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Medical Units of 2 NZEF in Middle East and Italy

CHAPTER 1 — BIRTH OF THE MEDICAL UNITS — 1939–40

page 1

CHAPTER 1
BIRTH OF THE MEDICAL UNITS
1939–40

TO camp they came—men from all walks of life and women from the hospitals. They did not come to carry arms, but to be trained to relieve suffering and to save the lives of their comrades who would be wounded and maimed by the missiles of the war which was just beginning. They knew they would have the sick to nurse back to health, and that some would have to educate the troops to keep themselves fit and free from disease.

They were to come to be known by all, and best known to those for whom they were to do the most. Although their main task was the care of individuals, their presence helped to build up morale and their ministrations to conserve the Division's manpower in the field.

They had their share to give in the common cause. Little did they know that, along with other Allied medical units, they would be commended by Lord Montgomery in Berlin in 1945 as ‘those whose contribution to victory has been beyond all calculation’.

When they joined the Army they did not doubt that they would be victorious, but they could not know how long-delayed victory would be—six years, each longer than the last, filled with strangeness and travel, adversity and monotony, joy and success, but throughout which they were to feel a constant sense of satisfaction in their work for their fellows.

The New Zealand Medical Corps' contribution to victory began in the mobilisation camps in September 1939. It was then that the first of the medical units went into camp at Burnham—parts of 4 Field Ambulance and 4 Field Hygiene Section. After them there came into being in Burnham 5 and 6 Field Ambulances, and in Trentham 1, 2, and 3 General Hospitals and 1 Convalescent Depot. In Trentham, too, all the medical units' reinforcements were trained. Other units, such as the Casualty Clearing Station, were formed overseas.

The Corps was a mixture of men of many ages and occupations, some with military experience, the large majority with none. There page 2 were some, mainly the senior medical officers, who had seen service in the First World War; a few had served in the Middle East in Egypt, Palestine, Salonika, and on Gallipoli.

There were many, especially in the First Echelon, who had had long and recent Territorial experience. The medical officers, nursing sisters, dispensers, and some others brought with them professional training for the work they were to do. Plumbers, electricians, and mechanics provided other useful skills, and trained and educated men filled positions as clerks, storemen, and orderlies. The medical units required a great variety of trained personnel to enable them to give full medical service under varying conditions, especially when few of the accepted civilian amenities and no adequate buildings were available. All had to adjust themselves to Army life in all its facets and to the most diverse surroundings and circumstances.

The choice of personnel—officers, sisters, and men—was therefore of the utmost importance, and it can be said that in that respect the New Zealand Medical Corps was singularly fortunate.

Camp Life

Newly-arrived recruits were always an odd-looking group in a military camp. Their civilian clothes and habits seemed out of place, but attired in uniform and accustomed to camp life they began to look more like soldiers.

The transition stage from civilian comfort, independence, and privacy to communal Army life, with its roughness and rigid discipline, was a painful process. All members of the Corps, however, soon recovered from the first shock and acquired a notable adaptability during their war service. Eating, sleeping, and drilling together, the men became comrades and developed a unit spirit which was to inspire them to unselfish and sustained work during the long war.

Queueing was to become an Army habit. Recruits were usually initiated into it in their first few days in camp, when they were shepherded along and halted under a large notice ‘Camp QM’. Diffidently they passed through the store to collect, in a cavernous kitbag, socks, shirts, vests, underpants, towels, palliasse, boots a keen hiker might be proud of, mugs, plates, cutlery that dropped in with a crash, blankets and groundsheet, denim jacket and trousers, and then, rather more acceptably, battle-dress tunic, trousers, and page 3 greatcoat. The clothes that did not fit at first became presentable after a gradual process of exchange. And when they had broken in their heavy boots the new recruits felt happier.

