Lifesavers And Body Snatchers

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The perception of medical care on the Great War battlefield often evokes images reminiscent of the American Civil War, with surgeons grimly amputating limbs amidst chaos. However, this view is misleading. Medical care, particularly within the Canadian medical services, was advanced and continually improving, resulting in a significantly higher number of wounded soldiers saved than lost. After the war, civilian doctors who had served in military roles applied their hard-earned lessons back in Canada. The establishment of a new Department of Health followed the devastating 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic, which claimed 50,000 Canadian lives. Ironically, the war that sought to preserve life also propelled advancements in civilian health. Yet, medical progress was not the only legacy of the war; the exploitation of human body parts emerged as a shocking reality. Tim Cook's extensive research uncovers the hidden history of Canadian doctors who harvested body parts from fallen soldiers, sending over 1,200 specimens—including brains, lungs, and bones—to the Royal College of Surgeons in London. These body parts were stored, treated, and even exhibited in galleries. Life Savers and Body Snatchers serves as a definitive account of the Canadian forces' medical history during the Great War and explores the medical innovations that arose from its horrors.