February 11, 2018

remembrance ni

Outstanding medical pioneer honoured for part in Sicily landings

A Belfast medic honoured for "gallant, fearless and devoted action" on the Sicily landings pioneered the study of penecillin on the battlefield. Brigadier Sir Ian Fraser, DSO. OBE., one of the most outstanding medical professionals, was born on February 9, 1901.

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Sir Ian Fraser served throughout the Second World War in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, he was in charge of the Surgical Division of the 37th General Hospital, running a 1000-bed hospital at Accra, on the Gold Coast, and in 1942 was promoted full Colonel on his appointment as consulting surgeon to the West Africa Command. In early 1943 Fraser was contacted by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, who would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Sir Alexander Fleming in 1945, for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases. Fraser was asked to set up and direct a research team to carry out a pioneering study of the effects of penicillin on trauma cases in the battlefield. After trials in England Fraser's team travelled to the North African and later Italian theatres of war, where he frequently performed operations just behind battle lines, on one occasion for 48 hours without a break. He was involved in landings at Cape Passero and Catania in Sicily, and Reggio di Calabria and Salerno on the Italian mainland.

In January 1944, he was awarded the DSO, not merely for "gallant, fearless and devoted action" during the Sicily landings, but also for

the development of "a new technique employed for the first time in forward surgery" which had "established a new and most valuable

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wound treatment". In March 1944 he was acting consultantsurgeon to Eastern Command in preparation for the Normandy

Brigadier Fraser’s memorial at St Patrick’s Church, Drumbeg invasion of June 1944, in which he took part, landing at Arromanches two days after D-Day, and setting up advance surgical stations of the 108th General Hospital at Bayeux. In October 1944 he was appointed consultant surgeon to Central Command, Agra, India, and promoted Brigadier.

Ian Fraser was born, on 09/02/1901, on the Albertbridge Road in Belfast, son of a GP, and educated in the city, at RBAI and Queen's University where he graduated MB, BCH, BAO in 1923 having obtained First Class Honours and come first in all his subjects, winning numerous prizes. The same year, he was appointed resident house surgeon, house physician and extern surgeon at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. In 1927, he was appointed honorary attending surgeon at the then Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in Queen Street, later to become the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. He would hold an appointment there until his retirement in 1966. In 1926 he obtained the degree of MCh from Queen's University, and was appointed Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. The following year he was appointed to the English equivalent, and graduated MD of Queen's with commendation in 1932. In 1938 he was elected Fellow of the

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Royal Society of Edinburgh, by which time he had undertaken postgraduate study in London, Paris and Vienna, and published nearly thirty articles in leading surgical journals. By 1994 this total would have risen to eighty. After the war he returned to his former post in Belfast, at the Children's Hospital, in September 1945 and was appointed to the staff of the Royal Victoria Hospital and was designated consultant in the new NHS in 1948.

He had a decades-long association with the St John's Ambulance Brigade, which he first joined in 1931 as Divisional Surgeon and honorary secretary to the Belfast Division; he would attend meetings of the organisation until he was 94. From 1932-1939 he was District Commissioner for Northern Ireland, during which time the Brigade expanded from 3 divisions (138 members) to 63 divisions (1,944). 1940 he was awarded the OBE for services to the Brigade, of which he became Bailiff Grand Cross in 1974 and Knight Commander in 1979.

Fraser received a considerable number of awards and honours. He was appointed honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1941, Surgeon-in-Ordinary to the Governor of Northern Ireland, and Honorary Colonel, No 4 British General Hospital (TA). Along with several honorary degrees he was also a Chevalier de Légion d'honneur in France, and was admitted to the Belgian Ordre de la Couronne and the Dutch Ordre van Oranje-Nassau. He served on the Senate of Queen's University from 1961 to 1991, was President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 1954-56, and was President of the British Medical Association 1962-1963 and was a frequent external examiner and guest lecturer. In 1963 he was knighted for services to medicine. Fraser died at his home in Belfast on 11 May 1999. The Sir Ian Fraser Theatre at the Royal Victoria Hospital was named for him in 1982. His portrait by Carol Graham is on display in the Great

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Hall, Queen's University. He was President of QUB Services Club in 1954

Roll of Honour - February 10 & 11

Representing their comrades who died on these days

WW1

+WIGHTMAN, HenryRN. Stoker 1st Class. K21030. HMS Arethusa. Died 11/02/1916. Age 21. Born Belfast. Son of Isabella Gillespie (formerly Wightman), Glentoran St., Belfast, and the late Robert Wightman, Newcastle St. Chatham Naval Memorial.

