STARTED BY YOUNG SWISS SURGEON IN 1859

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20950, 1 November 1939, Page 5

STARTED BY YOUNG SWISS SURGEON IN 1859

“The vast organisation of the International Red Cross and its dependent national societies had its origin in the accidental presence of a Swiss tourist, Dr. Henri Dunant, at the Battle of Solferino, fought in June, 1859, between the French and Italians on the one side and the Austrians on the other.” says a writer in the “Birmingham Post.” Dr. Dunant, a young surgeon, aged thirty-one, was present, as he says, “only as a simple tourist entirely detached from the struggle,” but privileged by circumstances to assist at moving scenes, the memory of which he placed on record. “Three hundred thousand men were present on an eighteen-mile front, and the battle lasted fifteen hours . . . Though no Red Cross organisation existed at this time. Dr. Dunant had an eye for medical work in the field. “There were few military dressing stations, over which a black flag was hoisted, and there was a tacit agreement, not always observed, not to fire upon them. Such of the wounded as could be evacuated were taken to the neighbouring village of Castiglione, where Dr. Dunant organised the village girls and women into what must have been the first real V.A.D. Improvised Dressing Station “But they were short of everything—food, bandages, drugs, bedding and so forth. The wounded lay on straw in churches, and tetanus was soon rife. With other hastily-organised medical services, Dr. Dunant, and his village girls worked till they could work no longer. In between he improvised a service for letting the friends of the wounded soldiers havs news of them. “On his return to Geneva, Dr. Dunant wrote a little book, now extremely rare, entitled: ‘Un Sauvenir de Solferino,’ published in 1862, of which 1600 copies were printed for private circulation only. It was a moving account of the distress of the wounded in the field, and the horrors of the emergency hospitals. “In it he first propounded the principle of voluntary aid in war, being quick to perceive its advantages. He had seen the military services at work, and he realised that, however improved and extended it might be, the regular ambulance personnel would always be inadequate. Here is his main conclusion:— “ ‘For a task of this kind it is not mercenaries who are wanted. Too often paid infirmiers become hardened or they leave the service in disgust, or fatigue renders them indolent . . . What is needed is voluntary men and women nurses, diligent, prepared, and trained to the work, and who, being recognised by the heads of armies in the field, would be aided and supported in their mission.’ * Geneva Convention of 1864 “Among those who read it was M. Gustave Moynier, a Geneva lawyer, who at once set about giving it practical effect. Working thrbugh a small committee of five members, he succeeded in carrying through the series of conferences that resulted in the signing of the Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864, whch is the charter of the Red Cross. “By the terms of the Convention, to ensure its neutrality, it is a purely Swiss body. Its tasks are to see that the Convention is observed, to create international agencies in time of war for assistance to the victims of war, to watch over prisoners of war, military and civilian, to visit war prisons, and to set up the machinery for communication between prisoners of war and their families. “It is also charged with the standardisation and adaption of medical equipment in the field, and has lately begun to organise the creation in time of war of safety zones for the sick and wounded in war, in addition to zones of safety for and the evacuation of civil populations.”