Historical information

This water bottle was carried by stretcher bearers in the Light Horse Field Ambulance. The cup/cap was used to give a drink to a wounded soldier who could not hold a water bottle to his lips.
A light horse field ambulance was an Australian World War I military unit whose purpose was to provide medical transport and aid to the wounded and sick soldiers of an Australian Light Horse brigade.
Typically a Lieutenant Colonel commanded each ambulance. All officers of the ambulance were medical doctors or surgeons. Dental units were often attached to the ambulance as well.
A Field Ambulance consisted of two sections, the Mobile and the Immobile. The Mobile Section travel with its brigade into combat, where it would establish a Dressing Station. It use stretchers or carts to retrieve the wounded and transport them to the Dressing Station. The Immobile Section established and operated a Receiving Station, which received the wounded the Dressing Station sent on. The ambulance's surgeons would operate on the wounded at the Receiving Station. From the Receiving Station, the sick and wounded would go first to the Casualty Clearing Station and ultimately to a Base Hospital.

Significance

Representative of a water bottle which differed from the regular water bottle and was used for a specific purpose.

Physical description

Water bottle, felt coated, with small metal cup over spout, all held in leather carrier. Strapped to a wooden stand.