The 2/4th Field Ambulance played a crucial role in providing medical care during the Kokoda Track campaign. Led by Lt. Col. Arthur Hobson, the unit consisted of officers and other ranks who worked tirelessly to treat wounded soldiers amid difficult terrain, weather, supply and enemy challenges. Captain Alan Watson provided emergency dental care to over 200 patients and administered general anesthesia, while also organizing the aeromedical evacuation of hundreds of casualties. The proximity of the Field Ambulance's surgical team enabled immediate treatment of severe wounds. Despite shortages, the unit improvised constantly to care for soldiers and evacuate them from the frontlines.

1. ENDURANCE, COURAGE AND CARE:
THE KOKODA TRACK CAMPAIGN
OF
CAPTAIN ALAN WATSON,
DENTAL SURGEON
AUSTRALIAN MILITARY MEDICAL ASSOCATION
JOINT HEALTH COMMAND SYMPOSIUM Oct 2010
BARRY REED
Royal Australian Army Dental Corps
Australian Army Reserve
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon:
~ 1st Health Support Battalion
Senior Specialist Oral & Maxillofacial
Surgeon
~ John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle
Lecturer (part-time)
School of Medicine
University of Newcastle, Australia
This lecture reflects my personal professional opinion
1st HSB
C.O: LTCOL L Sinclair

2. This historical research has
been supported by an
Australian Army History
Unit Research Grant Award

3. • Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
~ Photographic Image collection: p2424 and p2423.
• Kokoda War Diary 1942-43. The Recollections and
Photographs of Dr Alan Watson A.M. ~ Video. 1991.
• Mitchell Library collection, Sydney. Reference MSS 1825:
~ Extracts from the War Diary of Captain Alan O. Watson
~ Image collection
~ Biographical notes
• Little by Little. A centenary History of the Royal Australian
Army Medical Corps by Michael Tyquin. Australian Military
History Publications. 2003
• Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 5 – Medical -
Volume Volume 3 – The Island Campaigns.1st edition, 1957.
References & photo acknowledgments

4. The Australian military health care tradition:The Australian military health care tradition:
endurance, courage and care for woundedendurance, courage and care for wounded
soldiers whatever the circumstancessoldiers whatever the circumstances
Simpson Kirkpatrick,
RAMC stretcher
bearer & “Duffy”
Gallipoli 1915

5. World War One:
Gallipolli 1915: dental treatment
Western Front 1918: dental treatment

6. 2/4th Field Ambulance:
Lead Medical unit for the Advance phase
October to December 1942

7. Deployed medical units
• Were the 14th and 2/6th
Field Ambulances for
the initial advance to
Kokoda, the fighting
withdrawal phase and
then mostly as rear
units for the later
advance phase
• 2/4th Field Ambulance
took over as lead unit
for the later advance
phase of the Kokoda
campaign from October
1942 and the Gona
campaign in Dec 1942
2/6 Field Ambulance. Myola 2. October

8. Roles of Capt Alan Watson,
Dental Officer
• Emergency & urgent
dental care
• General anaesthesia
• Aeromedical evacuation
Officer

9. photography
• Capt. Alan Watson appointed by his
Commanding Officer LTCOL Arthur Hobson as
unofficial photographer for the unit
• Two German Leica cameras

10. Experienced
• Graduated with
Honours 1938
• Rural private dental
practice 1939
• Joined Army 1939
• Syrian campaign 1941
• 25 years old
• received a short
concentrated course
in the administration
of general
anaesthesia at the
start of his Kokoda
campaign

11. Roles of the 2/4th Field Ambulance
• “The Field Ambulance must be capable of instant movement
and change. In the New Guinea campaign there was no
question of leaving the field ambulance behind. It had to and
did keep up with the battle troops”.
by WO2 LC Thompson in an article published in SALT March
1943
• Triage and Resuscitation
• Ward nursing care with patient
holding
• Initial wound surgery and further
surgery
• Primary health care
• Preparation for evacuation
• Dental care
• Environmental health support

12. Example of instant change: Efogi 15th October. Emergency arm amputation
“the field Ambulance must be capable of instant movement and
change.. ….. It had to and did keep up with the battle troops”.
(WO2 LC Thompson, SALT March 1943)

13. • Of crucial importance, it had a surgical team
attached for the campaign
Proximity for surgical care with the
Field Ambulance