Training

Then there were the first parades. To begin with, all had their own ideas about drill and how it should be done, but gradually the newcomers were convinced that there was only one way—the Army way. Morning after morning they attended company parades, standing in more or less straight lines while the sergeant-major explained patiently that ‘the markers only move’. Sometimes there were thorough inspections by the Officer Commanding or by Company Commanders, and then woe betide the sluggard who had lain in bed instead of getting up promptly and polishing his buttons and brass—a natural temptation when units were in camp over the winter. As a rule, when company parades were over there was quick marching or ‘running on the spot’ until all were warm again.

Split into various sections they learnt the elements of ‘One-stop-two’, how to bind up the wounded and tend the sick, how to carry a stretcher or purify water. There were also fatigues in the cookhouses and messrooms.

Lectures opened up a vast world of learning wherein all were introduced to the parts of the human body, how they work, and how to keep them in good working order. Some took shifts at the camp hospital and there were taught by nursing sisters who had joined the NZANS, and who were to wear the grey and scarlet uniform overseas with pride, as their sisters of 1 NZEF had done 25 years before. The men were able to put theory into practice, to learn how to give hypodermic injections by sticking needles into oranges, how to sponge patients, to make beds, and generally to minister to the comfort of the sick.

Route marches were a welcome diversion. On the marches the men felt they were ‘getting somewhere’ (although when those at Trentham passed ‘Quinn's Post’ some thought they were going too far). It was a release from the monotony of squad drill, and even marching in the rain seemed good fun. Bagpipes sometimes provided the marching tune, but more often the men would sing well-known songs although not perhaps from a classical repertoire.

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In Burnham, training in all departments of field ambulance duties was carried out. After men had learned how to tie a reef knot, to apply bandages, to carry stretchers, to understand something about the anatomy of the human body and to drill efficiently, they graduated to field exercises of wider scope to gain some idea of possible battle conditions. Field days were held—near Springfield and Motukarara—during which schemes for the evacuation of battle casualties were carried out. Improvised shelters, dug in and sandbagged to a height of four feet, were prepared for the wounded.

All gained a sound knowledge of the method of evacuation of casualties, and of the work of stretcher-bearers and clerical and nursing staffs at advanced and main dressing stations. Much time was also given to training in field cookery and hygiene.

When the men of the hospital units at Trentham were ready for advanced work, it was decided to carry out exercises as a field ambulance attached to an infantry brigade. These exercises were carried out at Mangaroa Valley and in the Pahautanui-Judgeford area. For actual hospital work, a very useful exercise was performed by 2 General Hospital close to Haywards railway station. Here a small tented general hospital was established. All departments of a military hospital were set up—administration, reception, medical and surgical wards. A railway carriage, representing an ambulance train, was lent by the Railways Department. ‘Patients’ were admitted and despatched to their appropriate wards, the staff performing their duties as they would in actual warfare. The men spent the night in tents and next day practised the evacuation of casualties.

When 2 General Hospital was in camp at Trentham it had its own separate quarters, kitchen, messrooms, and quartermaster stores, which enabled a proportion of the men to become accustomed to handling equipment and feeding troops. At the Wellington Public Hospital a number were trained in the duties of nursing orderlies.

Leave

Friday was the great day of the week. It was pay day, and after pay came leave. The crowds on the Burnham and Trentham platforms would decry the belated arrival of the train to take them to Christchurch or Wellington. On the return journey there would page 5 be sleepy figures, sprawling figures, not-so-steady figures, rowdy figures, before all bundled out into the cold black night for the nightmare walk from the train to the camp, trying to avoid the mud and puddles, to find their huts and get to bed.

As the period of training ended and the time for departure overseas drew near, final leave was granted. It was a period of seclusion from the unit and the Army and was all too short, though the sad business of family farewells could not be unduly prolonged. Then came farewell parades through the cities of Wellington and Christchurch, followed, a few days later, by the moves to the ports of embarkation. As the men marched to the troopships the crowds cheered and bands played. On board, after the troops had been conducted to their quarters, they swarmed over the deck to every vantage point to watch for friends and relatives in the crowd on the wharf below. Everybody shouted and sang and gave voice to the excitement common to all. Then the cable was slipped. The ship moved away from the wharf. It was a stirring moment when feelings could not be expressed in words. On the land were loved ones; over the horizon lay great adventures.

