The Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt

Circular Letter No. E 1/15.

O.C.,

1. Forwarded herewith the sum of – stg. to be expended by your authority and direction on such articles as you may consider requisite for the general improvement of equipment, stores, or other items which in your opinion will conduce to the general well-being and comfort of the patients in hospital under your command.

2. Attached receipt forms to be signed in duplicate and returned to me.

3. When three-fourths of the amount allocated to you has been expended, you will furnish this office with expenditure vouchers in duplicate. This will enable me to keep the High Commissioner informed as to how the moneys are being spent, and to arrange for further grants if considered necessary.

    Surgeon-General,
    Director Medical Services, A.I.F.

[Copy]

    May 20, 1915.

O.C.

Govt. Hospt.

Tanta, Damanhour and Shebin el Kom.

1. I enclose herewith cheque for {£50 £25 £25} to be expended in terms of the Circular Letter attached. Will you please sign the accompanying receipt in duplicate and oblige.

2. It is not desired that the expenditure of the money should be restricted to Australians, as such a course would, I think, in a hospital be impracticable and undesirable. If, however, this is used for all the Allied troops under your care, then the next instalment which may become necessary might well be provided from the "Military Hospitals Fund" or the "Egyptian Red Cross Fund."

3. I shall be glad if you will communicate to the men in the Hospital the fact that comforts are being supplied from the Fund of the British Red Cross Society (Australian Branch), the administration of which fund is in the hands of Surgeon-General W. D. C. Williams, C.B.

    (Signed)
    James W. Barrett,
    Major,
    for W. D. C. Williams,
    Surgeon-General.

Grants of Money made to Various Hospitals from Red Cross Funds

The Egyptian pound is to the British pound sterling as 100:97·5.

In addition, a considerable amount of money had been spent in other countries. There was, however, no knowledge in Egypt of the sum which would be ultimately available. Furthermore, in the absence of instructions from Australia, no serious departure had been made from the policy originally laid down. In fact I am doubtful to a degree whether any Red Cross movement should in normal conditions go beyond the successful policy adopted.

2. Red Cross Store.– Goods received were passed into the Red Cross store, the contents of the cases ascertained as far as possible, and entered in books kept for that purpose. They were issued on requisition signed by the Officer Commanding any medical unit. Corresponding entry was made in the book of issue, and the difference between the stock received and that issued from day to day was shown in the form of a stock sheet. Stock-taking was effected from time to time.

The store was staffed at first by two nurses and three orderlies, later it was staffed by a sergeant and six or seven orderlies who were approved by the military authorities. The staff therefore consisted of myself, with my own clerical staff, the orderly officer of the hospital, Captain Max Yuille (latterly Captain Dunn), the sergeant and seven orderlies, together with extra helpers at times. The store was connected by telephone with the hospital, and every effort made, compatible with the excessive demands on the time of all, to manage it in a methodical manner.

3. Receipt of Goods.– The receipt of goods has, owing to the peculiarities of Egypt and the circumstances of the war, given a good deal of trouble, and I am making it the subject of a separate memorandum. It may suffice here to say that it will never be satisfactory until the Red Cross Society in Australia cables, when the ship leaves Fremantle, precisely the number of packages on board, the port of destination, and the probable time of arrival of the ship; and also accurately informs the officers commanding the ship of the nature of the Red Cross goods on board. In this connection it may be interesting to note the following letter from Colonel Onslow, who has just arrived by the Runic in Egypt, and who, but for the printed instructions drawn up by me and conveyed to him at Suez, would not have known that any Red Cross goods were on board:

    Continental Hotel, Cairo,
    September 13, 1915.

Lieut. – Colonel Barrett,

A.A.M.C.

My Dear Sir,

You will remember that on Saturday last you asked me to write to you regarding the Red Cross Stores on the Transport A 54 Runic of which I was in military command.

When I took command on August 9 in Sydney I had no information as to there being any Red Cross Stores on board except that one of the ladies of the Red Cross Committee had told me that a few stores were to be put on board and would be at my disposal if needed for the troops under my command.

Subsequently I saw some half a dozen cases which I assumed to be those to which she had alluded.

On arrival at Suez, September 9, the printed instructions as to disposal of Red Cross Stores were handed to me. This caused me to make inquiries. The ship's purser knew nothing of any such stores and they were not shown in the manifest.

But from the Chief Officer I learned that a large number of which he had an incomplete list had been placed in one of the holds. It was even then too late for me to ascertain their number or nature, as I was in the midst of disembarking returning ship stores, etc. They were therefore landed without the required list.

But if either a wireless had been sent to me a day or two beforehand, or if the persons responsible for shipping had informed me in Sydney, there would have been no difficulty whatever. Under the lack of system which would seem to prevail in shipping these stores from Australia it would not be surprising if they were overcarried and lost.

    Yours faithfully,
    (Signed) J. Macarthur Onslow,
    Colonel.

I publish this letter simply to show the difficulties and to indicate the magnitude of the task. I do not think any one is to blame, but rectification is wanted. A huge commercial concern has gradually grown up and now requires firm paid commercial management. The Australian Red Cross has become a gigantic Commercial Institution with attendant advantages and disadvantages.

It should be remembered that goods are shipped in Australia from at least six different ports separated by distances of hundreds of miles, that nearly the whole of the work has been amateur, and that it is difficult to inaugurate a proper business system rapidly.

The following are the printed directions referred to by Colonel Onslow:

    Headquarters, Cairo.

From A.D.M.S., Australian Force,

Headquarters, Cairo.

To O.C. Troopship —

1. Will you please instruct a Medical Officer to make a list in duplicate of the surplus medical stores and Red Cross goods, including ambulances, on the ship. He will hand one list to the representative of Australian Intermediate Base (Captain Clayton) and retain the other.

2. Will you please detail a Medical Officer, or if that be impossible another Commissioned Officer, who will see that these goods are put on the train, and travel with them to their point of destination.

3. At the place of destination he will hand them over with an inventory to a representative of A.D.M.S. Australian Force (Lieut. – Colonel Barrett), from whom he will obtain a receipt. He will not, under any circumstances, hand them over to any one else, or take any verbal receipt.

4. If it be impossible to send the goods by passenger train they may proceed by goods train, in which case an N.C.O. or orderly must be detailed to travel in the brake van; and deliver the goods to a representative of A.D.M.S. Australian Force (Lieut. – Colonel Barrett) in precisely the same way.

5. You will please detail a fatigue party of sufficient strength for unloading the goods from the transport and placing them on the train, and in addition supply any guard that is necessary to protect them until this work is completed.

6. It is undesirable in any circumstances to send goods by troop train. It is much better to send them by goods train.

7. Will you please convey these orders in writing to the Medical Officer or Officer concerned. If any conflicting orders be issued he can then produce this authority.