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Captain Russell V. 'Ruk' Steele, 84th Field Ambulance, RAMC, 28th Division.
Letters to his family from France & Flanders May-October 1915 & from the Salonika Front December 1915-June 1916, plus several from hospital in Malta in July 1916 & a number of related letters, almost all with original envelopes.
#67883
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![[HLMainPic]](booksThumbs/67883.jpg "Click on the left or right of the image for more images")
Russell Vyvian 'Ruk' Steele MB BS (1888-1959) was resident surgical officer at the Schiff Home of Recovery at Cobham when he received a commission in the RAMC in March 1915. He served in France & Salonika until invalided home, severely ill with dysentery in July 1916. Here are offered a the letters he wrote while on active service, several embellished with sketches & several including small snapshots from Salonika. These are accompanied by a small number of letters to Steele from RAMC colleagues & others in Salonika following his being invalided. Also a number of related family wartime letters &c. Steele's letter, apart from family matters & concern for them due to Zeppelin raids on the south of England, include details of his work, living conditions, &c. Some extracts (i) France: 16/10/1916 "I have been round the country in the cars every morning collecting sick from the different regiments of our Brigade & taking them to Hospital so I have had plenty of fresh air..." 19/10/1915: "We are still in the Hospital & as I write a terrific bombardment is firing in the distance. We are giving the Boche blazes & they are getting very nervy... I believe I saw the Prince of Wales yesterday riding along the street on a bike. He looked very fit & is turning our well..." 23/12/1915: "On out-post duty 'Somewhere in the Balkans'...here I am under canvas quite on my own with a separate command detahced from our main body... We matched up here in rear of the Regiment we are with. One of the padres came with us. We marched up the one main road in these parts which stretches for miles among the hills. The as we topped the rise we saw below us a vast & desolate-looking plain of green, somewhat marshy country stretching for miles with mountains at the far side. Somewhere over the other side of these mounts are the wily Bulgars & Austro-Germans waiting their opportunity to march forward... Our job is to collect the wounded, in case of action, from the outlying outposts, & get them back to our lines..." Approx. 30 letters OAS & a similar number relating to family matters, from comrades, &c. Interesting collection. See illustrations on our website.
£200
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