14. th Field Ambulance had a comparable
sualty care role to today’s role two
nhanced) deployable Army hospital

15. Some problems of the Campaign
oblems In
neral:
rrain
Weather
ansport
opical diseases
ommunication
nemy action
• Specific casualty care
problems:
• Medical evacuation
• Resupply difficulties
(medicines & food)
• Hospital staff levels:
surgical workload and
ward workload
• Lack of equipment
• Lack of adequate shelter
• Staff health
maintenance ~ diseases

16. errain: jungle and mountains
mita Ridge (northern view)

17. mita Ridge (southern view towards
Port Moresby)

18. “Golden Stairs”. Imita Ridge

19. Terrain obstacles: streams

20. Terrain obstacles: Rivers (Wairopi)

21. Weather: torrential rain (mud),
cold and heat

22. Mode of Transport: walking

23. Distinctive feature of the Kokoda
mpaign were the walking wounded
who self evacuated along the track

24. ansport of supplies & equipment:
rimary method of the campaign
~ native carriers

25. Native carriers for resupply

26. tive carriers for severely wounded
CAPT Geoffrey Vernon

27. ransport: First stage of campaign ~
mules

28. Last stage of
campaign:
motor transport

29. nsport of supplies/replenishment: aerial drops
0% losses with

30. Supply by air:
strips ~ weather & terrain difficulties

31. air strips ~ terrain difficulties

32. Proximity for the Field Ambulance
he revolutionary conditions imposed on us gave
e to a new leap frog movement. The unit was
ead out along the track in a series of posts”.
O2 LC Thompson in an article published in
LT March 1943)

33. Kokoda Track

34. ersonnel 2/4th Field Ambulance in
the Kokoda Campaign
officers
other ranks
______________________________
ginal War establishment:
officers
5 other ranks

35. Main Dressing Station. 2/4 Field
Ambulance. Myola 1.

36. Treatment of the Sick
0% of hospital admissions or more)
e.g. 8th November:
52 battle casualties, 205 sick
Malaria
Dysentery
Skin diseases
Fatigue, exhaustion
malnutrition
Typhus

37. Hospital ward: Nauro jungle

38. Hospital ward: Dry lakes at Myola

39. ospital ward: native construction at
Kokoda

40. uta M.D.S. (operating theatre & kitchen)

41. Preparedness
ress shows evidence of the unit's lack of preparedness for the campaign ahead
the Kokoda Track, with Captain Day wearing puttees as used in the deserts of

42. eparedness & improvisation/adaptability

43. Operating theatre equipment
puta 2. The operating theatre. The operating table is a
makeshift piece of bush handicraft made from trees.

44. Dental clinic

45. Preparedness
No dental replenishment for five months

46. Modern day
emergency dental kit

47. Dentistry by Capt. Alan Watson
• 3rd October to 18th December
(11 weeks):
• 208 patients ~133 made fit
(64%)
• 2 fractured mandibles
• ~ closed reductions
• 238 extractions
• 74 fillings and dressings
• 19 Acute Necrotising
Ulcerative Gingivitis
(“trench mouth”)
• (30 gingivitis/periodontal
disease, 12 denture

48. Surgical team

49. Types of wounds
Limb
~ common
~ “a really serious problem was lack of control of the
emoral artery by tourniquet”
Chest
~ sucking chest wounds
Abdominal
~ transfusion often
~ “wounds of the buttock
were misleading”
Head
Gas gangrene
~ 4.5% of battle casualties
~ “value of surgical excision”

50. Surgical team
Operated day and night. Myola 1. Dawn

51. Surgical Team Workload:
n major cases in twelve hours
th perhaps additional five less serious cases
ckled all branches of surgery
ay and night shifts
p to 36 hours continuously in operating theatre

52. General anaesthesia

53. General anaesthesia
Ether, chloroform (from 1918 supplies)
and Pentothal later

54. neral anaesthesia by Capt. Alan Watson
th th

55. Surgical team
Efogi North. Members of
the surgical team of the
2/4th Field Ambulance
perform an operation in
the tent that serves as the
operating theatre at the
unit's Main Dressing
Station. Left to right:
Captain Douglas Leslie,
the surgeon; Lieutenant
Colonel Arthur Hobson,
the unit CO, who is
assisting; Capt Alan
Watson, the unit Dental
Officer, who is

