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Shovel Sword and Scalpel: A record of service of medical units of the second New Zealand expeditionary force in the Pacific

Chapter Four — Supplies, Sanitation and Surveys

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Chapter Four
Supplies, Sanitation and Surveys

I
Advanced Depot of Medical Stores

Thinking back over the life of the Advanced Depot of Medical Stores it can be truly said that we worked our way up from nothing. Our first store was a room at the Tamavua Hospital, Fiji, in 1941. Into this room were packed all our drugs, dressings, splints and instruments, a dispensary and packing department, while piles of unopened cases reached to the very ceiling. No such thing as a passageway existed, and it was a skilled person who could move from one wall to the other without initiating a cascade of cases. Officer in charge and chief guide to this maze was 'Butch' Martin—just a lowly sergeant in those days and one who would never wear his stripes anyway.

When, after Japan's entry into the war, the force expanded, it became necessary for Sergeant Martin to have some assistance, and, after many conferences and discussions regarding war establishments, it was decided to increase the staff by one man. Private Johnny Delowe was that man, and he was given the somewhat responsible job of 'bottle washer in chief.' Later, to help us cope with a further increase in work, we were given on loan from the 7th Field Ambulance an agile dispenser, Sergeant Don Steptoe, who soon became an adept at dodging falling cases. Although we were inevitably surrounded by these cases they did not always contain the drugs or dressings that were needed so badly. The acute shortage of supplies in those days led to many scenes with the nurses attached to the hospital. It became one of our recog-page break
Refuse disposal was a problem on Nissan where the hard coral floor of the jungle made burying impracticable. Chutes extending over cliffs were built so that refuse could be dumped clear into the sea to be carried away by the tide. The above photograph shows a refuse truck dumping its cargo. Japanese fugitives who hid in the jungle for months some-limes existed on food found at the refuse dump

Refuse disposal was a problem on Nissan where the hard coral floor of the jungle made burying impracticable. Chutes extending over cliffs were built so that refuse could be dumped clear into the sea to be carried away by the tide. The above photograph shows a refuse truck dumping its cargo. Japanese fugitives who hid in the jungle for months some-limes existed on food found at the refuse dump

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Control of possible mosquito breeding grounds was an important part of the work of the malaria control unit in the Solomons. Here a stagnant pool on Nissan Island is being sprayed with oil to kill larvæ Signs like the one below ai divisional headquarters, Vella Lavella, could be seen everywhere in malarious areas. They were part of a prolonged campaign to discourage any relaxation of the important measures which reduced malaria

Control of possible mosquito breeding grounds was an important part of the work of the malaria control unit in the Solomons. Here a stagnant pool on Nissan Island is being sprayed with oil to kill larvæ
Signs like the one below ai divisional headquarters, Vella Lavella, could be seen everywhere in malarious areas. They were part of a prolonged campaign to discourage any relaxation of the important measures which reduced malaria

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Boating, in many different kinds of craft, was a popular pastime in the Solomons. Here, against a jungle background, is the malaria control unit's outrigger, appropriately named. Stretcher bearing at any time is heavy work but, in the jungle, beat and tangled undergrowth and swamps make the task even more strenuous. This drawing shows stretcher bearers on Mono negotiating a rise while armed guards keep watch for snipers hiding in trees

Boating, in many different kinds of craft, was a popular pastime in the Solomons. Here, against a jungle background, is the malaria control unit's outrigger, appropriately named.
Stretcher bearing at any time is heavy work but, in the jungle, beat and tangled undergrowth and swamps make the task even more strenuous. This drawing shows stretcher bearers on Mono negotiating a rise while armed guards keep watch for snipers hiding in trees

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Tents, bures and wooden buildings made up the wards a id departments of Base Cam]) Rcception Hospital, Tene valley New Caledonia. The niaouli tree was extraordinarily use In to the New Zealanders in New Caledonia since from its wood amd bark some hundreds of mess huts; ktlchens worksops stores and hospital wards were built. The buildings shown below were at Base Camp Rception Hospital and were typical of many New Zealand camps in New Caledonia

