17735 Rifleman William M Smallfield (3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade) joined the New Zealand Rifle Brigade in 1916 aged 21. He left NZ for the UK with G Coy, 16th Reinforcements, on board ss Mokoia. After a period at Sling Camp he made his way to the Western Front where he was wounded in In February 1917, spending some days in hospital before returning to the battlefield. After two and a half years on the Western Front he finally returned to his family in Auckland.

Field Dressing, WW1

“Every soldier in the field carries a first field dressing, which is sewn in the small pocket on the inner side of the tunic at the left corner of the skirt of the coat. The first field dressing consists of two roller bandages which are each attached to a pad of absorbent material. In packing them, the inner surface of the pad is folded so that the surface is protected from contact with the fingers when opening the package. A safety-pin is lightly stitched to each bandage, and is folded in wax paper to protect it. These two pads, and bandages are rendered surgically clean when being cut and folded and after being sterilized are enclosed in a waterproof outer covering which is sealed hermetically by means of a gummed edge. A small ampoule of iodine is enclosed in a cardboard tube, and is placed between the two sealed packages, the whole being enclosed in a khaki cloth covering on which instructions for use are printed. Upon a soldier being wounded he will use the first field dressing to cover the wound binding it on by means of the roller bandage attached, or where he cannot manipulate the bandage himself, a comrade will do it for him. This is the first treatment that the soldier gets."

From Military Organisation and Administration by Major GRN Collins, Instructor at the Canadian Military School, 1918, Hugh Rees Ltd, London