Medic talks of casualties of war

Captain Chris Meeks, who witnessed the casualties of war in Iraq.

The British Territorial Army's contribution to the war in Iraq and the aftermath allied reconstruction has been incalculable.

Chris Meeks is bed manager at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and a captain with the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps.

When the 202 Field Hospital in Headington, Oxfordshire, became the first TA field hospital to be compulsorily mobilised in the country, Mr Meeks braced himself for what dangers lay ahead.

The 42-year-old father-of-two, who served as an evacuation officer at a field hospital in Kuwait before and during the conflict from March, told BBC News Online how he coped.

During the first few days, the air raid sirens would sound for between two and four hours because the forces were unsure where the scud missiles were heading in the general area of the northern desert - where we were based.

When we heard the big bangs we would think : "Oh my God, I hope that does not come and hit us." Through the tension people laughed and joked.

But as the war progressed the forces were able to track them so the "all clear" eventually took just ten minutes.

I was called up in March. My wife Lindsay and I knew we would be mobilised at some point but it still came as a bit of shock.

Lindsay, 36, who also belongs to the TA, was on maternity leave after having our daughter Isabella, who was only six weeks old at the time.

Ironically, the aircraft I flew out in passed over my house.

The thing that struck me was the soaring heat - 50 degrees during the day and like a scorching British summer's day at night.

War declared

The night before the conflict began we were informed by the commanding officer that negotiations had broken down and war would be declared on Saddam Hussein.

The phones were cut off at that point because of security risks and I, like most, desperately wanted to speak to my family.

I thought: this is the time we will all be tested.

The casualties I saw were British, American, Australian and Iraqi. I was working in the Accident and Emergency unit where the injuries ranged from burns to very nasty bullet wounds.

But you put your professional hat on and you deal with the situation.

We treated the Iraqis as people who were injured. Of course, there were surrounding issues about what to do with them afterwards.

There were a lot negotiations at high levels trying to decide whether they were prisoners of war or civilians.

One of the biggest problems was trying to find suitable places for them to go back to given that their houses may have been destroyed, along with Iraqi hospitals.

Some of the worst casualties I dealt with were among Iraqi civilians after the war.

In one case, we treated an Iraqi man who suffered severe petrol burns. An Iraqi hospital did not have the facilities to follow-up his treatment. He and his wife then turned to the British Royal Army for assistance.

Being in Kuwait was a huge experience - like living in another world. I had never been to the Middle East before and it was a culture shock.