Tents, bures and wooden buildings made up the wards a id departments of Base Cam]) Rcception Hospital, Tene valley New Caledonia. The niaouli tree was extraordinarily use In to the New Zealanders in New Caledonia since from its wood amd bark some hundreds of mess huts; ktlchens worksops stores and hospital wards were built. The buildings shown below were at Base Camp Rception Hospital and were typical of many New Zealand camps in New Caledonia

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tribulations to have to face one of those masterful women hysterically and sometimes tearfully demanding that we should supply an item we usually did not have anyway. It was in Fiji that we learned the gentle art of handling medical officers and sisters.

Though in numbers such an insignificant unit, we prided ourselves that in Fiji we performed a significant and worth-while service. As a medical store we were responsible for obtaining from New Zealand and issuing to units sufficient medical equipment and supplies for two hospitals, two light field ambulances, a small convalescent depot, an infectious disease hospital, and the regimental aid posts of two brigade groups. Quite an undertaking for one sergeant, one private, and one dispenser on loan. In July, 1942, the division was recalled to New Zealand. On the very day we left we took delivery of a shipment of supplies which we had been anxiously awaiting for several months. We didn't bother to unpack!

For almost six months we enjoyed New Zealand and proximity to our homes until word came that it was time we were up and doing again. The staff was increased to eight, and Sergeant Martin, now a fully-Hedged if slightly self-conscious second-lieutenant, was again in charge. We worked in Wellington getting together the thousands of items necessary to keep a division in the field supplied, until one afternoon we received orders to report immediately to camp in readiness to proceed overseas. We embarked on Christmas Eve, 1942, leaving our carefully packed stores behind in the care of Sergeant J. O. C. Meredith.

We were not altogether happy on arrival in New Caledonia, for we found ourselves with a division to keep supplied and not a solitary aspirin between the lot of us. After spending a day or so at a transit camp at Dumbea we were taken to Bourail to what was erroneously called Racecourse Camp. We understood that, in the past, it had been a racecourse, but it was certainly no camp. There two truck loads of supplies miraculously appeared from the US Army and we were in business again. We had no sooner started working the next day when a message came that we were in the wrong camp. Back all those cases went on to the trucks and off we set for the 4th General Hospital camp at Boguen River. This time we waited a while before unloading, just in case we were in the wrong camp again, but it seemed definite, and we set up shop.

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Life in the main in those days consisted of being eaten by mosquitoes by day and by night. These pests dominated our existence to such an extent that the sight of men leaping wildly about, slapping at various parts of their anatomies, ceased to be even interesting. Shaving was a trial (it always is, of course), which we tried to make easier by squatting in the nearby river up to our necks and leaving just our faces exposed. Unfortunately this practice had to be discontinued when it was painfully discovered that the local fish also liked a nip here and there.

We were not at this location more than four weeks when it was decided that we were again at the wrong camp. Profanity is an art which flourishes in the army because the soldier meets so many occasions which allow of intensive practice. We had a team which gave of its best on this occasion. Before we could think of setting up our new camp (at the racecourse again) we had to clear a site in the midst of a niaouli forest. It was then that we discovered the sterling worth of Driver N. K. C. Scott, who, using a six-by-four truck in lieu of a bulldozer, charged through those trees like a bull run amok. It was at this point that fate chose to send over one of her better varieties of storms. Rivers of rain poured down the hillside and a seething gale did not make the task of pitching tents any easier. The picture of Lieutenant Martin endeavouring to give orders above the noise of the storm, but finally having to give up in disgust and compromising with wild gesticulations, will always be remembered as one of our better moments.

Several months of comparative quiet provided us with an opportunity to make our area more presentable and, when we were given a warehouse to call our very own, our maternal pride knew no bounds. It was with rumours of forthcoming action in the air that we met our new boss. Captain E. T. (Tangi) Saunders arrived just as the paper war got really going, and instructions, orders, reports, schedules, circulars, and returns were in constant demand in duplicate, triplicate, and quadruplicate. It was a relief to be able to get down to the serious job of outfitting the units. Work went on regardless of whether it was day or night until the division started moving up. We were given three hours' notice to send a man with the first echelon, and Corporal Jack (Mac) Maclennan was despatched forthwith to Noumea, where he was told to wait and was promptly forgotten.

