e wagons and 5 buck wagons for slighter cases and the two bearer
companies sent out from Modder River. On the 12th Lord Methuen sent out
a number of bearers with stretchers, and at 12 noon all the wounded were
collected, but many had lain out through the night. The bearers had to
retire under a shell fire kept up by the Boers as long as our army was
within range of their position.

Four Field hospitals were present, but only that of the IX. Brigade at
Modder River was so situated as to be of general use. This hospital,
under the command of Major Harris, R.A.M.C., did an immense amount of
work most expeditiously and with great success.

The nature of the advance on Kimberley necessitated the evacuation of
the Field hospitals with extreme promptitude, as the troops were in
constant action, and the arrangements for this were carried out with
great success by Colonel Townsend, the P.M.O. of the First Division.

The amount of fighting far exceeded anything that had been expected, and
the Stationary hospitals on the lines of communication at Orange River
and De Aar were unable to cope with the number of severe cases thrown on
their hands, with the constant possibility of new arrivals. Hence a
number of severe cases had to be sent direct to Wynberg.

This experience strongly illustrated the necessity of possessing
Stationary hospitals of greater mobility and a higher degree of
equipment than the service at present possesses. In these a large number
of severe cases could have been retained, and only the slighter ones
exposed to the fatigue and general disadvantage of transport. In South
Africa very special difficulties existed in the length of the line of
communication, the single line of rails, and the absence of any source
of supply within 500 to 600 miles; but in any other country mobile
Stationary hospitals, although more easily equipped, would be equally
valuable.

The difficulties of transport experienced in the advance of the
Kimberley Relief Force were many times multiplied in that upon
Bloemfontein, since the whole of the severely wounded men had to be sent
back thirty to forty miles to the railway. The ambulance accommodation
on the occasion of this march, although, if untouched, proportionately
smaller than that possessed by Lord Methuen, was reduced to one-fifth to
meet the exigencies of warfare. Beyond this the equipment transport of
the Field hospitals was reduced from four ox-wagons to two, and the
Scotch ca