Foreword

By Major-General Rt. Hon. Sir Harold Barrowclough, kcmg, cb, dso, mc, ed

I COUNT it a great privilege to have been invited to write a foreword for this volume and I gladly accept the Medical Editor's invitation. I do so because, like many other non-medical men who will certainly read this book, I have a profound regard for the work which was done by the New Zealand Medical Corps in the two World Wars of this century, and also because in the South Pacific theatre in World War II I had exceptionally favourable opportunities for observing that work and feel a special obligation to acknowledge publicly the splendid contribution made by every member of the Corps, whether commissioned or non-commissioned, to the welfare of the Expeditionary Force which I had the honour to command.

This volume is not confined to the activities of that portion of the Corps which served with 3 New Zealand Division in the operations in the Solomon Islands. In addition it records the work done by the Corps for the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force at home as well as abroad, and it describes also the very fine work done by individual members of the Corps in prisoner-of-war camps. Wherever the service was given the pattern was the same. Everywhere there is the same excellent organisation, the same high standard of efficiency and the same devotion to duty. It is fitting that this splendid service should be recorded and preserved, both as a tribute to those who rendered that service and as a guide to those who follow after. In both respects this book admirably fulfils its purpose. It is at once a faithful report of what was achieved in the fateful years 1939–45 and an inspiration to those who may have to plan, and indeed are now planning, for a possible similar conflagration in the future. None of us can contemplate another large-scale war without the utmost dismay; but none of us dares to ignore such a possibility. The strategy and tactics of such a war will be vastly different from those of any previous struggle, but the need for a disciplined, competent and well equipped medical service will remain. Indeed, page vi I venture to think that that need will be greater than ever before. I believe that those whose duty it is to organise, train and equip such a service will find much to help them in the story told here, and in other volumes of the Official War History, of the work of the New Zealand Medical Corps.

It is a trite saying that ‘Good wine needs no bush’ and it is not my purpose, nor is it at all needful, that I should over-advertise the merits of this work. They will be abundantly apparent to anyone who cares to read and study it. Nevertheless I should not like to conclude this Foreword without paying tribute to the impersonal way in which this volume has been written. The reader will find but few names mentioned. The emphasis is not on the performance of the individual, but on the record of the service. I am confident that this feature of the work will earn the unqualified approval of every member of the New Zealand Medical Corps.