2nd Australian Stationary Hospital

History
Name	2nd Australian Stationary Hospital
Where formed	Perth, Western Australia
Date formed	August 1914
Capacity	1200 in Jan 1916 at Mudros
Locations	Cairo, HMHS Gloucester Castle,Lemnos Island, Ismailia, Sinai, Palestine

General Information

Originally located at Mena Camp in Egypt in Jan 1915, where it was concerned with the treatment of venereal diseases, 2 A.S.H. moved to East Mudros on the island of Lemnos in June 1915.

Eight Officers and 90 other ranks, plus Nursing Staff of 25 drawn from No.3 Australian General Hospital & Canadian Stationary Hospitals. With ‘the rush of sick’ from the Peninsula, an ‘eleventh-hour’ effort was made to develop Lemnos as an intermediate military medical base. As part of that reorganisation, No. 2 Australian Stationary Hospital was moved to West Mudros, landing on 4 August 1915 – a day before 3 A.G.H. – on “a bare and road less hillside” (Butler, 286). “Pitched camp on No. 7 block and started to erect hospital & make roads” notes the unit’s War Diary on 5 August.

By August 13 it was treating 763 patients. On the 16th, 12 nurses from 3 A.G.H. replaced at the Stationary Hospital the personnel of the 30th British Field Ambulance who left for the Peninsula. Nurses from the Canadian Stationary Hospitals and 3 A.G.H. were regularly detached to the hospital.

By September/October 1915, No. 2 Australian Stationary Hospital occupied sixty large marquee-tents, and had 1,200 beds and 25 nursing sisters – “making some 130 Australian nurses now on the island” (Butler, 388).

When the Peninsula was evacuated, 2 A.S.H. transferred to Egypt, leaving Lemnos on 20 January 1916. Arrived Alexandria on 23rd, and entrained for Tel-el Kebir.

During August 1916 the hospital moved to Port Said where it provided general medical services until 19 Nov 1916 when it moved to Mahamdrya, remaining there until it relocated yet again to El Arish on 10 Mar 1917. Its next location was Moascar, arriving there on 27 Aug 1917. Here it received VD patients as well as casualties and general illnesses.

On 15 Jun 1919 1 officer and 71 other ranks, the last of the 2nd Stationary Hospital staff in Egypt entrained for Kantara where they boarded SS Essex for Australia.

Patients

HMHS Gloucester Castle

• Frederick Rawlinson 4 May - 9 May 1915

Lemnos Island

Egypt

• Frank Ernest Cousens 28 Apr - 1 May 1916
• Walter Cattach 24 Jul - 28 Aug 1917