List of ambulance drivers during World War I
Encyclopedia
This is a list of notable people who served as ambulance drivers during the First World War. A remarkable number—writers especially—volunteered as ambulance
drivers for the Allied Powers
. In many cases they sympathized strongly with the ideals of the Allied Powers but did not want to, or were too old to, participate in a combat role. For women, of course, combat was not an option at the time. Several of the Americans on the list volunteered before the United States' 1917 entry into the war. Many of the American writers would later be associated with the Lost Generation
.
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
drivers for the Allied Powers
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
. In many cases they sympathized strongly with the ideals of the Allied Powers but did not want to, or were too old to, participate in a combat role. For women, of course, combat was not an option at the time. Several of the Americans on the list volunteered before the United States' 1917 entry into the war. Many of the American writers would later be associated with the Lost Generation
Lost Generation
The "Lost Generation" is a term used to refer to the generation, actually a cohort, that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel, The Sun Also Rises. In that volume Hemingway credits the phrase to...
.
Writers
- Louis BromfieldLouis BromfieldLouis Bromfield was an American author and conservationist who gained international recognition winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.-Biography:...
- volunteer American Field Service - William Slater BrownWilliam Slater BrownWilliam Slater Brown was an American novelist, biographer and translator of French literature. Most notably, he was a friend of the poet E. E...
- volunteer Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps - Malcolm CowleyMalcolm CowleyMalcolm Cowley was an American novelist, poet, literary critic, and journalist.-Early life:...
- volunteer American Field Service - Harry CrosbyHarry CrosbyHarry Crosby was an American heir, a bon vivant, poet, publisher, and for some, epitomized the Lost Generation in American literature. He was the son of one of the richest banking families in New England, a member of the Boston Brahmin, and the nephew of Jane Norton Grew, the wife of financier J....
- volunteer American Field Service - E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
- volunteer Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps - Kati DadeshkelianiKati DadeshkelianiNino Dadeshkeliani , a Georgian author, was the daughter of General Prince Alexander Dadeshkeliani and Princess Eristavi. Her father, an inspector of State Forests, was assassinated in 1909....
- Russian ArmyImperial Russian ArmyThe Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
ambulance driver - Russell DavenportRussell DavenportRussell Wheeler Davenport was an American publisher and writer.Davenport was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the son of Russell W. Davenport, Sr., a vice president of Bethlehem Steel, and Cornelia Whipple Farnum....
- U.S. Army Medical Corps - John Dos PassosJohn Dos PassosJohn Roderigo Dos Passos was an American novelist and artist.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dos Passos was the illegitimate son of John Randolph Dos Passos , a distinguished lawyer of Madeiran Portuguese descent, and Lucy Addison Sprigg Madison of Petersburg, Virginia. The elder Dos Passos...
- volunteer Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps - Helen Gleason - volunteer Munro Ambulance Corps
- Julien GreenJulien GreenJulien Green , was an American writer, who authored several novels, including Léviathan and Each in His Own Darkness...
- volunteer American Field Service - Dashiell HammettDashiell HammettSamuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
- Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
- volunteer American Red CrossAmerican Red CrossThe American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S... - Robert HillyerRobert HillyerRobert Silliman Hillyer was an American poet.-Life:He was born in East Orange, New Jersey. He attended Kent School in Kent, Connecticut and graduated from Harvard in 1917, after which he went to France and volunteered with the S.S.U. 60 of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps serving the Allied...
- volunteer Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps - Sidney HowardSidney HowardSidney Coe Howard was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
- volunteer American Field Service - Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. JeromeJerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
, ambulance driver for the French Army - John Howard LawsonJohn Howard LawsonJohn Howard Lawson was an American writer. He was head of the Hollywood division of the Communist Party USA. He was also the cell's cultural manager, and answered directly to V.J. Jerome, the Party's New York-based cultural chief...
- volunteer Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps - Desmond MacCarthyDesmond MacCarthySir Desmond MacCarthy was a British literary critic and journalist.-Early life and education:MacCarthy was born in Plymouth, Devon, and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. At Cambridge he got to know Lytton Strachey, Bertrand Russell and G. E...
- Archibald MacLeishArchibald MacLeishArchibald MacLeish was an American poet, writer, and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.-Early years:...
- U.S. Army ambulance driver, later as artillery captain - John MasefieldJohn MasefieldJohn Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
- F. Van Wyck MasonF. Van Wyck MasonFrancis Van Wyck Mason was an American historian and novelist. He had a long and prolific career as a writer spanning 50 years and including 78 published novels, many of which were best sellers and well received.- Life :Van Wyck Mason was born to a patrician Boston family which traced its roots...
- ambulance corps volunteer, later he joined the French ArmyFrench ArmyThe French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
then the U.S. Army - Somerset Maugham - volunteer British Red CrossBritish Red CrossThe British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
ambulance corps - Charles NordhoffCharles NordhoffCharles Bernard Nordhoff was an English-born American novelist and traveler.-Early life:Charles Nordhoff was born in London, England, on February 1, 1887, to American parents. His father was Walter Nordhoff, a wealthy businessman and author of The Journey of the Flame penned under the name...
