ABOUT THIS EPISODE
How did the industrialisation of blood supply transform the battlefield of the Second World War, and what can it teach us about modern conflict?
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps is joined by Dr Roderick Bailey, a historian at the University of Oxford and former British Army reservist most recently tasked by the MOD to investigate mass casualty treatment – and specifically blood supplies – during the Second World War to learn its modern lessons.
Roderick's latest book, The Lifesavers, uncovers the monumental, almost industrial effort by the Royal Army Medical Corps to deliver refrigerated blood directly to the front lines. From the muddy trenches of the Somme to the deserts of North Africa, this conversation explores how civilian doctors in uniform revolutionised military medicine and saved countless lives.
Facing Coming Storms is brought to you by the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, in partnership with the Project for the Study of the 21st Century, and produced by Urban Podcasts.
