The Unit was making preparations to still further expand the bed capacity of the hospital when orders were issued for all hospitals in the area to evacuate at once. The wounded were sent by ambulance trains to the base, the equipment was packed up, and on April 19th the Unit moved to Etaples, which is a fishing village about twenty miles from Boulogne. It was a large hospital area and there were 25,000 available beds.
On the outskirts of the town near the village of Le Faux a site was provided for the St. Francis Unit. The nursing sisters were detailed for duty to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and No. 7 Canadian General Hospital. The officers and men were under canvas.
The Unit was under instructions to open a tent hospital of 600 beds, and the work was progressing rapidly when that terrible air raid came at 10 o’clock in the evening of May 18th and continued for nearly two hours. The casualties were very heavy and every hospital suffered. A number of live bombs dropped within the small area occupied by the St. Francis Unit. Two men were instantly killed and thirteen wounded. The killed were Sergeants MacMillen and Taylor. They were buried in the Military Cemetery at Etaples. Seventeen hospital marquees of the Unit were destroyed during this raid. It was fortunate that the Unit had not commenced receiving patients.
COL. R. ST. JOHN MACDONALD.
One of the medical officers, Capt W. F. MacIsaac, of Antigonish, was badly wounded, and succumbed to his injuries in No. 1 Canadian General Hospital on June 3rd. He was a young man of brilliant attainments, exemplary character and a promising young surgeon. He too was buried in the Military Cemetery at Etaples. The whole Unit was in attendance at the funeral.
Since a large part of the hospital equipment was destroyed it was decided to move the Unit to another area. All the railways were congested and every other means of transportation taxed to the utmost; consequently no means of moving the equipment could be obtained, and it remained packed for several months. Most of the officers and men were detailed for duty to other hospitals.
Lieut.-Col. H. E. Kendall was recalled for duty to England on August 28, 1918, and command of the Unit fell to Major R. St. J. MacDonald, who had been posted to the Unit a few months previously.
The Unit was instructed to be in readiness to open up a Convalescent Hospital for the Canadian Corps. But before this was carried out the Germans made an unconditional surrender which they were allowed to call an Armistice.
Hopes were now high for an early, in fact, immediate return home, and this became the all-absorbing topic of conversation.