John Andrew Wollfreys was born in Salisbury on 14.06.1823 and qualified as a M.D. at St. Andrews in 1859. He entered the Army as an Assistant Surgeon in the 71st Foot in 1847, transferring to the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment in 1850 and the 10th Foot in 1852. He was appointed Staff Surgeon 2nd Class in 1855 and Staff Surgeon Major in 1867. Woolfreys served in the second phase of the Ashantee War of 1973-74 as Principal Medical Officer, for which he received special promotion to Deputy Surgeon General in April 1874. He again served as Principal Medical Officer at the Cape in the Galeka and Gaika Rebellions 1877-78, and again in Natal during the Sekukuni and Zulu Wars 1878-79. For his services in the Zulu War he was awarded the C.B. in 1879, in the following year he was awarded the C.M.G. In 1880 he was promoted to Surgeon General, then in 1899 he was appointed Honorary Physician to Queen Victoria, then to King Edward VII in 1902 and George V in 1911. He was created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1902. Sir John Woolfreys died at Wells, Somerset on 12th January 1912.

Surgeon-General J. A. Woofryes, M.D., C.B., C.M.G., Experiences Principal Medical Officer of the Force in the Zulu War, 1877, . e J
thus writes :

" The question of ambulances caused some anxiety. In the Cape Colony campaign the ordinary ox wagons were used, fitted with a framework called a cartel, having springs, and slung inside the body of the wagon. A number of these cartels had been forwarded to Natal, but it was found that the wagons of this colony were of a different pattern, and were not sufficiently wide to receive them. As ambulances* were required without delay, travelling wagons with springs, such as are used by the better class of colonists, were brought up and converted into ambulances, but only a few of them could be obtained. Therefore, five store wagons with springs were procured from the Ordnance Department, and these were adapted to the purpose. As the war assumed greater proportions, however, more ambulances were required, and it was
only after some difficulty that a tradesman could be found who engaged to complete and hand over one every fortnight. He constructed 12, which proved to be most serviceable. They were ordinary wagons of the country, each having on its floor a platform resting on six stout carriage springs, three on either side, leaving a space of some 18 inches between the floor and the platform. On the platform behind were arranged three hospital stretchers abreast for lying-down patients, and in front a double row of seats, back to back, for fourteen patients sitting up. A double tent covered the whole length of the wagon, and there was ample circulation of air through the open sides, while canvas curtains excluded the rain. The men's kits and rifles, with tents for use on the road, and cooking utensils, were carried in the space between the two floors. The length of the vehicle made its motion easier over the rough roads, and the jolting was counteracted by the springs most satisfactorily." (A.M.D. Reports, 1879.)