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It was not until he was posted absent without leave and just before the boat left that he was discovered still awaiting instructions as to where to go. Corporal Delowe and Driver Phil Corliss made up the next section to be on their way. It was hoped that they would reach Guadalcanal with all unit equipment before the later sections arrived, but this was a vain hope. When they reached Noumea they found that there was no room on the ship for them, and, as a ship was considered fairly necessary to take them to their destination, they just waited and waited. It was not until Captain Saunders and Private Alan Spencer reached Noumea some four weeks later that they were able to embark.

While our New Caledonian section carried on under Staff-Sergeant Meredith, ably assisted by men borrowed from surrounding units, our Guadalcanal section was finding life somewhat primitive. Our stores had arrived before we did, and Corporal Maclennan, who had also arrived, had found some of them. By 'acquiring' some tentage he had them under cover. When the main body arrived (all four of us) a search was made for the rest of the stores, which were found scattered over at least five miles of beaches. The by now familiar job of building, unpacking and sorting started with regular off periods for air-raid alarms —most of them false. We re-discovered the wellknown joys of being in the islands, of working in temperatures well over 100 degrees, of being bathed in a perpetual state of streaming perspiration, of drinking warm, tasteless water, of existing on a diet comprised mainly of 'M and V,' with a slab of 'spam' as a special treat. Oh, happy days!

We were not properly organised in Guadalcanal before instructions were received to open another section on Vella Lavella. Reviewing our strength of one officer, two corporals, one private and a driver, it was a little difficult to see who could be spared, and it was with some reluctance that we had to let Corporal Maclennan go. With our depleted staff, and with the help of our friends the field ambulances, who kept us supplied with working parties, we started sorting the mountains of cases. Soon the little pink pills found themselves placed neatly on shelves, while the Epsom salts claimed a handy place near the door. With due solemnity we christened this, our latest offspring, Pharmacia Pacifique on the day we received our first beer ration, but the occasion was somewhat marred by the appropriation of our beer by some person or persons unknown. Besides these dealings with page 92the human members of the species we were also troubled by the legitimate type of rat, whose rate of propagation taxed our ingenuity in keeping him under control. Hidden talent was discovered in Alan Spencer, who produced an endless variety of rat traps, which, in theory if not in fact, eliminated our entire rat population.

In addition to our local worries there were supply problems which caused us many headaches. Why it was that ships always chose to sail on Sundays, Christmas Days and the like we never found out. The fact remained, however, that, if we were not dragged out of bed at three o'clock in the morning to unload trucks, we had to work far into the night for the pleasure of loading them at approximately the same hour. Urgent calls always seemed to come when we were busily engaged doing something besides work. It was during a party one evening that we were asked to rush penicillin to Mono Island that same night. With the assistance of an American aircraft, which navigated a storm that one of our members is never likely to forget, we got it there. Another time it was late at night when we received a call to produce somehow quantities of a drug which, under normal conditions, would have been sufficient to last a couple of years. We spent the rest of that night careering around every hospital on the island borrowing all we could and cabling every other island within a thousand miles for more.

Meanwhile, our Necal section was having a little trouble with a large hurricane which, with no regard for property or propriety, blew down every tent in the camp. Shirts, trousers and undergarments adorned the bushes all round the area, and Corporal Ted Creed, in particular, still bemoans the loss of one pair of freshly washed and hardly worn socks. Our warehouse was taken over as a temporary hostel to house our refugee neighbours from Base Camp Reception Hospital and the Base Hygiene Section. The store at New Caledonia, besides being our base, was responsible for supplying all New Zealand hospitals and camps on the island and carried out all technical repair work for the force. It was in constant touch with New Zealand to obtain from there any technical equipment not available from American sources. We had only two of our permanent members on this staff, Staff-Sergeant Meredith and Corporal Creed. Theirs was a thankless task, with few of the excitements of the forward area to make the job worthwhile. They did their work conscientiously page 93and thoroughly, despite their repeated requests to be allowed to go nearer to action.

