Jump to content

WWII era Neil Robertson stretcher


Gregory
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello,

 

As many of you perhaps know both the British and US armed forces of WWII era used semi-rigid Neil Robertson litter (as the AAF called them) or stretcher as preferred in the Army terminology. It was excellent patent present in the US and British ships, planes, simply in every place with restricted space, as cockpits etc.

 

Does anybody know who Neil Robertson was? Was he British or American? Any engineer, doctor, other inventor?

 

Thanks a lot for your help and possible pieces of information about him.

 

Best regards

 

Gregory

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interestingly there doesn't seem to be a lot about it, from what I have read I would presume he made improvements/modifications to the Japanese Totsuka stretcher sometime after 1910 or thereabouts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Rusty for your visiting this thread.

 

Isn't world strange? Today we live in the era of fantastic Aerolite stretcher as used all over the world in all possible EMS/HEMS fixed- and rotary-wing casevac/medevac aerial crafts. I am on friendly terms with the HEMS guys so I know that Aerolite are "cult" stretcher for them.

 

But 70, or much more, years long such a "cult" stretcher were (and still are) also Neil Robertson ones. Isn't it a big paradox that nobody knows (officially, I mean literature) who was he?

 

Best regards

 

Gregory

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Neil Robertson was British and a member of the Royal Navy, there is some information on him here. Apparently it's unclear how much input he actually had into the stretchers design though.

 

http://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/files.php?file=The%20Oracle/Equipment/Stretchers.pdf

 

Hope the article helps.

 

Tom.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No problems Gregory. I work in EMS here in the UK and have used an original Neil Robertson in confined spaces it really is a fantastic piece of Equipment.

 

Up to 5 years ago we had WW2 style but unmarked Neil Robertson's in stores in some of our older Ambulance Stations from civil defence days. When they got rid of them I was told I could take one if I wanted one. It makes a nice edition to my AAF and medical collections :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ha! Fantastic, good opportunity to add something for your collection.

 

Tom, do you know who manufactured those stretchers during WWII? The UK only or USA as well? Or both?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm afraid I don't Gregory but I can have another look at mine and see if there are any manufacture marks on it and let you know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

On vacation in Colorado. Picked one up today at a garage sale in Durango. Marked: Prescott Wilson, Inc. Aug. 17, 1944. Also marked U.S. Army Medical Department with the Caduceus inside of a circle.

 

Al

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...