Rare were the occasions for a real wash. Soldiers might be able to use a ‘blast bath’ or field shower when they rotated to rest zones, but these were limited and often cold. Many cleaned with makeshift methods, sponges, canvas tubs, water jugs, and improvised basins, just trying to scrub off mud, sweat, lice, and worse. While the Army Medical Corps and quartermasters struggled to maintain hygiene standards in camps, necessity and terrain often overwhelmed them. By the Second World War, some improvements had been made. The Canadian Army’s medical services had organized field sanitation, latrine systems, and water purification, and the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) worked with field ambulance units and casualty clearing stations to manage health in-theatre. But conditions remained harsh in the fields of battle. Long marches, dirt, limited supply, and exposure meant that minor infections, skin sores, dysentery, and other diseases thrived when hygiene lapsed. When we think of the sacrifices our soldiers made when fighting for our freedoms, we often think of battling the enemy, not battling poor hygiene. We can step into a hot shower, change into clean
Scaffolding Tough Jobs Made Easier Tough Jobs Made Easier clothing, or brush our teeth daily, which now seems trivial, yet for soldiers of the world wars, each clean wash, scrub and rinse was a small victory over illness. On Remembrance Day, let us remember not only the grand acts of courage, but also the silent, stubborn fight they waged against disease and filth. May we never forget how precious even simple acts of cleanliness were, and how much we owe those who endured so much.
From Courage in Combat to Compassion in Care We Remember.
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Page 12 Hometown St. Thomas • November 2025
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