17TH Canadian Light Field Ambulance

I was wondering if there are any Canadian WWII historians/vets out there who can point me in the right direction on finding out more information on this group from the RCAMC?

My father was overseas in the Medical Corps from 1943 to 1945 and I am trying to piece together more info on where all he was.

I have searched google but come up with nothing.

Thanks,
Jim

 

RCAMC - Google Search
R.C.A.M.C. Takes over Red Cross Hospital at Taplow

Have you checked all these?

 

Jim

Did you find any info???My father was a soldier , I believe working with the 17 th ambulance.

Johanne

 

Okay, I know I got the cocument I'm using Official History of the Canadian Medical Services, 1939 to 1945 at the Directorate of History and Heritage, but can't seem to find it right now. I had downloaded a pdf version and will copy some bits here. You can also find all 22 MB of it here http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Canada/Medical/CMS_vol1_e.pdf

page 230
"No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance arrived in France on 13 June and proceeded to a location on the Seulles River near Colombiers-sur-Seulles. On 22 June its headquarters moved to Beny-sur-Mer and two sections were detached to support regiments of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. A third section was sent to site near Moulin-eaux to serve brigade troops in the headquarters area. The whole unit spent a quiet two weeks, handling only 13 casualties and 13 sick."​

MEDICAL UNITS IN THE ADVANCE TOWARDS CAEN
4-9 JULY​

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In preparation for the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's attack on Carpiquet, which was planned for 4 July, No. 22 Canadian Field Ambulance established a casualty collecting post at St. Mauvieu, three miles west of Carpiquet, in addition to the one at Cairon. No. 14 Canadian Field Ambulance sent out six heavy ambulances and two jeeps to a point just north of Bretteville l'Orgueilleuse. In the same region No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance set up a casualty collecting post to evacuate casualties from the 10th Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse).​

The attack on Carpiquet village and aerodrome began on 4 July against strong enemy positions. Casualties, particularly among the North Shore Regiment and the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, were heavy and were evacuated through Neuf-Mer and St. Mauvieu. No. 14 Canadian Field Ambulance, which ran short of ambulance cars, was assisted during the day by two sections from No. 22. Between them they evacuated 343 casualties to British casualty clearing stations near Secqueville-en-Bessin. By the following evening the enemy defence had weakened, and Carpiquet village and part of the aerodrome were occupied by the North Shore Regiment, le Rgiment de la Chaudiere, and the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. The number of casualties decreased sharply as these units held their ground, and preparations were made for the offensive against the city of Caen.

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In preparation for the attack on Caen, which was to be launched on 8 July, No. 23 Canadian Field Ambulance established a car post of two sections at Les Buissons, about four miles north-west of Caen, to clear casualties of the 9th Canadian Brigade; No. 22 maintained its casualty collecting post at St. Mauvieu to evacuate casualties from the 8th Brigade; and No. 14 set up a casualty collecting post at Cairon and maintained its post at Neuf-Mer to evacuate casualties from the 7th Brigade and attached troops. No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance established a casualty collecting post near Rots to evacuate casualties of the 2nd Canadian ​

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Armoured Brigade and other armoured troops. As the battle progressed they moved forward with the armoured units, evacuating to Pierrepont or Beny-sur-Mer.

Just before midnight of 7 August the Canadian armoured columns began to roll towards Falaise. The first advance was rapid and casualties were relatively light, but
during the second phase the operation was not nearly so successful. The day bombers of the United States Eighth Air Force dropped some bombs short of their targets, causing
casualties and disorganization to allied units. No. 18 Canadian Field Ambulance's advanced dressing station, the only one officially open, handled 503 battle casualties
during the day. No. 10, which was standing by for a move forward, had to open hastily and handled 407 casualties. Nu. 21 Canadian Field Dressing Station, which was operating the resuscitation centre alongside No. 18 Canadian Field Ambulance, took care of another
30 cases and No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance 169 walking wounded.

