The Health of the Middle-East Force, 1942-1943.

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by Charley Fortnum, Apr 30, 2018.

  1. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

    THE HEALTH OF THE MIDDLE EAST FORCE, 1942-1943.

    A. 'E. RICHMOND, O.B.E., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., D.P.H., D.T.M. & H.
    (Deputy Director of Hygiene, Middle East Force.)
    AND
    Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. GEAR, M.D., D.P.H., D.T.M. & H,
    South African Medical Corps.
    (Assistant Director of Hygiene, Middle East Force.)
    [Received May 22, 1945.]​

    Contents

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    Screen Shot 2018-05-01 at 03.48.41.png


    Full Report Here.
    Source: http://jramc.bmj.com/content/jramc/85/1/1.1.full.pdf
     
    timuk, BFBSM, bamboo43 and 1 other person like this.
  2. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Charley

    Many thanks for this fascinating document.

    Would be interested in seeing the equivalent document, if it existed, for the CMF in 1944-1945 ?

    Best regards

    Ron
     
  3. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Sorry, Ron, I'd be interested to see that, too, but I can't find it. Closest I can find (geographically speaking) is Adriatic Forces here:

    http://jramc.bmj.com/content/85/1/41.full.pdf

    There's some bits and pieces about the LRDG, the Commandos and the Raiding Support Regiment.
     
  4. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

  5. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Lt Beadle in hospital Sousse Nov 1943 it seems a great percentage of the 67th Field Regiment suffered from this: I’m in hospital with Infective Hepatitis, our local brand of Jaundice.
    My complaint is very common out here and mysterious too. Nobody knows what causes it and the treatment is completely empirical. Earlier in the year it was a common complication of malaria but a couple of blood tests have shown that I’m free from that.
    Do we know the cause with our modern medical knowledge. It seems to have debilitated him later at Anzio and even stopped him drinking too much in Rome.
     
  6. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Poor hygiene conditions it seems, they were discouraged from eating or drinking outside the camps for this reason. Most of them of all ranks seem to have gone down with it towards the end of their time in Tunisia. They spent time training in the hills and on French Artillery Ranges so may have drunk contaminated water. The camp was badly flooded during a heavy storm which may have contributed to the outbreak.
     
  7. TTH

    TTH Senior Member

    A very interesting summary. A few comments:

    1. When it talks of Allied "continental armies" being careless of hygiene, I take that to mean the French and the Greeks. The report gives high marks to the Poles.

    2. The high standards of cleanliness among African personnel and units must have surprised some of the whites.

    3. I note the complete lack of any discussion of psychological problems, including shell shock.
     
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