THE problems associated with the efficiency of the soldier's feet in the army are of the utmost importance.

During the First World War the infantry were essentially foot soldiers and had to march carrying their equipment whenever a change of location was made. In spite of this, there does not seem to have been an undue amount of disability produced by the feet. During the war there was a marked development of orthopaedic surgery as a specialty, and between the wars this specialisation continued. Attention was concentrated on orthopaedic conditions. The different abnormalities of the foot were studied and many operative procedures developed to rectify them. As was to be expected, the enthusiasm often led to over-elaboration of treatment for comparatively minor disabilities. There was also a tendency, especially amongst the less experienced surgeons, to overstress the anatomical as against the functional conditions of the foot.