WW2

+LARMOUR, JamesRN. Able Seaman. P/SSX 14491. Date of Death: 10/02/1940. Age: 25. HMS Suffolk. Son of John and Mary Larmour, Lodge View Terrace, Warrenpoint. Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 39.

+GRINSELL, Joseph

Royal Artillery.Gunner.1683055. Died 10/02/1944. Aged 30. 21 Bty., 8 (Belfast) H.A.A. Son of John and Eliza Grinsell; husband to Gladys May Grinsell, of Coventry. Father of Jean, Mary, John and David. Taukkyan War Cemetery, Myanmar. Regimental WM and RH, St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast

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+MATHERS, Thomas Seth

RAFVR. Sergeant (Pilot). 1112782. Died 11/02/1942. Aged 27. 118 Sqdn. Son of Archibald and Elizabeth Mathers; husband to Mollie Mathers, of Belfast. Ringwood Cemetery, Hampshire

Courage recognised on this day

+MORRISON, Alexander ThompsonRMLI. Corporal. PO/16397. MM. 1st RM Battalion, RND. Died 06/10/1918. Age 24. Awarded the MM - Logeast Wood 21/08/1918, Lance Corporal 1st Royal Marine Battalion) London Gazette 11/02/1919. Enlisted Belfast 13/08/1912 ; Embarked Royal Marine Brigade 05/12/1915 per HMT Northlands arrived Alexandria 17/12/1915. Appointed Paid Lance Corporal 03/02/1917, promoted Acting Corporal 20/01/1918. Born Stirling 12/07/1895. Son of James and Emily Morrison, My Lady’s Rd., Belfast. St John’s Church, (C of I), Laganbank Rd., Belfast. Hermies Hill British Cemetery, Pas de Calais. IMR. Papers misfiled at ADM/157/2705

Born on this date

ELWOOD, HenryRN. Stoker II. K50713. Enrolled 16/04/1918 for hostilities. Pembroke II. Demobbed 14/02/1919. Born Glenavy 11/02/1898. ADM 188/966/50713

+FOSTER, DavidRN. AB. J36501. HMS Ariel. Died 02/08/1918. Age 20. He took part in the campaign in East Africa and saw

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considerable service elsewhere. He died after a mine explosion sank HMS Ariel, an Acheron Class destroyer, which was converted to mine laying in 1917. Together with HMS Attack and HMS Acheron, Ariel rammed and sank U12 off Aberdeen. Born Ballymena 11/02/1898. Son of David and Elizabeth Foster, Ballycraigy, Ballymena. Plymouth Naval Memorial. Panel 27. Harryville - PCI RH. ADM 188/720/36501

GRIBBEN, JamesRN. Stoker. I. K23800. Enrolled 06/01/1915 for 12 years. War service in Pembroke II, Forward and Gibraltar. Invalided 17/11/1926. Born Belfast 11/02/1893. ADM 188/914/23800

McGUAN, JamesRN. Stoker I. K42275. Enrolled 14/04/1917 for hostilities. Pembroke II, Royal Oak and Gibraltar. Demobbed 17/09/1919. Born Portaferry 11/02/1899. ADM 188/951/42275

Enrolled on this day

McELHINNEY, JohnRN. Petty Officer. 219445. Boy service from 11/02/1902. Enrolled 25/06/1904 for 12 years. War service in Vivid I, Blake, Vivid II, Sandhurst and Colombine. Served to 01/05/1926. Joined RFR 02/05/1926. Born Londonderry 25/04/1886. ADM 188/385/219445

McMULLAN, ThomasRN. Armourer. 345910. HMS Nottingham. Jutland. Enrolled 11/02/1903 for 12 years. Re-engaged 01/03/1919. Served to 30/03/1922. War service in Vivid, Nottingham (27/10/1915 -

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27/10/1916) and Glasgow. Born Belfast 21/04/1881. ADM 188/524/345910

RUSSELL, WilliamRN. AB. 219446. Boy service from 11/02/1902. Enrolled 13/02/1904 for 12 years. Served to 07/03/1919. War service in Blake (Rifleman and Larne), Vulcan and Hecla. Born Londonderry 13/02/1886. Miller St., Londonderry. Carlisle Road - PCI RH. ADM 188/385/219446

DOBBIN, William FrederickRN. Chief Stoker. 271918. Boy service from 01/06/1905. Record states “Nominated by the Education Authorities, Belfast, for entry as Boy Artificer, and found fit”. Enrolled 11/02/1907 for 12 years. War service in Tamar, TB 038, Vivid II and Melbourne. Seconded to RAN for a period. Served to March 1923. Born Belfast 11/02/1889. ADM 188/436/271918

