First World War Black and White Photograph of Unidentified Light Horsemen

During the First World War, Australian Light Horsemen used stretchers for transporting fallen comrades, especially over short distances or rough terrain in the desert. These stretchers were often carried by other soldiers or pulled by horse-drawn sand carts designed for soft sand, which could hold multiple stretchers. The scale of casualties in the First World War was unprecedented. Thousands of soldiers were being buried on the battlefields in individual or communal graves by their comrades. They were often buried where they fell in action, or in a burial ground on or near the battlefield. A simple cross or marker might be put up to mark the location and give brief details of the individuals who had died.