Now comes the first real hospital treatment. All along the coast of France and at suitable places were hospital centres such as Calais, St. Omer, Le Treport, Le Havre, Rouen, Etaples and Boulogne, with General and Stationary and Special Hospitals. These centres were under an A.D.M.S., who was informed usually twice daily by the different hospitals what empty beds were available. From this information convoys (hospital trains) were dispatched from the C.C.S. to the different hospitals. These were notified by telegraph of the approximate time of arrival so that ample provision could be made to transfer by motor ambulance the patients from the train, on arrival, to the hospital. These hospitals were all splendidly equipped with X-ray departments and pathological laboratories, and were well staffed with medical and surgical specialists, highly trained nurses and orderlies. When satisfactory progress had been made here, patients were transferred to England to similar, though more highly specialized, hospitals and convalescent homes, and finally, where necessary, were invalided home to Canada. The difference between a General and a Stationary Hospital was only in size, the former being primarily about twice the size of the latter. Nova Scotia contributed its quota to all these varied services, including three complete Medical Units. NO. 1 CANADIAN CASUALTY CLEARING STATION. [Illustration: COL. F. L. S. FORD, C.M.G.] The first Nova Scotia Unit to be accepted and mobilized for Overseas Service with the First Contingent was a Medical Unit, No. 2 Clearing Hospital, which had recently returned from annual training at Sussex, N.B. Its headquarters was at Halifax and its Commanding Officer Major F. L. S. Ford, who afterwards became Colonel Ford, C.M.G., and was three times mentioned in Sir Douglas Haig’s despatches. This Unit afterwards became No. 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and had a most brilliant record, going through the whole war service of the Canadian Corps. Immediately after Great Britain entered the War on August 4, 1914, Major Ford telegraphed to Ottawa offering his Unit for Active Service, and on August 10th its mobilization was ordered at Liverpool, N.S. On August 12th a recruiting meeting occurred in the Town Hall, Liverpool, which was one of the first, if not the first, public recruiting meeting held in Canada. This meeting was addressed by Major Ford, the mayor of the town, and a number of other citizens. There was a great deal of enthusiasm, and then and there the Unit was recruited up to peace-time strength, and in a few days orders were received to entrain on August 20, 1914, for Valcartier Training Camp, via Halifax.