KANE, William RN. AB. J29459. Boy service from 11/02/1914. Enrolled 05/11/1914 for 12 years. Invalided 06/07/1927. War service in Vivid, Venerable, Fox, and Dufferin (Bombay). Born Belfast 02/11/1896. ADM 188/705/29459

TWEEDY, DavidRN. AB. SS5441. Served from 11/02/1915 - 13/03/1920. Joined RFR 16/03/1920. War service in Pembroke I, Agincourt, Attentive II, Prince George and Gibraltar. Born Belfast 26/01/1897. ADM 188/1099/5441

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JAMIESON, James AlbertRN. Acting ERA IV. M29044. Formerly RNVR Y30612. Enrolled 11/02/1918 for hostilities. Victory II and Birkenhead. Demobbed 10/03/1919. Born Belfast 18/01/1897. ADM 188/1076/29044

Died on this day

FERGUSON, Robert

RN. FAA. Bob left the family farm in Fermanagh to join the Royal Navy in 1943. As soon as he was old enough he applied to join the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. He trained in Canada and spent the last few months of the war flying fighter aircraft from carriers in the Pacific. After the war he took a degree in geology at Trinity College, Dublin and worked for several years on the copper mines of Northern Rhodesia. He became interested in a career in medicine and saved enough money to put himself through medical school. After graduating from Queen’s University, Belfast, he worked at Belfast City Hospital and at the South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon. He then moved to Boston, USA, where he served on the staff of the Veterans Administration Hospital and later the Northeastern University Student Health Service. He died 10/02/2010 at Wellesley, Massachusetts. USA, survived by his wife.

TAYLOR, Thomas

RN. After service he was employed by the Electricity Board. A part-time leading fireman in Cookstown Fire Station, he was an active member of the town’s Baptist Church.

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Windsor Crescent, Monrush, Cookstown. Died 10/02/2010. Cookstown cemetery.

On this day - February 111914

Edward Carson responded to H. H. Asquith's intention to enact a Home Rule bill for Ireland: “I say this to my nationalist fellow countrymen... you have never tried to win over Ulster. You have never tried to understand her position.”

1940

+Soviet troops finally breach the Mannerheim line, forcing the Finns to withdraw to a secondary defense line.

+The Soviet Union and Germany sign a treaty to exchange Soviet raw materials for German manufactured goods.

1941

+Former GOP presidential candidate Wendell Willkie testifies in favor of Roosevelt’s Lend-Lease Bill in Congressional hearings.

+Hanover is bombed by the RAF.

+British forces advance into Italian Somaliland in East Africa.

+Three Stirlings of No. 7 Sqn carry out the first RAF four-engined bomber attack against oil depots in Rotterdam.

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1942

+The Channel Dash (Operation Cerberus). At 23.00 hours, Admiral Ciliax orders his squadron, which includes the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the cruiser Prinz Eugen, to leave Brest and dash through the English Channel for the safety of Kiel in Germany.

+Japanese troops cross the river Salween in Burma. This caused concern for the commander on the 17th Indian +Division, Lieutenant General John Smyth, who felt that his troops might be cut off. He urged Burma Army commander, Lieutenant General Hutton to allow him to withdraw across the river Sittang. However, he was ordered to hold firm on the river Bilin.

+The US Army occupies Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao in Dutch West Indies with permission from Free Dutch.

+US Army begins construction on Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California.

+US War Production Board takes DuPont’s supply of nylon.

+In Montréal, French-Canadians riot against conscription plans.

1944

+German relief forces are now just 10 mile from the Korsun pocket.

+Americans troops at Cassino are relieved by Indian and New Zealand forces. The allies are pushed back to final defence line at Anzio.

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+The Australians take Rooke Island between Huon and New Britain.

1945

+The Red Army the encirclement of the fortress city of Kastrin on the Oder.

+The meeting of the President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Marshal Joseph Stalin in Yalta, adjourns.

On way home from Yalta, Roosevelt meets with kings Farouk of Egypt, Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, but is unable to convince them to allow Jewish settlement in Palestine.

1975

The IRA murdered Samuel Christopher Mein, 25. Married father of 1. Protestant milkman murdered as he made deliveries in Galbally. 1 man held him down while another shot him with a gun held directly against his head

Acknowledgments and references

Admiralty records - referenced thus ADM

CWGC - Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Ulster Dictionary of Biography

Remembrance Ni Roll of Honour of those from Northern Ireland who served in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in World War 1

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Abbreviations

ERA - Engineering Room ArtificerRAN - Royal Australian Navy RFR - Royal Fleet Reserve RMLI - Royal Marine Light InfantryRND - Royal Naval Division, basically RN in an infantry role

remembrance ni

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