Further back at the casualty clearing stations in the St. Germain la Blanche Herbe medical area casualties began arriving shortly after midnight of 7 August. Nos. 2 and 3
Canadian Casualty Clearing Stations with attached surgical and transfusion units handled casualties alternately. Between 8.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. No. 2 admitted 220, while No. 3, which opened at 11.00 a.m., admitted 303 by 3.00 p.m. The diarist of the clearing station
later wrote :

At one time 20 ambulance cars were in the yard waiting to unload. Reception and resuscitation were jammed so it was necessary to simply unload them on the ground. 110 were so placed at one time. Fortunately it was a warm, clear, sunny day. [FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=2]Our entire canvas set up could scarcely have accommodated the number of casualties.[/SIZE][/FONT]​

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Three days after the capture of Boulogne the division began to besiege Calais, and for this operation ambulance units were again in support of brigades. Casualty collecting posts of Nos. 14 and 22 Canadian Field Ambulances and [B]No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance[/B] cleared casualties to Hardinghen, while No. 23 Canadian Field Ambulance evacuated from its own advanced dressing station to No. 6 Canadian General Hospital at Wailly-Beaucamp. On 25 September a shattering air and artillery bombardment opened the attack of Calais. The Canadians then moved in on the city. On the evening of 28 September the German commander asked for a 48 hour truce to evacuate civilians; he was given 24 hours, and on the 30th the attack went on. After the truce the spirit of resistance of the enemy was lower and by 1 October resistance was at an end. But again the victory had been won at a price, for during the operation medical units of the 3​

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rd Canadian Infantry Division evacuated 687 casualties, although 236 of these were prisoners of war.​

p 263

[LEFT]BY SEA TO WALCHEREN
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Because the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade's regiments were used mainly in support of infantry brigades of the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions, [B]No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance[/B] remained in the rear area until 8 October, when it was put under command of the 4th Special Service Brigade for training to support the amphibious operation of the brigade. On 21 October No. 17 was joined by Nos. 8 and 9 Canadian Field Surgical Units and No. 5 Canadian Field Transfusion Unit. The medical establishment for the proposed amphibious operation was completed by the addition of No. 10 Canadian Field Dressing Station.
Training for the operation against Walcheren continued until the end of October when units embarked at Ostend and began to move towards their objective. At three
o'clock on the morning of 1 November the flotilla of landing craft sailed out of Ostend harbour. The night was cold and clear and the moon shone down on a calm sea. For some
hours they sailed towards England, shepherded along by the escort vessels of the Royal Navy. Then, just before dawn, they met their supporting warships, turned and bore down on Westkapelle. The assault was to be made in daylight on either side of a gap blown in the Westkapelle dyke, and just before "H" hour (9.45 a.m.) the guns of ​

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[SIZE=3]Warspite, Roberts[/SIZE], and [SIZE=3]Erebus [/SIZE]opened up and flights of rocket-firing Typhoon aircraft went to work on the
shore batteries.

The Germans had sown sea mines in the approaches to the island; the beaches were laced with barbed wire, landmines, and covered by machine guns firing from
cement pill boxes. Five minutes before they were due to touch down the two landing craft which had been prepared as hospital ships were sunk by mines. "Pinpoints of light
sparkled from the south batteries. The Germans were opening up at last. The whole line of support craft broke into flame and smoke. Ships blew up and were swallowed in one gulp. Others drifted aimlessly around out of control".* Immediately after this the assault bagan. [B]One section of No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance[/B] landed with No. 41 Commando on the left of Westkapelle gap and another section with No. 48 Commando on the right of Westkapelle gap.

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[SIZE=3][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][LEFT]No 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance, after returning from Walcheren, spent a fortnight in Bruges refitting, and replacing the equipment it had lost in the operation. By 17
November the unit was in action again, operating casualty collecting posts with the various regiments of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade near Grave, in Holland. During December [/LEFT][/SIZE][LEFT][/left][/FONT][LEFT][/left][/SIZE][LEFT][/left]

[FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3]and January [B]No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance[/B] operated a brigade recovery centre. Again the ten-day holding instruction was observed, more serious cases being evacuated to Corps medical installations. This situation obtained until the middle of February, when
sections attached to the regiments of the brigade began to move into Germany as the Canadian offensive went forward.

p 283
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[FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][LEFT]No. 12 Canadian Light Field Ambulance evacuated casualties from the armoured brigade group, the engineers, and artillery, while No. 15 Canadian Field Ambulance
cleared from the remainder of the Division. Fortunately casualties were light despite counter artillery fire and strafing by enemy planes. When it finished its job of supporting the infantry divisions on 31 March the 4th Canadian Armoured Division began crossing the Rhine to concentrate in the Speldrop area for a push north-east into the heart of Germany.

