Trench foot
Trench foot can be prevented by keeping the feet clean, warm, and dry. It was also discovered in World War I that a key preventive measure was regular foot inspections; soldiers would be paired and each made responsible for the feet of the other, and they would generally apply whale oil to prevent trench foot. If left to their own devices, soldiers might neglect to take off their own boots and socks to dry their feet each day, but if it were the responsibility of another, this became less likely. Later on in the war, instances of trench foot began to decrease, probably as a result of the introduction of the aforementioned measures; of wooden duckboards to cover the muddy, wet, cold ground of the trenches; and of the increased practice of troop rotation, which kept soldiers from prolonged time at the front.
Battle of Le Transloy
Stretcher-bearers worked four to a stretcher, reinforced by pioneers, men from divisional supply trains and anyone else who could be spared, including prisoners. From Gueudecourt to the Longueval tramway, the carry was in three stages. Illness increased in the British armies but routine measures to prevent trench foot, by rubbing feet with whale oil and donning dry socks, reduced the number of cases compared to 1915, despite the increase in the size of the BEF. Combined frostbite and trench foot admissions to hospital in 1916 were against year previous. On the week ending 28 October, there were next week and the next two weeks. By 30 December, had been admitted in the British Expeditionary Force in the year, about as measured by ration strength.