II
6th Field Hygiene Section

The 6th Field Hygiene Section had its beginnings in two small units known as the Eastern and Western Hygiene Sections, which page 95were formed in Fiji early in 1942. The Eastern Section, commanded by Warrant-Officer R. Agnew, worked from Samambula Camp, near Suva, and the Western Section, with Warrant-Officer S. P. Pushman in charge, was based at Namaka Camp, near Lautoka. These two units, small as they were, had their time fully occupied, for, besides being responsible for the effective hygiene and sanitation in two brigade groups whose units were often widely dispersed, they were also charged with the care of RNZAF stations and certain New Zealand civilian construction units. By attaching personnel to the various camps and with the warrant officers making regular visits of inspection, a reasonable standard of sanitation was maintained. As always with a hygiene section, jobs were many and varied, but the chief sources of anxiety in Fiji were the ever-present fly menace, the necessity for constant supervision of water supplies, of checking the preparation and storage of food, and of keeping a watchful eye on natives employed in camps and frequently in messes.

After the division had returned to New Zealand (August, 1942) what was left of the two sections amalgamated to form the 6th Field Hygiene Section in the re-constituted Third Division. The newly commissioned Second-Lieutenant Agnew commanded the section, and, after a few months of training and re-equipping, we sailed in December, 1942, for New Caledonia. Our camp at our new overseas station was at Moindah—a pleasant area somewhat marred by the monotony of the niaouli trees. With an established camp to our credit, the next objective was to bring the unit up to strength, and, by recruiting from infantry battalions, this was accomplished.

Work now began in earnest, for, besides the necessity of training our own recruits, it soon became apparent that the standard of sanitation within the division as a whole was not very high. This perhaps was only to be expected, since a large percentage of troops was experiencing tropical conditions for the first time, and many units had been reinforced (and in some cases actually formed) only a short time prior to embarkation. Courses for officers and for unit sanitary personnel were undertaken, and, as our own men gained more experience, representatives were attached to the brigades to advise and assist units. Improvisation became the order of the day, and many weird and wonderful but generally most effective sanitary appliances made their appearance. As no patent rights were ever claimed by the page 96inventors the plans of better types of fly-traps, soap-traps, grease-traps, latrine boxes, hand-washes, water-boilers, etc., were given a wide distribution, and, as a result, a marked increase in the effectiveness of camp sanitation could be noticed. In May, 1944, Second-Lieutenant Agnew left the unit to form the Base Hygiene Section, and his place was taken by Captain R. M. Irwin, a well nourished, albeit active, medical officer.

After nine months' sojourn in New Caledonia word came through of a forward move and 'action' was rumoured. Such news was indeed welcome, because at last it gave us our chance of meeting up with the war after months and years of waiting and training. The movement to the Solomons was to be undertaken by brigade groups, and so a section, with Staff-Sergeant S. T. Fullerton in charge, was attached to the 7th Field Ambulance of the 8th Brigade Group. The remainder of the unit, under Major Irwin, moved with divisional headquarters and the 14th Brigade.

Guadalcanal was a new and exciting experience for us. On all sides were the scars of recent battle, our nights were disturbed by the jungle noises about which we had been warned, we saw our first hostile bombs falling, cheered our first view of an enemy plane shot down, and we learned the exasperation of having to scramble into fox-holes four and five times during the night. Camp building was again the order of the day, and we settled down to a routine of water testing and chlorinating, supervision of camp sanitation, disposal of garbage, the inspection and destruction of condemned foodstuffs, and the hundred and one other jobs requiring strict attention in the hot and humid climate of the Solomons.

During September, 1943, the 14th Brigade landed on Vella Lavella, and two of our members, Sergeant Ted Forman and Corporal Bill Hogan, who were attached to the 22nd Field Ambulance, moved with the first wave as part of the battalion combat teams. The remainder of the unit landed with the second wave. After some weeks of successful action New Zealanders once again set about the inevitable task of camp construction. We, as a unit, formed part of a transit camp with the Graves Registration and Stationary Unit, 5th Provost Company, Canteen Unit, and the divisional band. All units co-operated well, and ours was a very happy centre.