- volunteer American Field Service - Robert W. ServiceRobert W. ServiceRobert William Service was a poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon".Service is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough...
- volunteer British Red CrossBritish Red CrossThe British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work... - Olaf StapledonOlaf StapledonWilliam Olaf Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.-Life:...
- Friends' Ambulance UnitFriends' Ambulance UnitThe Friends' Ambulance Unit was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends , in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914–1919, 1939–1946 and 1946-1959 in 25 different countries around the world...
volunteer - Sir Hugh Walpole - volunteer for Red Cross in Russia
- Amos Niven WilderAmos WilderAmos Niven Wilder was an American poet, minister, and theology professor.-Life:He studied two years at Oberlin College , but volunteered in the Ambulance Field Service; he was awarded the Croix de Guerre. In November 1917, he enlisted in the U.S...
- volunteer American Field Service, later artillery
Composers
- Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
- volunteer ambulance driver or truck driver - Albert RousselAlbert RousselAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
- Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
- Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
Other Notable People
- Frank BucklesFrank BucklesFrank Woodruff Buckles was the last surviving American veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1917 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley, driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe.During World War II, he was captured by Japanese forces...
- Last American World War I veteran - Betty CarstairsBetty CarstairsBetty Carstairs was a wealthy British power boat racer known for her speed and her eccentric lifestyle.-Biography:She was born in 1900 as Marion Barbara Carstairs in Mayfair, London, England, the daughter of Frances Evelyn Bostwick, second child of Jabez Bostwick and his wife Helen, and Captain...
- Wealthy Anglo-American. Later known as a power boat racer and for her eccentric lifestyle - René ClairRené ClairRené Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
- French filmmaker - Jean CocteauJean CocteauJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
- French dramatist and filmmaker - Stafford CrippsStafford CrippsSir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour politician of the first half of the 20th century. During World War II he served in a number of positions in the wartime coalition, including Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Minister of Aircraft Production...
- British politician - Hélène DutrieuHélène DutrieuHélène Dutrieu , was a cycling world champion, stunt cyclist, stunt motorcyclist, automobile racer, stunt driver, pioneer aviator, wartime ambulance driver, and director of a military hospital.-Biography:...
- pioneering French aviatorAviatorAn aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne... - Tony HulmanTony HulmanAnton "Tony" Hulman, Jr. was a businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana who rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and made the Indianapolis 500 popular....
- volunteer American Red CrossAmerican Red CrossThe American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
- American businessman, owner and operator of Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis Motor SpeedwayThe Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400.... - Ray KrocRay KrocRaymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
- American entrepreneur of McDonald's Corporation fame, he trained to become an ambulance driver, though the war ended before he saw action. - Waldo PeirceWaldo PeirceWaldo Peirce was an American painter, born in Bangor, Maine.Peirce was both a prominent painter and a well-known character. He was sometimes called "the American Renoir"...
- volunteer American Field Service - American painter - Percy ToplisPercy ToplisFrancis Percy Toplis was a British criminal and imposter active during the First World War. He is sometimes claimed to have taken a major part in the Étaples Mutiny, as "The Monocled Mutineer", during the war, although there is some dispute as to whether he was actually present.Toplis was born in...
- notorious British deserter - William A. WellmanWilliam A. WellmanWilliam Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
- American film directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Individuals who served the Allies in a related capacity
- Algernon BlackwoodAlgernon BlackwoodAlgernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
- British Red CrossBritish Red CrossThe British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
Searcher, trying to identify dead or lost soldiers - British author - Archibald Cronin - Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
surgeonSurgeonIn medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
- ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
novelist - Marjory Stoneman DouglasMarjory Stoneman DouglasMarjory Stoneman Douglas was an American journalist, writer, feminist, and environmentalist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for development...
- volunteered for American Red CrossAmerican Red CrossThe American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
- eminent American conservationistConservationistConservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment... - Dorothy Canfield FisherDorothy Canfield FisherDorothy Canfield Fisher was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early decades of the twentieth century. She was named by Eleanor Roosevelt as one of the ten most influential women in the United States...
- volunteered to help blinded Allied soldiers - American social activist and author - E.M. Forster - interviewed wounded in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian hospitals - English novelist - Anne GreenAnne GreenAnne Green was an American writer and translator, the sister of Julien Green. While a child, Green's parents moved to France, where her father, ruined by a financial crisis and poor investments, came to settle. She spent her childhood in Le Havre, before her parents moved to Paris, where her...
- volunteer work, author and translator, brother of aforementioned ambulance driver and author Julian Green - Gertrude SteinGertrude SteinGertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
- volunteer driver for French hospitals - American poet, playwrightPlaywrightA playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, feminist - Edmund WilsonEdmund WilsonEdmund Wilson was an American writer and literary and social critic and noted man of letters.-Early life:Wilson was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father, Edmund Wilson, Sr., was a lawyer and served as New Jersey Attorney General. Wilson attended The Hill School, a college preparatory...
- American literary critic