4 Field Ambulance

Pioneers of 2 NZEF Medical Services in the First Echelon were 4 Field Ambulance, 4 Field Hygiene Section, 18 nursing sisters, and a regimental medical officer for each combatant unit.

The advanced party of 4 Field Ambulance and 4 Field Hygiene Section arrived in Burnham military camp on 26 and 27 September 1939. The stony fields behind the bluegums on the Canterbury plains were in a rough state at this time. Huts were being built, and roads and areas for parade grounds were being formed and graded. This primitive untidiness, combined with a spell of wet weather, made the camp appear somewhat dismal to the first arrivals.

The officers and NCOs reporting for service in 4 Field Ambulance were mainly from 1, 2, and 3 Field Ambulances of the volunteer Territorial Force, in which the majority had seen several years' continuous service. The officer appointed to command the unit was Lt-Col J. H. Will.1 Five of the other officers—Majors A. A. page 6 Tennent2 and P. V. Graves,3 Captains J. P. McQuilkin,4 R. A. Elliott5 and J. K. Elliott6—were later to have command of a field ambulance, and one (R. A. Elliott) was to become ADMS of 2 NZ Division in Italy. Sergeant-Major C. H. Kidman,7 of the Permanent Staff, acted as instructor, as he did for all the medical units formed in New Zealand and their reinforcements.

For the first week officers and NCOs went through a refresher course at the Southern District School of Instruction. The highlight of this course was the march past at the end of the day's work, the salute being taken by the School Commandant.

The main body of the unit began to arrive in camp on 4 October 1939, the men being accommodated in tents because of the shortage of huts. Included in the main party were men of 4 Field Hygiene Section, who were later placed under the command of Capt B. T. Wyn Irwin,8 and men posted as drivers; these were later transferred to NZASC and attached to the unit. An influenza epidemic in November interfered with training, claiming half the unit as victims, but the enthusiasm was such that the unit made good progress.

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Fourteen days' final leave was granted in the second half of December, all the men being enabled to spend Christmas with their families before returning to camp. On 3 January 1940 the medical contingent marched in the farewell parade through Christchurch, and two days later embarked on HMT Dunera at Lyttelton. The strength of 4 Field Ambulance, including dental and ASC personnel, was 14 officers and 230 other ranks, and of 4 Field Hygiene Section one officer and 28 other ranks.

1 General Hospital

The First Echelon had left New Zealand only a few days when the military camps began to fill up again with volunteers for the Second Echelon. It had been decided that a military general hospital should now be formed, a primary object being the complete treatment of New Zealand sick and wounded by their own kith and kin. Thus 1 NZ General Hospital came to be formed; its first members began to assemble at Trentham on 12 January 1940, under the command of Col A. C. McKillop.9

These men were the nucleus of the NCOs of the unit. A few had had some Territorial training but most were new to Army life. They had much to learn, but a limited period of five days only was available before the main body of the unit began to assemble. This placed the NCOs and the unit under a handicap at the start—they lacked military knowledge and had but a smattering of the duties which they would have to perform. Yet, to the credit of all concerned, these difficulties were surmounted.

The hospital staff were quartered for a time in tents but were later allotted new huts close to the new camp post office. For messing they were attached to an infantry training battalion, and this arrangement meant that much valuable experience in the supply and feeding of troops was denied to the quartermaster's branch. As many men as possible were employed at the camp hospital as nursing orderlies, and there they were given lectures by sisters of the NZANS.

By the time of their final leave the original assortment of men and officers had become an efficient unit. The keenness shown by page 8 all ranks had assisted greatly in attaining this. The staff of the hospital contained many senior medical men and some with long service in 1 NZEF. Three became Consultants—Lt-Col T. D. M. Stout10 was later Consultant Surgeon 2 NZEF, Lt-Col J. R. Boyd,11 Consultant Physician 2 NZEF, and Capt E. G. Sayers,12 Consultant Physician 2 NZEF IP. Capt R. D. King13 became CO of a field ambulance and Assistant Director of Medical Services, 2 NZ Division. Maj H. K. Christie14 and Capt D. G. Radcliffe15 became COs of general hospitals, and Maj L. J. Hunter16 became CO 1 NZ CCS.

