An Equal Burden

An Equal Burden is the first scholarly study to focus on the men of the ranks of the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War. In using official documents, personal narratives, and cultural artefacts, Meyer offers an in-depth exploration on the men who served in uniform but in a non-combative role.

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This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. An Equal Burden is the first scholarly study of the Army Medical Services in the First World War to focus on the roles and experiences of the men of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). Though they were not professional medical caregivers, they were called upon to provide urgent medical care and, as non-combatants, were forbidden from carrying weapons. Their role in the war effort was quite unique and warranting of further study.

Structured both chronologically and thematically, An Equal Burden examines the work that RAMC rankers undertook and its importance to the running of the chain of medical evacuation. It additionally explores the gendered status of these men within the medical, military, and cultural hierarchies of a society engaged in total war. Through close readings of official documents, personal papers, and cultural representations, Meyer argues that the ranks of the RAMC formed a space in which non-commissioned servicemen, through their many roles, defined and redefined medical caregiving as men's work in wartime.