stretcher-bearer

American  

[strech-er-bair-er] / ˈstrɛtʃ ərˌbɛər ər /

noun

1. a person who helps carry a stretcher, as in removing wounded from a battlefield.

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stretcher-bearer British  

noun

1. a person who helps to carry a stretcher, esp in wartime

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Etymology

Origin of stretcher-bearer

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Philpott gives us an Australian stretcher-bearer named Henry Freeman, who wrote of marching “through the most beautiful country imaginable . . . wild flowers of every colour and description intermingled with the almost golden corn stretching for miles.”

From Washington Post

He emigrated to Australia, then served with distinction as a stretcher-bearer at Gallipoli.

From Economist

He was sent to Belgium in February 1915 and became a stretcher-bearer.

From BBC

One hundred years ago, he died heroically, at 29, as a stretcher-bearer in France.

From New York Times

A stretcher-bearer at Leeds general hospital commented on the award of his OBE: "They often say he's a bit of a twit. Us, we say he's a bit of a bloody saint."

From The Guardian