant images to go alongside this. One that sticks clearly in my mind is one of many soldiers stood in a line blinded by a gas attack.

I have found this talk very helpful with understanding in context some of the struggles doctors faced during the war. It was also fascinating to hear some of the local history, I was impressed with all the knowledge Mr Eastwood had.

Roanne and Holly Year 10