Our Vella Lavella section was also having sock trouble. Their quarters were being invaded nightly by an army of land crabs which, with inexplicable crabby wisdom, showed a preference for making away with socks. The lads on this island were living through nightly air raids and day upon day of monotonous rain. Corporal Wally Luxton was alone during one air raid, and as a Jap plane passed overhead he heard a thud on the tent fly. He will always remember that falling coconut! Corporal Maclennan who ran this section, was the only representative of our permanent staff on Vella, except when Captain Saunders visited the island on occasional tours of duty. He took over the store from the US Army and with it the responsibility for supplying all American troops on the island. When our sergeant-dispenser at New Caledonia was transferred to another unit we were able to promote 'Mac' to a sergeant, and it was as a sergeant that he had, with considerable diplomacy, to handle officers of the US Army as well as our own. At the peak period of supply his section serviced approximately 20,000 New Zealand and American troops. His was a man-sized job, which he handled efficiently and always with a grin.

When the 14th Brigade moved to Nissan Island we withdrew our Vella section to Guadalcanal, where we were now quite comfortable. Roads had replaced mud tracks, showers had been fitted, proper mess halls built, and a nearby unit had even built itself a waterless fountain. We. had built ourselves a mosquito-proof tent, complete with electric light and two-way switch acquired and fitted by the ever-inventive Alan Spencer. Driver Corliss found time to put in several garden beds, while Captain Saunders painted a most impressive sign, which, with the addition of a locally produced Jap skull and cross bones, hung over the entrance to the store. The Guadalcanal section was the main pivot in our system of supply, and it was there that we had our forward headquarters. Almost all supplies were drawn from American medical depots, under lend-lease agreement, although such items as field equipment and Red Cross hospital supplies came direct from New Zealand. National Patriotic Fund Board hospital comforts were also handled, and these eventually became one of our largest sidelines. During the period of greatest activity we were supplying our troops and casualty clearing stations page 94on Guadalcanal, our section at Vella Lavella, New Zealand and American troops on Mono and Stirling Islands, RNZAF units as far north as Bougainville, and the New Zealand Navy in the islands. It was estimated that we were responsible for approximately 40,000 troops, of whom a large proportion were American. When Captain Saunders had to make his trips to other islands we were placed in the somewhat embarrassing position of having a corporal in charge, with a very able private soldier as chief and only storeman. It is to the lasting credit of the men in charge of our sections at various times, each bearing responsibility far beyond his rank, and to the men working with them with no hope of promotion while they were attached to the store, that each and every one stuck to his job and performed it to the best of his ability.

During April, May and June of 1944 the division was withdrawn to Necal and our work in the forward areas was finished. Captain Saunders earned a mention in despatches, and the rest of us felt we had earned a rest—which we didn't get. We still had to face our biggest job, that of packing our Necal store for return to New Zealand. By this time we were heartily sick of packing up stores, but we set to work with a will. Our last load of cases was awaiting shipment when a convoy drew up outside the warehouse and we were gently told that a consignment of stores had arrived for us from New Zealand. We didn't bother to unpack!

Writing at Mangere, New Zealand, this short account of our activities, with the store in its final stages of closing, we want to add that we have been unable within our allotted space to give deserved credit to many of our staff. Some came and stayed only a short while, others were with us all the way, but all contributed to the work and success of the depot during its three years of operation. We would like, through this medium, to extend to all our members, wherever they may be, our thanks and best wishes for the future.

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.