Final leave was all too short, but on the other hand everyone was itching to see service overseas, expecting that they would soon join their companions of the First Echelon in the Middle East. When the unit entrained for embarkation on the evening of 1 May page 9 1940, little did they guess that they would follow such a round-about route to the Middle East or know what a wealth of experience they would gain in the meantime. The strength of the unit was 21 officers, 37 sisters, and 145 other ranks.

Convalescent Depot

The Convalescent Depot assembled at Trentham with the Second Echelon under the command of Col F. M. Spencer,17 whose enthusiasm soon made it a smart military unit, recognised as the best drilled unit in Trentham. It was a pleasure to see it on the parade ground. A full programme of lectures and training was carried out by the five officers and 49 other ranks in the unit. Col Spencer was promoted to command 2 NZ General Hospital, and the command of the Depot was handed over to Lt-Col. N. F. Boag18 before the Second Echelon embarked.

5 Field Ambulance

Another medical unit came into being to take 4 Field Ambulance's place in Burnham Camp. Its commanding officer was Lt-Col H. S. Kenrick,19 and its officers and NCOs underwent a training course between 8 December 1939 and 6 January 1940. The CO was later to become ADMS 2 NZ Division and afterwards DMS 2 NZEF. The second-in-command (Maj J. M. Twhigg20) was later CO of the ambulance and DDMS 2 NZEF IP. Another officer (Capt F. P. Furkert21) became CO of a field ambulance and ADMS 2 NZ Division.

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Volunteers to make up the body of 5 Field Ambulance began to arrive in camp on 10 January 1940. Most of them were new to medical work as well as to Army life. During their period of training route marches were also undertaken, the distances ranging from four to 22 miles.

Final leave was granted late in March—fourteen glorious days —and then the unit came back to camp to be told that, because of shortage of shipping, another month's training would be done. In the last week of April the Second Echelon units at Burnham marched in a farewell parade in Christchurch—down High Street to Cranmer Square, where the salute was taken, then over the Bridge of Remembrance to the King Edward Barracks, where the parade was dismissed. The unit (244 strong) left Burnham for Lyttelton on 30 April and embarked that evening on the ferry for Wellington for departure overseas with the Second Echelon.

2 General Hospital

The staff of 2 NZ General Hospital assembled in Trentham Camp on 17 May 1940. Some of the officers and prospective NCOs had entered camp a month earlier.

Most of the unit will remember the prize known as ‘the cup’ (sometimes qualified with an adjective). Nearly all the activities counted for points in the cup competition—drill, fatigues, lectures, work on field days. Beautiful thresholds appeared in front of the huts, fancifully ornamented and bordered with whitewashed stones. Dust was ejected from obscure corners of the huts, and hut orderlies, who swept and garnished their domains both inside and out, jealously guarded their work against the encroachment of muddy boots and untidy inmates.

On the theatrical side there was activity, too. A party from the unit staged a concert in a packed camp theatre. An unusually varied programme was presented—sketches, a choir, recitations, piano-accordeon, tap dance, and last but by no means least, ballet ‘girls’ with the inimitable Wally Prictor as leading lady.

In charge of the unit was Colonel Spencer, a forceful and vigorous personality and an able administrator, who was later to die of sickness in North Africa. One of his officers (Lt-Col P. A. page 11 Ardagh22) became DDMS 30 Corps and was in the United Kingdom preparing the medical plan for the Second Front when he died. Two others, Lt-Col D. Pottinger23 and Capt J. E. Caughey24 became COs of general hospitals, and one (Maj A. L. de B. Noakes25) CO of the Convalescent Depot.

On 27 August the unit marched from the train in Wellington to embark on the Mauretania for the Middle East. Its embarkation strength was 18 officers, 39 sisters, and 148 other ranks.