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Our work on Vella Lavella was not without its problems. Disposal of garbage was one of them, for in some areas the coral made digging and covering almost impossible, and certainly impracticable. An American sawmill had been established, and from it a truck was employed continuously for carrying sawdust for coverage. In other areas, where the jungle was so thick that units could only be reached by barge, it was found impossible to establish refuse tips. This difficulty was overcome by making each unit responsible for dumping refuse out over the reef, using canoes or captured Japanese barges as a means of conveyance. In regard to the disposal of garbage an amusing story can be told of Private Jim Campbell, who was in charge of a refuse tip not far from an oil fuel dump. One day, as usual, Jim drew his petrol ration for burning purposes. Unfortunately no one noticed that the container was leaking and that it left a trail of petrol from the dump to the pit. To his horror, when he threw his flare on to the petrol-soaked garbage, he saw a stream of flame flash from it toward the petrol dump. Jim lives to tell the tale, but he had quite a job to explain away one truck and 40 drums of 'gas.'

Blanket and clothing disinfestation also had its problems. In roaded areas the disinfestor was mounted on a truck, but in the more isolated regions it had to be conveyed by barge and manhandled ashore by sweating personnel often waist deep in water. Fortunately the fresh water supply was good, and though tests of some streams showed that chlorination was not required, the process was always carried out as a precautionary measure.

About a month after the landing on Vella the 8th Brigade Group stormed the Treasury Islands. Staff-Sergeant Fullerton and his section with the 7th Field Ambulance were soon hard at work combatting the many sanitation problems peculiar to tropical island warfare. The most important matter for the immediate attention of the hygiene section was the provision of sufficient potable water for the use of the field ambulance, which almost immediately began receiving casualties. As Soala Lake remained inaccessible for many days the only alternative was the digging of wells some 15 to 20 yards above the high water mark, and these provided the main, if meagre,, supply for several days. One-man portable type filters, which had been captured from the Germans and Italians in Libya, were used, and the water, if slightly brackish, was reasonably palatable. Across the harbour page 98on Mono Island water was more readily accessible, and units had the use of several streams shortly after the initial assault.

On completion of action units began settling down once more to play a static role, and soon camps, a hospital, water points, refuse dumps and the many other installations required by servicemen in the field were established. The hygiene section adopted its usual role of advising, assisting, supervising, and inspecting. For refuse disposal a chute made from 44-gallon drums and which extended over a cliff from an unloading platform was put into operation. By this method all garbage was dumped clear into the sea to be carried away by the tide. Such chutes were established on both Stirling and Mono, and proved most effective and certainly saved much labour. Disposal of Japanese dead from enemy gun posts and from a hilltop mortar position presented something of a problem, solved in some instances by our friend the omnipotent bulldozer. With the establishment of a workshop our detachment was able to assist many units by the manufacture of such essential aids to sanitary efficiency as grease and fly-traps, food safes, etc. The section with the 8th Brigade did an excellent job, and much credit must go to the diminutive but tireless Sam Fullerton.

Perhaps our best remembered moment during our Pacific service was the landing on Nissan (February, 1944). It was a new experience to find that on Nissan there was no fresh water, and, until distilling plants were established, we had to rely on our one water bottle and on what little rain water we could catch. For a while the sea was the sole source of water for ablutions, until, when camps were established, we were able to rig up bamboo spouting along tent eaves to drain rain water into 44-gallon drums. Flies and mosquitoes, both breeding in acres of low salt water swamp lands, were something of a menace, as also were rats, and 'Snow' Murray and Bert Hilsden are remembered for the enthusiastic war they fought against these pests. As in the Treasuries, our garbage disposal method was by means of a chute over a cliff, and, except for the difficulty of finding suitable central positions with sufficient clearing to allow transport in and out to the loading platform, the system worked very well. The disposal of more than 70 dead and decaying enemy bodies, which "had been washed on to the high ground and rocks at the bottom of a cliff, presented a considerable problem. We collected a party of volunteers and set off with a barge to drag the bodies out to page 99sea. This plan miscarried, however, as the water over the reef was too shallow for the barge to cross, so Major Irwin, a strong swimmer and undaunted by the presence of sharks, swam out beyond the reef towing the bodies two at a time until the job was finished. A thoroughly unpleasant but nevertheless necessary undertaking.

After action had Ceased and we had settled down to routine work once more we were lucky to be camped adjacent to the lagoon, which was an ideal spot for sailing. A yacht was built in our workshop, and, under the tutelage of Staff-Sergeant Keith Highet, many of us were able to experience the joys of sailing.

In July, 1943, we returned with other units of the division to New Caledonia, preparatory to withdrawal to New Zealand. By this time we felt that we knew most aspects of the job of hygiene and sanitation in the tropics. We had learned much of our job as we went along through practical experience and, by necessity, meeting new conditions as they arose. What we learned was always passed on to other units, and we can confidently claim that our division latterly attained a very high standard of hygiene and sanitation—a most important pre-requisite to success in arms.