III
No. 1 NZ Malaria Control Unit

The first appointments of officers to the Malaria Control Unit of the Third Division were made in September, 1942, about a month after the initial landing by American forces in Guadalcanal. A year was to elapse before our division went into action. These first officers to join the unit were the officer commanding, Captain, N. H. North, who had experience of malaria control problems during his service with the RNZAF at Singapore, and Lieutenant L. J. Dumbleton, from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, who became the entomologist. The first month or so was-spent in collecting information, investigating the supply position, and attending to the details of the formation of the unit. During this period, also, some lectures on malaria and malaria control were given to medical officers. The principles of malaria control were, of course, well established, and some additional local information: was available in the reports of the page 100Australian Forces in New Guinea; but existing information on the characteristics of the anopheline mosquito in the Solomon Islands was very meagre. The high malaria rates which were being experienced by American troops in the Solomons had a very salutary effect on the seriousness with which the malaria hazard was regarded and the preparations which were made to meet it. The division was most fortunate in securing as its tropical disease specialist an officer who was well acquainted with the Solomons, Lieutenant-Colonel E. G. Sayers, N.Z.M.C. In recognition of his excellent work, Colonel Sayers was awarded the Legion of Merit by the Americans, with whom he was closely associated in such work as malaria control and the efficiency of jungle rations.

We were occupied for some time with the problem of supply. It was intended that kerosene-pyre thrum sprays, 'malariol,' and repellent should be provided from New Zealand, but this arrangement proved largely unnecessary, as the US supply organisations supplied these materials in addition to anti-malarial drugs, such as atebrin. Knapsack sprayers, flit guns, etc., were, however, issued from New Zealand. The war establishment and equipment tables were based on Middle East practice, but our unit differed in that its sole duty was malaria control, and we were a larger whole-time malaria control force than was provided for a division in the Middle East.

A few personnel reported to the unit while the division was still based at Papakura, but we did not reach full strength until after the move to Hamilton, where we were camped with other units at Rugby Park. Here we began to accumulate personnel and equipment, and managed to accomplish a certain amount of training. The orderly room cum quartermaster's store cum RAP served as a lecture room, and, when that was not available, the football grandstand was pressed into service. Towards the end of 1942 a flood of knapsack sprayers, flit guns, and miscellaneous articles of dubious origin and purpose descended on us, and we were kept busy packing and crating them all in preparation for a move. Two brigade section officers, Lieutenant R. J. McMillan and Second-Lieutenant W. M. Miller, both of whom were engineers, were added to the personnel, and these officers, having been through an officers' training school, gave a faint military flavour to what was never a very military unit.

For the advanced party, which left for Wellington and New page 101Caledonia on 2 December, 1943, the parting from New Zealand was offset to some extent by at last having something definite in prospect—new country and operational status. We were not given long in Noumea, where we saw our first balloon barrage, but two things evoked comment—the number of ships in the harbour and the unique smell of mud on the wharves. We were soon moved to a transit camp at Dumbea, and began the first of the hunts for our scattered equipment, of which we were to have so many in the future. Within a week we were bumping up the long and dusty road to Boguen. This had been chosen as a site for the 4th NZ General Hospital, with whose advanced party we had travelled and were to be quartered. We settled down and found that the area, though not prepossessing, had some advantages, especially in the nearness to the river. In due course the disadvantages were made known when the first wave of mosquitos came over. The mosquito consciousness of all ranks showed a marked improvement from that date. For some weeks we toiled with the personnel of the hospital in preparing their site. Early in January, 1943, however, we again moved, this time to the divisional area at Moindah where we joined forces with the 6th Field Hygiene Section.

So far all our energies had been devoted to camp construction, but we now commenced mosquito surveys of the aerodrome areas at Plaine des Gaiacs and Tontouta. New Caledonia is non-malarious, but there was some apprehension lest anopheline mosquitoes might be introduced by planes returning from the Solomons and the New Hebrides. No anophelines were found on the survey, and the work was discontinued at Ouatom aerodrome when word was received that an advanced party of No. 1 NZ Malaria Control Unit was to proceed to Efate Island, in the New Hebrides.

On 21 January, 1943, a party comprising Major North, Lieutenant Dumbleton, Second-Lieutenant Miller and seven other ranks left Noumea in an oil tanker for Efate. On the 23rd we went ashore for a few hours at Havannah Harbour before transhipping to a minesweeper, which took us round to Vila, the administrative centre of the group. After the confusion engendered by our unexpected arrival had subsided we were quartered with the US Malaria Control Headquarters at Navy Base Hospital No. 2. During our stay of ten days there we became acquainted with the organisation and method of operation page 102of American malaria control, and had our first experience of malaria control in the field.

