formation to May 1944 giving
details from his memory and a book he had read tiiled
"Torres Strait Force" by Reg Ball. The details are
shown on this sites titled Actions and Japanese Attacks.H. (Bill) Phillips storty.
The information on this page gives details from
three sources. The book series titled Royal "Australian Air
Force 1921-1996" also correspondence from a H(Bill)
Phillips.(photo insert) MTD who was a member of this unit from
its formation to May 1944 giving
details from his memory and a book he had read tiiled
"Torres Strait Force" by Reg Ball. The details are
shown on this sites titled Actions and Japanese Attacks.
This Unit was
formed at the 50 bed tempory hospital at the now famous
"Manor" at Werribee Victoria on the First of December
1942 under the Command of Wing Commander J.C.Laves, followed by
Squadron Leader. O.W. Lietch in 1943 the adjuant was Flight
Lientanant G. Finne, with a medical staff of four doctors,
Dentist, X-Ray Technician, a Chemist. The strength of the unit
was about sixty in total. The role of this hospital was to be a a
sick quarters for surrounding units and train and equip 6 MRS for
mobile warfare. The operating theatre was opened forty seven days
later then X-ray equipment was installed operating from the 25th
of March 1943. The unit receiving its first patients on the 1st
of April 1943.
On the 9th of April eight days later the command
received orders to clear the wards to be cleared and the unit
move to Merauke DNG unit personnel left for Merauke 
on the April 9th via
Townsville, Atkenvale, by rail, the advance party sailed to
Merauke on the MV Wanaka on the 23 of May arriving at Merauke
five days later. The photo insert shows Bill and Ted Clarke
(singlet) outside of the their ambulance on flat top rail waggon
that was their living quarters between Weribee and Townsville a
nice way to travel. Bill, as a motor transport driver had a wide
range of duties from driving ambulances to transporting water
from one of the many wells in the area chlorineating it for
general use in the hospital and kitchens, has related several
fact about this period and are entered throughout these pages
following, "Bill relates!"
Bill relates, that on arriving at Merauke it was very busy, the strip was still under construction there seemed to no area that wasn't waterlogged the only site was off to the end of the strip it was decided that this was to be the the units base, in the meantime we set up with an Australian Army Ambulance Unit on what was called Main Street. recalling the first morning he was duty ambulance driver at Merauke a
Beaufort (insert) overshot the runway and slid into the swamp. He conveyed the only causality a Sargeant Air Gunner to hospital with facial injuries. Over the following weeks the units facilities hospital wards (tents),kitchen, Mess tents, tent lines, toilet and shower blocks were completed. The unit was ready to do what it had to do treating the injured servce personnel whether it the result of a prang as above or one of the many malays that the diet and rations brought on or the physical and skin conditions resulting from the living conditions, the climate the myriad of crawling, flying insects that caused many cases of malayia and dengue fevers others causing ulcerated skin infections. These were extreme coinditions for the un-aclimatized to survive, even the regular treatments had little or no effect on some of these conditions and many were discharged medically unfit or sent on sick leave to recouperate.
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