6 Field Ambulance

Early in February 1940 25 men arrived in Burnham to form the nucleus of 6 Field Ambulance. They were soon in training to become NCOs of the unit. A month later the commanding officer, Lt-Col W. H. B. Bull,26 with eight other officers, arrived at the School to complete their course of training before the main body was drafted into camp.

On 14 May the unit came into being as a third field ambulance for the New Zealand Division overseas. Though the training was hard and much of it dull at first, the new life was not without compensations. Training as a separate body, the unit had its own block of huts, ablution benches, parade ground, square, and orderly-room offices. Leave at the weekends was generous, and within the camp were several huts and canteens where the men could find occupation for spare time in games, reading, or writing. page 12 Frequently there was a cinema show in the camp and concert parties also entertained the troops.

After a few weeks the unit was ready to go into the field and set up dressing stations under varying conditions. Combined exercises were frequently held with the infantry. In the construction of a large underground dressing station just behind the training school, officers and men wielded picks and shovels with a will; it was dug in trenched sections some 120 yards long and its construction was at times as much a picnic as an exercise. With these exercises came some sense of realisation of what lay ahead, and the unit developed and matured until, when it came to final leave in mid-August, a spirit of unity and goodwill existed.

3 General Hospital

After a false start, the formation of a third general hospital remained tucked away in the back of the minds of the military administrators until 11 October 1940, when instructions went out to the Districts to proceed with its mobilisation. Each District was required to provide a certain quota of orderlies, storemen, dispensers, clerks, and specialists. The Commanding Officer, Col G. W. Gower,27 and the Registrar, Maj J. Russell,28 arrived in Trentham Mobilisation Camp on the evening of 27 October, right in the middle of a trial air-raid alarm—a forerunner of the trials and unexpected events to be faced in the days to come. During the following three days the remaining members of the unit entered camp. On its strength were 14 officers, 48 sisters, and 143 other ranks.

At first personnel of 3 General Hospital were quartered in the main part of the camp, but later they moved to the racecourse and utilised the tea kiosk and the upper part of a grandstand as billets. On 16 November the unit was inspected by the Director-General page 13 of Medical Services, Brigadier F. T. Bowerbank,29 and sufficient proficiency in marching had been attained by this time to evoke praise.

Two days later members of the unit left on final leave. On 30 November, leave completed, it was learned with mixed feelings that departure had been delayed. A ‘farewell’ parade of all 4th Reinforcements through the streets of Wellington took place on 14 December. Despite this official leave-taking, training continued until 23 December, when the unit departed on special Christmas and New Year leave. This unexpected visit to families during the festive season was welcome, but the strain of saying farewells again was trying to most.

On return to Trentham in the New Year, the unit was moved from the racecourse to tents in the western area of the camp, a move necessitated by the holding of a race meeting. The accommodation provided proved far from satisfactory; tents of 1916 vintage were incapable of turning even a light shower and were quite inadequate for the torrential downpours experienced on several nights.

At dawn on 1 February 1941 the staff of the hospital rose to prepare for embarkation. Everything moved smoothly, and 3 NZ General Hospital left Trentham as part of 3rd Section, 4th Reinforcements. It was a clear and sunny day and, with the band playing, Col Gower marched at the head of his men to the railway station, where the troops entrained for Pipitea Wharf. The vessel that was to carry them to the Middle East was the Nieuw Amsterdam, 38,000 tons, the most modern of the Holland-America Line.

As the troops went aboard, they quickly deposited their kits in the quarters allotted to them and returned to the decks. As soon as all were embarked the crowds were permitted to move on to the wharf, and an address was given by the Prime Minister, the Hon. P. Fraser. Then, in the early afternoon, amid the cheers of friends gathered on shore, the ship pulled out and the long voyage began.

1 Lt-Col J. H. Will, ED; born Scotland, 1 Feb 1883; Medical Practitioner, Auckland; CO 4 Fd Amb Oct 1939-Sep 1940; SMO Ngaruawahia Camp Sep 1941-Jan 1943.