Havannah Harbour, at this time, was the base of the American naval task force, and, though it was only a dozen miles from Vila, the roads were usually impassable, and the only satisfactory communication was by sea. This area was allotted to the New Zealand group, which was to be responsible for the malaria control under an American malariologist. We moved round there on 4 February and found the place a hive of activity, with the building of an airstrip and shore facilities for the task force under way. At first transport was lacking, and we had an arduous introduction to work in jungle, water, and mud at the height of the hot, rainy season. Once the area began to come under control the work was farmed out amongst the units in the area, and we had more time to enjoy life. The best memories are of orange and mandarin trees growing wild in the jungle, and which our survey work put us in a good position to locate, and of the trips to the outlying islands of Nguna and Mau, whence came the native labour we employed.

When the 8th Brigade seized the Treasury Islands the 7th Field Ambulance went with it. Stirling Island was almost cleared of jungle and became an airstrip

When the 8th Brigade seized the Treasury Islands the 7th Field Ambulance went with it. Stirling Island was almost cleared of jungle and became an airstrip

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In June a second section of the unit replaced our personnel in the New Hebrides. En route to Efate they met lieutenant Dumbleton and Second-Lieutenant Miller, who were proceeding north via Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal to work with American malaria control in forward areas. Lieutenant Dumbleton went to Russell Island, which was at that time being used for mounting the coming attack on Rendova and Munda, and Second-Lieutenant Miller went to Tulagi and Florida Islands. The work of these officers and, in fact, of all members of the unit who worked with the Americans at this time earned the respect of our allies, who were gracious enough to acknowledge our services by letters o£ commendation to General Barrowclough. All personnel were withdrawn to New Caledonia by the end of July, 1943. During the return voyage of one group their ship, when out from Lautoka, Fiji, suddenly swung hard over and began zig-zagging furiously. Action stations were manned and passenger personnel immediately despatched below. After anxious waiting they learned that a torpedo had just missed their bows and that their ship had narrowly escaped the fate of a Liberty ship which had been sunk by a submarine in the same area on the previous day.

After the departure of the first New Hebrides party the remainder of the unit in New Caledonia carried on with training. Some attention was devoted to the dengue fever problem, which developed in and around Bourail and Noumea. The unit was again moved, this time to a camp near the 4th Motor Ambulance Convoy at Tene Valley. Here intensive courses of instruction were held for unit anti-mosquito squads in preparation for the move of the division to malarious areas. On 1 July 1943, Major D. McK. Jack, a veteran of service with the Second Division, assumed command from Major North, the latter returning to his first love, the air force.

On 16 August, less than a month after the return of personnel from the New Hebrides, our advanced party embarked with the 14th Brigade for Guadalcanal. A stop was made at Efate, where we carried out landing exercises, on what was familiar ground to many of our unit, at Mele Bay, near Vila. Landing on Guadalcanal near the Matanikau we set up camp close beside Point Cruz with the 22nd Field Ambulance, who were to be our hosts on subsequent occasions also. We had made preliminary surveys and organised control work in the brigade area by the time Major Jack and the headquarters of the unit page 104arrived with the divisional group. The unit was concentrated again in our own camp in the divisional area between Wright Road and the Matanikau River, and we began control operations in this area too. The final section of the unit arrived with the 8th Brigade on 14 September and set up camp on Wright Road. Two days later the 14th Brigade moved to Vella Lavella, and with them went one section of our unit, to be followed later by the headquarters. The 8th Brigade section, commanded by Second-Lieutenant R. D. Dick, remained on Guadalcanal until the brigade invaded the Treasury Group. For a while we had no representatives on Guadalcanal, but, later, a small section under Staff-Sergeant (later Second-Lieutenant) C. H. Belton was sent down and remained there until New Zealand troops returned to New Caledonia.

