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Description
Daniel Collard was a coal miner from Ebbw Vale.
He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in October 1914.
Alun Davidson explains why his great great ‘Uncle Dan’ joined the RAMC:
“His family were very involved in the St John Ambulance. His brother, my Great Grandfather, was what they called an ‘ambulance man’ at the colliery.”
“Uncle Dan had been on several peace missions to Germany just before the war. As a coal miner he would have been exempted from conscription as he performed work of national importance so it’s clear that whilst he did not want to take up arms he wanted to serve in some fashion.”
“He had the snuff box, lock and dice as a miner. He used the lock for his tools which were left underground between shifts. The code for the combination lock is RAMC for the Royal Army Medical Corps.”
“The peace missions to Germany, prior to the outbreak of war, came about through Uncle Dan’s involvement in adult education and the temperance movement.”
Daniel went to the Western Front during the winter of 1916. He died of wounds near Ypres on 26 July 1917.
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