Nathaniel John Crawford Rutherford

I am usually quite interested in books dealing with medical conditions encountered during WWI. However, with this book, I was somewhat disappointed.
Rutherford's book starts just prior to his commission in the British Army as a medical officer. His first overseas adventure was in the Boer War, where his observations on general day-to-day activities is somewhat interesting, but not very detailed with regard to the impact of modern weapons and their corresponding impact on the soldiers whom he treated.

Interestingly, Rutherford has very little to say about his personal life, despite the large gaps of time that he does not cover in the book. He jumps from his service in South Africa, to a quick stint in Sierra Leone, which he mysteriously glosses over without much explanation, and then onto his deployment to the Western Front in France for WWI.
Here he does talk about the danger of working so close to the front lines, but one gets the impression he is more concerned about his living conditions and those of his peers (and superiors) than the well-being of the soldiers in his medical care.

After working in France, he is posted to Salonika for two years until the end of the war. Again, not much detail on the fighting, but more details on his accomodations. Unfortunate, since the personal narratives from the Salonika Front are not as readily available, and remain few in number.
Following the end of the war, Rutherford was transferred to Constantinople with the British Army of occupation. Minor anecdotal snapshots may interest the reader about life in post-war Turkey, but again, pretty superficial coverage.

Rutherford "retired" as the medical officer for the unit stationed at the Tower of London.
While not a very exciting narrative, here we have an officer, obviously not from the upper class, who gets by and makes ends meet. Unfortunately, his story lacks the detail (and narrative) to make this book more interesting. Three stars is generous.… (altro)