56. Operations performed

57. Operations performed

58. Resuscitation
evere degrees of shock not uncommon”
od transfusions: Serum, whole blood
walking blood bank”: unit members, soldiers
x-rays

59. Historical record: First operation,
2/4th Field Ambulance

60. Historical record: First operation,
2/4th Field Ambulance

61. Transport of the wounded &
medical evacuation
The stretcher is slung below a single carrying bar supported at each end by one

62. Evacuation by air

63. da, November. USAAF Stinson Vigilant ambulance aircraft prepares to take
rom the airstrip. The aircraft is evacuating two sick or wounded Australian

66. pt. Alan Watson
s aeromedical
evacuation
oading Officer
okoda airstrip, 5 Nov to 16 Nov:
rganised evacuation of 350 patients
est two days: 111 and 99 casualties
opondetta airstrip, one day only, 27th Nov:
rganised evacuation of 400 battle casualties &
ck

67. Bartering with Japanese rifles & helmets for
aeromedical evacuation:
Four hundred evacuated on the day of air raid
good scale of payment. A Japanese helmet equaled
sick or wounded. A Japanese rifle equaled ten-

68. r raid Soputa M.D.S: 27th November
n a few minutes a busy
ospital was transformed
to a miniature battlefield.”

69. Air raid: wards hit

70. Air raid: 22 killed, over 50 wounded

71. Completing both the Kokoda Campaign
and Kokoda track.
Gona beach. 16th December 1942
casualties Papuan Campaign:
942 to January 1943
Australian troops served:

72. Some problems of the Campaign
oblems In
neral:
rrain
Weather
ansport
opical diseases
ommunication
nemy action
• Specific casualty care
problems:
• Medical evacuation
• Resupply difficulties
(medicines & food)
• Hospital staff levels:
surgical workload and
ward workload
• Lack of equipment
• Lack of adequate shelter
• Staff health
maintenance ~ diseases

73. Morale:
Lack of timely replenishment of
hospital supplies
Bandages and dressings, essential
drugs, anaesthetic agents, tents,
stretchers, food, sutures, sterile
water…..

74. provisations, Ingenuity and Solutions
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels
Local supplies
Equipment improvisation
leapfrog” unit movement
First use of aeromedical evacuation
Holding non-walking casualties long term in wards
Walking wounded self evacuation
Aerial supply drops
Field Training and Multitasking personnel for staff shortages
e.g. general anaesthesia
Medical liaison officers with HQ
Role of kitchens and food in morale maintenance
Combat health support: Mobility, proximity, flexibility,

75. Historical record
ng hard, PO Archer exclaimed excitedly, 'Sir, sir, I think I've shot down a Zero!'
s the Control Officer replied, 'Don't be silly, Archer, Wirraways can't shoot down
' 'Well, sir,' continued Archer, 'I went in to look at the wreck off Gona and I saw

76. wards South West Pacific between October 1st
1942 and March 31st 1943:
BE (Military Division): Lt. Col. A.G. Hobson NX454
tation”: Lt Col. Hobson was personally responsible
r good service rendered by his Field Ambulance Unit.
his unit served continuously two brigades during the
vance from Nauro to Gona.
entioned in Dispatches (Posthumous):
aj. I. F. Vickery NX473
aj. H.F.G. McDonald VX 14704
entioned in Dispatches:
apt. D.R. Leslie VX39117
apt. A. O. Watson NX 34655

77. Alan O. Watson, A.M. 1917 - 1993
entioned in despatches”, for “having rendered gallant and
tinguished services” in the Kokoda Track campaign
omotion to Major
laria for three years; dysentery
scharged 1944
vate practice with his father, Macquarie St, Sydney
ovations in the dental care for Cerebral Palsy patients for
rty years; established dental operating theatre at the Spastic
ntre Mosman
rt time lecturer, University of Sydney from 1962
norary life membership Spastic Centre of NSW 1979
ctor of Dental Science 1955
mber of the Order of Australia 1983

78. his qualities live on:

79. Questions?

81. panese prisoners awaiting aeromedical
evacuation

82. Morale:
central role of an integral unit kitchen as
the unit social venue &
the provision of adequate food proved
invaluable in maintenance of morale