Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps | |
---|---|
Active | 1904–1968 |
Country | Canada |
Branch | |
Type | Administrative corps |
Role | Latin: In Arduis Fidelis, lit. 'Faithful through Adversity' |
Colors | Dull cherry |
March | "The Farmer's Boy"[1] |
The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.[2][3][4]
The Militia Medical Service was established in 1898.[5] It consisted of an Army Medical Service (officers) and an Army Medical Corps (other ranks). Sir F.W. Borden was appointed Honorary Colonel of the militia's "Canadian Army Medical Corps" on 1 August 1901.
The regimental medical personnel of the Permanent Active Militia were absorbed into the corps on 2 July 1904. The regular component was titled the "Permanent Active Militia Medical Corps" (PAMC) and the militia component was titled the "Army Medical Corps" (AMC).[6] As the origin of a permanent medical corps, this date has since been considered the "birth" of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps for purposes of seniority among the corps of the Canadian Army, coming after the Royal Army Service Corps, 1903. (Though in the Militia the medical corps was the first of the support branches to be formed.)
Separate titles for permanent and non-permanent components of the medical corps were discarded during the re-organization of 1 May 1909. Thereafter, both permanent (regular) and non-permanent (reserve) components using the title "Canadian Army Medical Corps" (CAMC). The regular component of the service was redesignated "The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps" on 3 November 1919; the militia component was granted the same honour on 29 April 1936, becoming the "Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps". These two elements were re-organized for administrative purposes following the Second World War, on 22 March 1948, as "The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps".[7] The corps suffix "RCAMC" was added to the designation of all corps units from 1944.
The badge of the RCAMC consists of the rod of Asclepius (a serpent entwined around a staff) surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves, surmounted by the Royal Crown, with the name "Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps" on a scroll below. The earlier badge of the CAMC (1909) was identical, minus the prefix "Royal" on the scroll. The previous badge of the Army Medical Service and Army Medical Corps consisted of a Geneva cross on a silver maple leaf (1899). The badge of the Royal Army Medical Corps was briefly used by some members during the embryonic period of the service (1898).
After the Second World War, a series of coloured berets were adopted, with other arms and services wearing midnight blue berets, with a large coloured "flash" in corps colours – dull cherry for the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.[8]
Nursing officers
Nurses were first employed by the Canadian military during the North West Rebellion in 1885, being at that time civilian auxiliaries.[9] Canada was one of the first nations to establish nurses as integral military personnel, first as officers of the militia (reserve) force in 1900, and in 1906 as officers of the regular force.[10]
Integration and unification
In 1959 the RCAMC joined with the medical services of the
When the RCN, Canadian Army and RCAF were
Related units
This unit was allied with the following:
See also
References
- ^ Canadian Forces publication A-AD-200-000/AG-000, "The Honours, Flags and Heritage Structure of the Canadian Forces"
- ^ The Regiments and Corps of The Canadian Army (Queen's Printer, 1964)
- ^ "The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps". www.canadiansoldiers.com. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ "Medical Branch, Canadian Forces". 2007-10-31. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/adami/camc/camc.html J. George Adami War Story of the Canadian Army Medical Corps London: Colour Ltd.; The Rolls House Publishing Co., 1918
- ^ http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh/page-587-eng.asp Canadian Military Life After South Africa
- ^ The Regiments and Corps of The Canadian Army (Queen's Printer, 1964)
- ^ canadiansoldiers.com
- ^ "Military Nurses National Historic Event - History and culture". 27 October 2021.
- ^ "The Nursing Sisters of Canada - Women and War - Remembering those who served - Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada". 8 August 2019.
Further reading
- "The Army Medical organization". Juno Beach Centre. 21 February 2014.
- ISBN 0-919594-61-1.
- Gerald W. L. Nicholson (1975). Canada's Nursing Sisters. Toronto: Canadian War Museum.
- Andrew Macphail (1925). Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War 1914-19 : The Medical Services. Ottawa: F.A. Acland, King's Printer.
External links
- War Story of the Canadian Army Medical Corps by J. George Adami. London: Colour Ltd.; The Rolls House Publishing Co., 1918, online edition at A Celebration of Women Writers
- Canadian Forces Medical Service—Introduction to its History and Heritage
- Critical Care On the Battlefield and Around the World: The Story of the Canadian Forces Health Services—Canadian War Museum
- Canadian Forces Health Services Heritage Trust