2 Col A. A. Tennent, m.i.d.; born Timaru, 4 Sep 1899; Medical Practitioner, Wellington; 2 i/c 4 Fd Amb Sep 1939-Mar 1940; DADMS 2 NZEFMar-Dec 1940; CO 1 Conv Depot Dec 1940-Oct 1941; CO 4 Fd Amb Oct-Dec 1941; prisoner of war Dec 1941-Apr 1942; ADMS 4 Div (NZ) Aug-Oct 1942; CO 4 Gen Hosp 2 NZEF (IP) Oct 1942-Nov 1943; SMO Sick and Wounded (NZ) Dec 1943-1944; ADMS Central Military District 1944.

3 Col P. V. Graves, ED; born Hawera, 1 Apr 1896; Medical Practitioner, Waverley; medical orderly NZ Hospital Ship Maheno, 1917-19; RMO 2 Div Cav Sep 1939-Sep 1940; CO 4 Fd Amb Sep 1940-Aug 1941; ADMS 1 Div (NZ) Jun-Sep 1942; ADMS Central Military District Sep 1942-Aug 1944.

4 Lt-Col J. P. McQuilkin; born Ashburton, 18 Jul 1900; Medical Practitioner, Christchurch; Medical Officer 4 Fd Amb Oct 1940-Jan 1942; CO 5 Fd Amb Jan 1942-Dec 1943.

5 Col R. A. Elliott, OBE, ED, m.i.d.; born Wellington, 8 Apr 1910; Surgeon, Wellington; Surgeon 4 Fd Amb, 1 and 2 Gen Hosps, Oct 1939-1942; DADMS 2 NZ Div Feb-Jul 1943; CO 5 Fd Amb Dec 1943-Jul 1944; ADMS 2 NZ Div Dec 1944-Oct 1945.

6 Lt-Col J. K. Elliott, OBE; born Wellington, 24 Aug 1908; Surgeon, Wellington; RMO 18 Bn Sep 1939-Dec 1940; DADMS 2 NZ Div Dec 1940-Nov 1941; Surgeon 1 Gen Hosp Nov 1941-Jun 1943; CO 4 Fd Amb Jun 1943-Apr 1944; Orthopaedic Consultant (NZ) Jun 1944-Mar 1945.

7 Maj C. H. Kidman, MBE, MM & bar*; born Wellington 28 Mar 1888; Instructor, Permanent Staff, Wellington; 1 NZEF 1914-19, NCO 2 Fd Amb, Egypt, Gallipoli, France; Instructor to NZMC in NZ, Sep 1939-Sep 1942; OC Medical Training Depot, Trentham, Sep 1942-Sep 1944; SO and QM Army HQ, Wellington, Sep 1944-Jan 1947.

* * First World War.

8 Maj B. T. Wyn Irwin, m.i.d.; born Christchurch, 12 Oct 1905; Medical Officer of Health, Wellington; OC 4 Fd Hyg Sec Oct 1939-Sep 1941; OC Maadi Camp Hyg Sec Sep-Dec 1941; died (in NZ) 12 Mar 1942.

9 Col A. C. McKillop, m.i.d.; born Scotland, 9 Mar 1885; Superintendent, Sunnyside Hospital, Christchurch; 1 NZEF—Medical Officer, Samoa, Egypt, Gallipoli, 1914-16; CO 1 Gen Hosp Feb 1940-May 1941; ADMS 3 Div (Fiji) Aug 1941-Jul 1942; ADMS 1 Div (NZ) Aug 1942-Mar 1943.

10 Col T. D. M. Stout, CBE, DSO,* ED, m.i.d. (2); born Wellington, 25 Jul 1885; Surgeon, Wellington; 1 NZEF 1914-19; Samca, Egypt, Salonika, France; OC NZ Surgical Team, France; in charge surgical division 1 Gen Hosp, England, Aug 1917-Aug 1919; Consultant Surgeon Trentham Military Hospital, 1919-20; in charge surgical division 1 Gen Hosp, May 1940-Aug 1941; Consultant Surgeon 2 NZEF Feb 1941-Sep 1945.

* First World War.

