The 3rd Australian Field Ambulance was a company of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War. The 3rd Field Ambulance was deployed to Gallipoli, Turkey, on 25 April 1915. It is primarily known for being the company

John Simpson Kirkpatrick John Kirkpatrick (enlisted as John Simpson; 6 July 1892 – 19 May 1915) was a stretcher bearer with the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance brigade during the Gallipoli campaign – the Allied attempt to capture Constantinople, ca ...

was registered in. The Field Ambulance consisted of medical personnel who would treat injured soldiers on the battlefield. Private John Kirkpatrick Simpson was born on 6 July 1892, in South Shields of North East England, and at age 23 he enlisted as a stretcher bearer with the 3rd Field Ambulance during the Gallipoli campaign. John Simpson became Australia's most famous military hero for his innovative idea of using a donkey to assist in carrying wounded soldiers from the high ground of the front line, back to the dressing stations located at Anzac Cove. For part of its service on the Western Front, it was commanded by

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Arthur Butler, who later wrote the official history of the Australian Army's medical services during the war. During the Second World War, the 3rd Field Ambulance was part of the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, Australia's part-time military force, and was deployed to New Guinea, where it supported the 30th Brigade during fighting against the Japanese during the

Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primar ...

, deploying from Adelaide in January 1942.

References

3rd Australian Field Ambulance 3rd Australian Field Ambulance Military units and formations established in the 1910s {{Australia-mil-stub