The American Ambulance, Great Britain, operated from 17 stations across mainland Britain with five located in London and one each in Cardiff, Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Reading and Tunbridge Wells. For most of the War, the headquarters were at 9 Grosvenor Gardens in London, formerly the offices of the The Pyrene Company Limited. In March 1945 it moved to 44 Lower Belgrave Street.
Personnel
The ambulance staff were British women aged between 18 and 45 and numbered around 400, some of whom were seconded from the Mechanised Transport Corps and the Women's Transport Services. Members of the AAGB wore the tunic and skirt uniform as worn by those in the FANY but with crossed British and American flags on the sleeve. All training was undertaken in Leeds. During the course of the war, three members of the organisation were killed on active service:
Officer Ensign, Marjorie Stewart Butler. On the 10 May 1941 the Alexandra Hotel, Knightsbridge received a bomb hit. Butler was in one of the first ambulances on the scene and went inside to help casualties. But part of the damaged building collapsed on her; she later died of her injuries.
Driver H N Richardson, killed in London
Driver Dorothy Helen Daly, killed on the 4 May 1942 after the house she was billeted in on Spicer Road, Exeter was bombed during the Exeter Blitz. One other member of the AAGB was injured in the attack.
Vehicles
All the AAGB's vehicles were painted grey with a red strip and an emblem featuring the British and American flags. Depending on the purpose several types of vehicle were operated by the AAGB
Ambulances attended bombing incidents and transferred casualties to local hospitals and first aid posts. The vehicles were also used to transfer patients requiring specialist treatment. Several types of vehicle were used - the Ford R.O.I.T, the Ford Clara a, the Austin K2/Y and Chevrolet Ambulances, based on American Chevrolet vans. A small number of ambulances built by Bedford were also operated.
Mobile First-Aid Posts were adapted Fordson E83W vans. They were specially adapted to navigate along roads strewn with rubble and debris following an air raid. These units were able to treat several hundred casualties. These mobile units were accompanied by a truck carrying doctors, nurses and stretcher-bearers.
Surgical Units were vehicles detailed to a local hospital. Their intended purpose was to transport medical teams to a bomb site. But they eventually became mostly used for moving casualties. These vehicles were mostly large American saloon cars.
Maintenance
The cost of maintaining the vehicles was met via subscriptions managed through the British War Relief Society of America.