11 Col J. R. Boyd, CBE, MC,* m.i.d.; born Scotland, 6 Sep 1886; Physician, Wellington; 1 NZEF 1917-18, Medical Officer NZ Mounted Fd Amb, Palestine; in charge medical division 1 Gen Hosp, May 1940-Aug 1941; Consultant Physician 2 NZEF Feb 1941-Feb 1945.

* First World War.

12 Col E. G. Sayers, Legion of Merit (US); born Christchurch, 10 Sep 1902; Physician, Auckland; Medical Officer 1 Gen Hosp Mar 1940; in charge medical division 1 Gen Hosp, Aug 1941-Sep 1942; 4 Gen Hosp, Oct 1942-Sep 1943; Consultant Physician 2 NZEF (IP) Sep-Nov 1943; CO 4 Gen Hosp Nov 1943-Sep 1944.

13 Brig R. D. King, CBE, DSO, m.i.d., Greek Medallion for Distinguished Deed; born Timaru, 25 Feb 1896; Medical Practitioner, Timaru; 1 NZEF 1918-19, Private NZMC, England and Hospital Ship; Physician 1 Gen Hosp May 1940-Jun 1941; 2 i/c 4 Fd Amb Jun 1941-Jan 1942; CO 4 Fd Amb Jan 1942-Jul 1943; ADMS 2 NZ Div Jul 1943-Nov 1944; DDMS NZ Corps Feb 1944.

14 Col H. K. Christie, CBE, ED; born Invercargill, 13 Jul 1894; Surgeon, Wanganui; Surgeon 1 Gen Hosp Mar 1940-Apr 1941; OC Surgical Team, Greece and Crete; in charge surgical division 1 Gen Hosp, Aug 1941-Jun 1943; CO 2 Gen Hosp Jun 1943-Oct 1944.

15 Col D. G. Radcliffe, OBE; born Queensland, 14 Jun 1898; Surgeon, Balclutha; Surgeon 1 Gen Hosp Mar 1940-Jun 1943; in charge surgical division, Jun 1943-Mar 1944; CO 5 Gen Hosp, Mar 1944-Feb 1945; CO 1 Gen Hosp Feb-Nov 1945.

16 Lt-Col L. J. Hunter, OBE, MC,* m.i.d. (3); born Sydney, 14 Jul 1891; Surgeon, Levin; Medical Officer AIF 1915-18, wounded Sep 1917; Registrar 1 Gen Hosp Feb 1940-Jun 1941; SMO Maadi Camp, Aug-Sep 1941; in charge surgical division 2 Gen Hosp, Oct 1941-May 1942; CO 1 Mob CCS May 1942-Oct 1943.

* First World War.

17 Col F. M. Spencer, OBE, m.i.d.; born Rotorua, 3 Oct 1893; Medical Practitioner, Wellington; 1 NZEF, NCO NZMC 1914, Medical Officer 1918-19, 1 Gen Hosp, 1 Fd Amb, 1 Bn Canterbury Regt; CO 2 Gen Hosp Apr 1940-Jun 1943; died (North Africa) Jun 1943.

18 Lt-Col N. F. Boag, ED; born Leeston, 13 Aug 1897; Medical Practitioner, Blenheim; CO 1 Conv Depot Apr-Dec 1940.

19 Brig H. S. Kenrick, CB, CBE, ED, m.i.d., MC (Greek); born Paeroa, 7 Aug 1898; Consulting Obstetrician, Auckland; 1 NZEF 1916-19, infantry officer, OC A Coy 4 Bn 1918; wounded May 1918; Army of Occupation, Germany; CO 5 Fd Amb Dec 1939-May 1940; acting ADMS 2 NZEF, Egypt, Jun-Sep 1940; ADMS 2 NZ Div Oct 1940-May 1942; DMS 2 NZEF May-Sep 1942 and Apr 1943-May 1945.

