Brown Ambulances : Brown University Library Brown in the Great War

Turning Point

“THE LEAST WE COULD DO IS GIVE THEM A BROWN AMBULANCE”¹

In 1916, Brown alumnus Edward O. Bartlett (1891) was serving in the American Ambulance Field Service, stationed in France. Bartlett, who was older than most in the organization, had the nickname “Daddy.” Bartlett wrote to a former classmate of the need for men in the Ambulance Service and explained what the men might expect. “A bath is a rarity. Your boots are always muddy. No clothes brush will take the mud from your overcoat, and a knife or screw driver must start it. In a long night’s drive, the hands and ears suffer. Danger is there too.”² “The sections are in constant need of new cars to replace those worn out or destroyed, and several have been shot to pieces. Don’t you think it would be possible for you to find enough Brown men who would be willing to hold up the name of Brown by giving us a new ambulance? All our cars are Fords. We buy the chassis in America and build the bodies here. It costs $1,500 to buy a chassis, build and equip the ambulance and maintain it for one year’s service at the front. It would be very pleasing to see Brown’s name on the side of an ambulance.”³

REMY convoy (1) — REMY convoy. Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection.

On January 20th, the Brown Christian Association initiated a campaign to raise the funds, and the plea for a Brown sponsored ambulance was published in the Brown Daily Herald the same day. The campaign made rapid progress. On February 7th, a benefit was staged in Sayles Hall. One of the founders of the American Ambulance Service, Lieutenant George H. Roeder spoke and a film titled “Our American Boys in the European War” was shown. On May 21st at Keith’s Theatre in downtown Providence, another benefit was held to raise money for the cause, in which the Brown Glee Club took part. An address was made by Lukas C. Doyle, who had been wounded in Ambulance Service in France, and a one act play “When the Bugle Calls” was staged. The performances and collections netted $1,238.40 for the fund.⁴

bdr-64724 — Cast of Glee Club’s operetta “No Trespassing,” 1917. Pembroke College archives. Images of Brown.

In March, a letter of thanks was received from the secretary of the American Ambulance Field Service, along with a promise to try and send the Brown car, which bore a plaque that read “Given by the Students and Friends of Brown University” to Bartlett’s unit. At the end of the war, Professor Charles Hunkin would describe the Brown car as “the real veteran of the section, having more than thirty holes in it.”⁵ From the total funds raised, a balance of $200 remained. A check was sent as a contribution from the students of the University towards the endowment of a Brown University Bed for a ward in the American Hospital in Paris.⁶ Soon after, a note of thanks was received from the hospital. “The Brown Bed in France is serving its intended purpose and that at least two wounded French Soldiers have occupied it and appreciated it. It is at present occupied by a corporal, Clement B-, 28 years old, in the 137eme d’Infantie, who was badly wounded last October. Before the war he was a farmer in the Commuen de Venanceau (Vendee), where he lives with his wife and small daughter.” The letter contained a few words from the occupant of the Brown bed. “I am a French soldier and have fought since 1914. I was recently wounded during a fight which took place June 3, 1918. Following my removal from the front I have come to convalesce in an American hospital, where I am in room 262, bed No. 7. The bed in which I have passed comfortable hours is the one which belongs to you and which you support. How honored I am to find myself there!” – Un Soldat Francais⁷

bdr-235719 — French convalescents. 1915. “Two of my favorite convalescents. The one on my left, Butteau, gave his blood twice to save comrades.” Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection.

With further donations, Brown ultimately raised enough funds to send two additional ambulances to France. The first car was named in honor of Professor Henri F. Micoleau, killed in action on September 9th, 1914 at the first battle of the Marne; the second for Florence J. H. Price, the first Brown graduate to die in the war. The work of the Brown Christian Association did not end with the endowed ambulances and bed. The organization also contributed funds to the Belgian Relief Fund, raised $2,733 for the Y.M.C.A.⁸, prepared and sent Christmas boxes to each Brown undergraduate in service⁹, sang at Red Cross fundraising entertainments, and shipped books and magazines to the army. During the campus influenza quarantine members of the organization sold Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds to students to raise money for the war effort.

Brown Christian Association's Cabinet. Liber Brunensis, 1917. — Brown Christian Association’s Cabinet, 1916/1917. Liber Brunensis, 1917.

1. BUA. BDH. January 20, 1917
2. BDH 26:90, January 19, 1917. pg3
3. BUA. BAM, 17:6. January, 1917. pp153-154
4. BUA. OF-1Q-C1. Christian Association Files. Box 1. BCA annual report 1916-17, pg5
5. BUA. World War I Correspondence. Hunkins Ambulance Service report to President Faunce.
6. BUA. OF-IE-3 box 4. Files of W.H.P. Faunce
7. BUA. BDH. January, 1919. pg121
8. BUA. BDH 27:98, pg16
9. BUA. Topic Files 1-E WWI. BCA. pg2