JOHN SKILLINGTON
The Red Cross
Oil on board
41 X 30cm
The forebears of the Army medic are the stretcher bearers of WWI, responsible for providing basic first aid and evacuation of the wounded. RAAMC medics have unique ethics and responsibilities, a near impossible duality as both soldier and nurse. Perhaps the very definition of the solidarity of mateship and self-sacrifice.
Despite being attached to other medical functions by often well-meaning groups the emblem legally means unimpeded medical assistance only in armed conflict, in fact knowingly firing at a medic wearing the red cross is a war crime.