20 Brig J. M. Twhigg, DSO, m.i.d. (2); born Dunedin, 13 Sep 1900; Physician, Wellington; ADMS RNZAF Sep 1939-Feb 1940; 2 i/c 5 Fd Amb Feb-May 1940; CO 5 Fd Amb May 1940-Nov 1941; p.w. Dec 1941; repatriated Apr 1942; ADMS 3 Div Aug 1942-Apr 1943; DDMS 2 NZEF (IP) Apr 1943-Aug 1944; ADMS 2 NZEF (UK) Oct 1944-Feb 1946.

21 Col F. P. Furkert, m.i.d.; born Taihape, 8 Dec 1906; Surgeon, Auckland; Surgeon 4 Fd Amb and 5 Fd Amb, Nov 1939-Mar 1941; OC Mobile Surgical Unit Mar 1941-Jan 1942; CO 6 Fd Amb Jan 1942-Feb 1943; ADMS 2 NZ Div Feb-Jul 1943.

22 Brig P. A. Ardagh, CBE, DSO,* MC,* m.i.d. (5); born Ngapara, 30 Aug 1891; Surgeon, Christchurch; 1 NZEF 1917-19, Capt 3 Fd Amb; wounded three times; in charge surgical division 2 Gen Hosp, Aug 1940-Oct 1941; CO 1 CCS Nov 1941-May 1942; ADMS 2 NZ Div May 1942-Feb 1943; DDMS 30 Corps Feb 1943-Apr 1944; died (England) 6 Apr 1944.

* First World War.

* First World War.

23 Col D. Pottinger, MC*; born Scotland, 20 Sep 1890; Physician, Invercargill; RAMC 1914-18, Medical Officer, France, Salonika, Palestine; wounded 1916; in charge medical division 2 Gen Hosp, Apr 1940-Sep 1941; CO 1 Gen Hosp Sep 1941-Aug 1944.

* First World War.

24 Col J. E. Caughey, m.i.d.; born Auckland, 8 Aug 1904; Physician, Auckland; Physician 2 Gen Hosp May 1940-Feb 1943; neurologist 1 British Neurosurgical Unit Feb-Sep 1943; Physician HS Maunganui Nov 1943-Jun 1944; in charge medical division 2 Gen Hosp, Jul 1944-May 1945; CO 3 Gen Hosp May-Oct 1945.

25 Lt-Col A. L. de B. Noakes, ED, m.i.d.; born Waitekauri, 21 Jul 1900; Registrar 2 Gen Hosp Apr 1940-Sep 1941; SMO Maadi Camp Sep-Oct 1941; CO 1 Conv Depot Oct 1941-Sep 1945.

26 Lt-Col W. H. B. Bull, OBE, ED; born Napier, 19 May 1897; Surgeon, Wellington; ADMS Central Military District Sep 1939-Jan 1940; CO 6 Fd Amb Feb 1940-May 1941; ADMS 2 NZ Div (Crete) May 1941; p.w. May 1941; repatriated May 1945.

27 Brig G. W. Gower, CBE, ED, m.i.d.; born Invercargill, 15 Apr 1887; Surgeon, Hamilton; 1 NZEF 1915-19, Medical Officer 133 Br Fd Amb, 1915; 1 Gen Hosp 1916-18; Surgeon Christchurch Military Hospital 1919; CO 3 Gen Hosp Oct 1940-May 1945; DMS 2 NZEF May-Oct 1945.

28 Lt-Col J. Russell, m.i.d.; born Scotland, 28 Oct 1896; Deputy Director-General Mental Hospitals, Wellington; Captain 1st Gordon Highlanders, 1st World War; Registrar 3 Gen Hosp Oct 1940–Aug 1941; DADMS 2 NZEFAug 1941-Nov 1945.

29 Maj-Gen Sir Fred T. Bowerbank, KBE, ED, m.i.d. (3)*, Grand Officer Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands); born Penrith, England, 30 Apr 1880; Physician, Wellington; 1 NZEF 1915-19, Egypt, England, France—Officer i/c medical division 1 Gen Hosp, England; President, Travelling Medical Board, France; DMS Army and PMO Air 1934-39; Director-General of Medical Services (Army and Air), Army HQ, Sep 1939-Mar 1947.

* First World War.