This entertaining and educational book, illustrated with many photographs, news clippings, and other memorabilia collected by the author over many years, traces the history of the ambulance service in the county of Sussex in southern England from its beginnings in the late 18th century to the present day.
It documents the many changes that occurred as the service evolved from its early days, when pioneer ambulancemen were armed with simple handcarts and rudimentary equipment, to the modern era of sophisticated ambulances and highly-trained paramedics capable of performing a wide range of medical procedures in the field.
The many photos included depict the wide and often unexpected range of vehicles that have been modified for service as ambulances throughout the years, as well as their steady progression into the purpose-built emergency vehicles that we are all familiar with today.
Because the development of the ambulance service on the South Coast was comparable in every other region of the UK, this book is in some ways a history of the ambulance service nationwide from Victorian times, through two World Wars, the establishment of the NHS and the post-war era that followed, and on into the twenty-first century, which saw the merger of many independent local services into large regional services.
We have been reminded of the significance of our frontline health services in2020, the year of publication, and this book is a fitting homage to the significant contribution to society made by the men and women of our ambulance services over the previous century.