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758 comfort and shelter during the waking hours, while for sleeping purposes it was thought that, even in winter, tents would be sufficient, leaving the sleeping huts to be built at leisure. Had this scheme been carried out (and afterwards it was found that tents, in winter, for sleeping would not have been impracticable) it might have been quite possible to have housed with a fair amount of comfort the large armies then being raised, taking into account the limited time and materials and labour available. Unfortunately, as it turned out, this compromise was not sanctioned. The rapidity with which the first large hutted camp was erected may have raised a hope that the same rate of progress would have been maintained; but that first camp had, of course, very special advantages in that large supplies of material, especially corrugated steel sheets, were available, and labour difficulties were negligible, factors which later were not to be relied upon. Accordingly, orders were issued to construct living huts as well as the others, and the attempt to do this in the short season available was a failure. Nevertheless, in some of the first camps it was accomplished. At Belton Park at Grantham, a camp for 12,000 infantry, begun on Aug. 24 1914, was occupied on Nov. 3, less than three months from the start, a result which may be compared with the case of the Curragh in 1855-7 where three years were required for a less number of troops.

Reverting again to the typical plan, it will be seen that the officers' quarters and mess are divided from the men's huts by a small parade ground, flanked on either side by administrative buildings. Also that among the central accessory buildings are dining-rooms, baths, and drying-rooms, with a large " regimental institute." These are features which were unknown in the early hutted camps, and are the result of greater civilization and atten- tion to the soldier's improved position. Baths are, moreover, a hygienic necessity and the value of these was insisted upon from the outset. In some of the later hutted camps the dining-rooms were omitted, but the saving effected was hardly commensurate with the disadvantages. Drying-rooms were very useful, for frequently the men's clothing got soaked by rain, but there were difficulties in the practical use of them, and they were not always repeated. Fig. 2 shows an alternative arrangement for an infantry battalion camp. Fig. 3 shows the grouping of typical huts in the case of a field artillery unit. Other units are designed on generally similar lines.

i. Officers' Mess, etc. 2. Officers' Quarters. 3. Barrack Block. 4. Sergeants' Mess. 5. Regimental Institute. 6. Cook-house. 7. Dining-rooms. 8. Wash-ups. 9. Guard House and Offices. 10. Battery Stores, Brigade Bread and Meat Stores, and Spare Hut. II. Mobilization Equipment Store. 12. Forage Barn. 13. Granary. 14. Forge. 15. Shoeing Shed. 16. Expense For- age Store. 17. Horse Shelter. 18. Harness and Saddle Rooms. 19. Vehicle Sheds. 20. Baths (32). 21. Ablution. 22. Latrines and Urinals. 23. Drying-rooms. 24. Coal Yard, Dung Pits, Water Troughs.

(C) Grouping of Unit Hutments. The grouping of such unit hutments as have just been described, into a divisional camp or

cantonment, can but be considered in taking an actual case, viz that of Hipswell camp, the northerly half of the large cantonmem of Catterick, near Richmond in Yorkshire. The site was not selectee until Dec. 1914; some experience had, therefore, been gained in th< matter of grouping. In examining this plan (fig. 4) it must bi borne in mind that immediately to the S.E. of it lies another divi sional camp. Thus the hospital, post-office, power station, armj ordnance store sheds, banks, etc., which in the plan appear to be al one corner, are really in the centre between the two divisions There are 12 infantry battalion hutments, marked A to L. In the actual lay-out there is some irregularity owing to the ground, nr attempt being made to preserve a rigid formality of plan which would only be symmetrical on paper, but would necessitate great extra expense in foundations, etc. Yet in each case the broad prin- ciples enunciated above as to general grouping have been main- tained. It will be observed that branch lines of railway approach each hutment, and each has access to a main road. The engineers and pioneers are near the outer flank of the cantonment, close t< ground used for field entrenchments. Between them and the first infantry brigade (A to C) are the field artillery brigades, while the administrative troops are on the extreme N.W. flank. It may be added that the main training ground, rifle ranges, etc., lie on the W. side of the camp. The general slope of the land is from N. to S. towards the brook passing the power station and hospital.

(D) Accessory Services. The accessory services are (i.) Hospi- tal, (ii.) Roads and Railways, (iii.) Water Supply, (iv.) Lighting, (v.) Refuse Disposal and Sewage.

(i.) Hospital. For a large cantonment, a hospital of 600 beds, with an isolation hospital for infectious complaints, is needed. In the theatre of war, this number was of course largely exceeded, and there the unit of each general hospital was 1,000 beds, base hospitals being frequently groups of 10 or more such units. The principles of design, however, are the same, and although in mat- ters of construction detail there may be differences, the following general description is of universal application. Fig. 5 shows the

RA.M.C PERSONNEL

200 FT

i. Mortuary, etc. 2. Pack Store. 3. Disinfecting Block. 4. Hos- pital Supply Department. 5. Dining-room. 6. Kitchen Block. 7. Operation Block. 8. Administration Block.

lay-out of a camp hospital, considered as a type. In front on one side are the mess and officers' quarters, on the other side the accom- modation for the nursing sisters. Both these are arranged so as to be separate from the hospital itself, though sufficiently near for all practical purposes. It was subsequently found desirable to sur- round the nurses' quarters with a high fence on the hospital side so as to ensure greater privacy. In front of the main hospital enclosure is the administration block and behind it the operation room. In some of the field hospitals this building was the centre of a series of wards radiating out from it. Groups of wards, in the type figure, are on either side, and in most hutted camps, in England, these were connected with the operating rooms and administration block by covered passages. The kitchen and dining-rooms and supply stores occupy a central position behind the operating room, and the quarters of the hospital orderlies are beyond. The isolation wards are in any convenient position not too far away from the main buildings.

At the later stages of the war, when the number of sick and wounded increased, it was found that 24 or 25 beds were too few, and much larger wards were designed, but the same general arrange- ment was continued.

(ii.) Roads and Railways. The ordinary roads of the country where a large hutted camp is situated, will soon be found inade- quate for the constant heavy traffic entailed by the occupation, and additional roads will be necessitated. This will be evident from the plan of Hipswell Camp. Consequently early steps must be taken to provide roads of the best construction, preferably concrete 20 ft.