On Vella Lavella the first few weeks proved to be arduous and tiring. Areas had to be surveyed for likely breeding grounds —a task which was no sinecure in thick jungle, swamps, torrential rain and an oppressive humidity. We worked throughout the hours of daylight, and even sleep at night was denied us by the wailing sirens heralding air raids. However, once the main survey was completed, details of breeding grounds finalised, and areas of control allotted to our own personnel and unit anti-mosquito squads, life became routine again. Brigade units were spread throughout the island and in many cases were inaccessible by land. Our journeys of inspection and survey to these units by sea probably gave birth to an enthusiasm for boating and sailing which became so evident later on Nissan Island. It was on Vella that members on survey had their first experience of crocodiles, and many were the tales told round the mess table. The surveyor's heart often beat faster when, deep in a jungle swamp, a flooded river had to be crossed and his imagination conjured up awful possibilities as he listened to the eerie noises of the jungle. The reptiles, however, left us well alone, and the only injury which anyone suffered while on survey work was when Corporal Jim Livingstone tripped a Japanese booby trap. We spent about five months on Vella, and towards the end of that period Major R. G. S. Ferguson, from the 22nd Field Ambulance, replaced Major Jack as officer commanding, the latter returning to New Zealand to civilian medical practice.

Meanwhile our section with the Sth Brigade, after a further month on Guadalcanal, had embarked and, on 6 November, page break
Rapidly rising streams and consequent Hooding were regular Icatnrcs in New Caledonia in the 'wet season.' These two photographs show (upper) the bridge, water point and hauyan tree at the entrance to the Racecouse Camp, Tenc Valley, rind (lower) the flooded stream completely covering the same bridge with the water [joint made quite untenable for a time

Rapidly rising streams and consequent Hooding were regular Icatnrcs in New Caledonia in the 'wet season.' These two photographs show (upper) the bridge, water point and hauyan tree at the entrance to the Racecouse Camp, Tenc Valley, rind (lower) the flooded stream completely covering the same bridge with the water [joint made quite untenable for a time

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The entrance to the 4th Motor Ambulance Camp at Téné alley. The ubiquitous niaouli threw a little shade but usually it was a warm and dusty spot throughout most of the year

The entrance to the 4th Motor Ambulance Camp at Téné alley. The ubiquitous niaouli threw a little shade but usually it was a warm and dusty spot throughout most of the year

Though the 4th MAC" kitchen at Moindah does not look altogether prepossessing, it served its purpose well and was a model of effective sanitation. Tn the foreground is an efficient fly-trap

Though the 4th MAC" kitchen at Moindah does not look altogether prepossessing, it served its purpose well and was a model of effective sanitation. Tn the foreground is an efficient fly-trap

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This improvised hot shower unit was a great boon to ambulance drivers on their return from the long dusty trips throughout New Caledonia

This improvised hot shower unit was a great boon to ambulance drivers on their return from the long dusty trips throughout New Caledonia

A view of the wards of the casualty clearing station in Guadalcanal which remained in the one location for ten months. It was sited near the beach

A view of the wards of the casualty clearing station in Guadalcanal which remained in the one location for ten months. It was sited near the beach

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Above is a view of the gardens which surrounded the casualty clearing station on Guadalcanal. Below: The first contingent of New Zealand nurses to serve in a forward Pacific area are shown arriving at Guadalcanal on 5 March 1944. L to R: Charge-Sister J. T. Sexton, ARRC, Sister H. B. Foster, Charge-Sister R. J. Ward, Sister M. G. Gwilliam, Sister D. H. Hoyte, Sister A.M. McLachlan, Sister M. S. Farland, MBE. and Sister J. G. Galloway,) photograph when they landed

