Tag Archives: Norman Bethune

Blood on the road

January 29, 2020

Anne Marie Appelgren Málaga, Spain   The modified Ford station wagon, used as a blood transfusion transport in the name of the international Red Cross in Spain 1937. To the right we see Norman Bethune and far right Hazen Sise. “The wounded are dying, searching for blood. Now the blood can move, now the blood […]

Norman Bethune’s mobile blood transfusions

December 10, 2019

Irving Rosen Toronto, Ontario, Canada   Canadian Blood Transfusion Unit which operated during the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Norman Bethune is at the right. c. 1936–1937, Spain. From the Library and Archives Canada. Public domain. Norman Bethune was born in Ontario’s cottage country in 1895 to missionary parents who influenced him to try to improve […]

The Friends’ Ambulance Unit South Bank Clinic: the forgotten valor of the pacifists who stayed beyond the fight

April 24, 2017

Christopher Magoon Philadelphia, PA, USA   FAU volunteer labels unit truck Unit leader, Jack Jones, sketches scene of locals in common room For many of the non-Chinese volunteers who aided China during the tumult of the 1930s and 40s, a notoriety that borders on mythology remains to this day. Perhaps most famously, an American group […]

Dr. Norman Bethune: A tale of military heroism

January 22, 2017

Satish Saroshe Indore, India   A frontline surgeon, noted medical innovator, and early proponent of universal health care, Henry Norman Bethune was best known for his services in World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and above all for selfless work in war-torn China, treating sick Chinese villagers and wounded soldiers. He was one of […]