Because the armoured regiments of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade were used almost exclusively to support the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions during the advance to and across the Rhine, [B]No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance[/B] found itself split into sections and operating over a wide area. Some of these sections set up casualty collecting posts from which casualties were evacuated to the advanced dressing station of the division to which the regiment was attached. Other elements of the unit were loaned to an infantry brigade of the Royal Marines for the latter part of March. At midnight on 1 April the 2nd Canadian Corps returned to General Crerar's command as units of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division rolled across the Rhine to join those of the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions already in the area.

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[FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][LEFT]With the departure of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Canadian Army Occupation Force, for Germany on 8 July the medical problem was eased, and on 14 August No. 23 Canadian Field Ambulance disbanded. By 19 October No. 14 Canadian Field Ambulance was the only divisional medical unit remaining for the care of the troops, and on 17 November it too turned in its equipment and left for Canada. The old 3rd Division had been the first Canadian division in Normandy, it had fought through to the end of the war and had now ceased to exist, but it was leaving behind the new 3rd[/LEFT][/SIZE][LEFT][/left][/FONT][LEFT][/left][/SIZE][LEFT][/left][/FONT][LEFT][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=1][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=1] [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3][FONT=TimesNewRoman][SIZE=3]Division to help hold the once proud fortress of Europe until the Canadian Occupation Forces were withdrawn.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
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Tasks similar to those of the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions were undertaken in the Bad Zwischenahn area by 4th Canadian Armoured Division which found itself concentrated in that area when the fighting stopped. On 26 May it handed over to the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division and moved back to a site near Almelo, Holland, where one section of No. 12 Canadian Light Field Ambulance supervised a staging camp at Denekamp for wounded Germans being returned to Germany. On 18 June the Division took over [B]No. 17 Canadian Light Field Ambulance[/B] from the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade and disbanded it on 18 August.

When the Division moved back to Amersfoort in September its other medical units were already shrinking as personnel with high priorities left for Canada and those with low priorities joined the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Canadian Army Occupation Force. By mid-December the medical commitment had almost ceased to exist, and by the end of the month another Canadian division with a proud fighting record had been disbanded.

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My father served in the 17th Canadian Light Field Ambulance. The Official History of the Canadian Medical Services has an excellent time line. I do have photos and other info to share. I am looking for any further photos and documentation.

 

Bruce

Can you tell me where to find the information. I just visited my father and he told me , he was working for the 18 th canadian field ambulance.

Thank you,
Johanne

 

Johanne, as I mentioned in the post above:

"....the document I'm using Official History of the Canadian Medical Services, 1939 to 1945 at the Directorate of History and Heritage, but can't seem to find it right now. I had downloaded a pdf version and will copy some bits here. You can also find all 22 MB of it here http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/C...CMS_vol1_e.pdf "

I believe this is the same document to which Bruce referred in his post.

 

My Father David Henry Brand Served in the 17th LFA and was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1941.
He has since passed as have so many but l was never able to find out why it was awarded. Is there a resource that l may search?
Many thanks in advance.
Dave

 

Says here he was awarded it in 1946.
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/military-medals-1812-1969/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=43646&

Given Name(s): David Henry
Surname: Brand
Date: 1946-11-25
Rank: Private
Regimental or Service Number: B82046
Medal/Honour/Award: French Croix de guerre avec étoile de bronze
Event/Time Period:
1900-1969
Authority: CARO 6854
Volume: 8
Date: 1946-11-25
Reference: 2004-01505-5
Item Number: 43646

Can't find anymore even after looking on websites for the London Gazette, the National Archives in Kew London & Canadian websites.

 

Photo of Unit

 

I posted a photo of the unit that includes him.

 

Another Photo

 

Another Photo

 

Some Training Photos Part 1

 

Some Training Photos Part 2

 

Some unit photos of smaller groups.

 

My uncle George Bonnell served with the 17th light field ambulance. I am trying to obtain any information and photos that might be available.

 

Thank you for your response. I have seen the attached document and the above link is for the first world war, also it references the 17th Field ambulance which was a different unit. My uncle was in the 17th Light Field Ambulance during the second world war.