Above is a view of the gardens which surrounded the casualty clearing station on Guadalcanal. Below: The first contingent of New Zealand nurses to serve in a forward Pacific area are shown arriving at Guadalcanal on 5 March 1944. L to R: Charge-Sister J. T. Sexton, ARRC, Sister H. B. Foster, Charge-Sister R. J. Ward, Sister M. G. Gwilliam, Sister D. H. Hoyte, Sister A.M. McLachlan, Sister M. S. Farland, MBE. and Sister J. G. Galloway,) photograph when they landed

page 1051943, landed on Stirling Island, in the Treasury Group. Within ten days of landing a detailed survey of Mono and Stirling Islands was completed and breeding places plotted on maps. Anopheline larvae were located in Lake Soala, on Stirling, and along the edges of streams on Mono, hence strict personal precautions against malaria had to be taken by the troops. We immediately arranged for Lake Soala to be oiled, and this was carried out each week during our sojourn on the island. Weekly oiling of swamps and river edges was attended to by our personnel and unit anti-mosquito squads, but much of this work was eliminated later when, with the assistance of outside labour (notably the ASC attached to 7th Field Ambulance), we cut and dug through swamps, slush and jungle some tens of thousands of linear feet of drains. Besides routine malaria control measures some considerable time was devoted to technical work in our field laboratory. We were most interested in the study of the small red scrub mite, which caused an epidemic of skin trouble on Stirling Island, and we were able to recommend preventive measures.

We achieved certain notoriety in our brigade group by virtue of our aviary, which included a red and blue plumaged parakeet and two white cockatoos, one of which unfortunately succumbed to injuries, despite the efforts of field ambulance surgeons; but by far the most popular pet was a portly domestic fowl which we caught at large in the jungle. We had fond hopes that this bird would make our several fortunes, for on 14 successive days she produced each day that longed-for and oft-dreamed of delicacy— an old-fashioned egg in a shell. However, our dreams of reverse lease-lend on a strictly cash basis were short-lived, for our hen, with truly feminine obstinacy, decided that 14 eggs was the limit of her war effort.

The 8th Brigade Group moved no further north than the Treasuries, and we spent seven long months there, attached the whole time to the 7th Field Ambulance. Our association with this unit was a very happy one, and we were all very grateful to the officers and men for the understanding way they adopted our tiny section, separated from its own unit by hundreds of miles of ocean.

In February, 1944, the 14th Brigade Group again moved, this time to Nissan Island. One section moved with the brigade and was later joined by headquarters. Qn Nissan we were quartered with the 24th Field Ambulance, at first in, a very makeshift camp page 106in the Pokonian Plantation and later in a camp at the edge of the lagoon about a mile away. Here we set up our own camp and discovered in our midst an excellent cook in the person of Private Wally Bennett. The inevitable jungle clearing process was marked by some fine displays of inexpert bushmanship, notably from Major Ferguson and Captain Dumbleton, and how tents and bodies escaped crushing by trees falling the wrong way remains something of a miracle. One thing in which we were lucky on this island of water scarcity was a well, which helped to tide us over until the water supply improved. The expenditure of our war-like stores of grenades helped out our diet with fish from the lagoon, and the semi-wild pigs, the pawpaws and sweet potatoes also contributed. The adjacent lagoon proved a source of much pleasure to budding ship-builders and sailors, and many strange craft were launched and sailed on its placid waters. Pride of the fleet, and expertly handled by Skippers Corbett and Rea, was a 21-foot native canoe, complete with outrigger and sail, appropriately called Anopheline.

With the announcement of the scheme whereby troops from our division were required to return to New Zealand to help relieve the man-power shortage in industry No. 1 NZ Malaria Control Unit, like other units of the Third Division, could see the end looming in sight. By stages we withdrew from the Solomons to New Caledonia and thence to New Zealand, and now the division and its component units no longer exist. Looking back over our period of service we can say that we were as happy as any unit in the sometimes uncomfortable and always monotonous existence in the islands. We as a unit were fortunate in that we had, more or less, a free-lance existence. Our opportunities for travel on all modes of transports, ranging from aeroplanes, destroyers and hospital ships to Japanese barges, dinghies and native canoes, provided many varieties and changes of scene. We had, moreover, the satisfaction of having a necessary and useful job to do, and we were able to see the successful results of our work in the creditably low rate of malaria incidence amongst the troops of the division. We feel sure that No. 1 NZ Malaria Control Unit will be remembered with affection, perhaps even with nostalgia, by all who served as members of it.