2/11th Australian General Hospital
From Our Contribution
 Madang, New Guinea Wards 1, and 2. - AWM 075510 | |
 Unit Colour Patch | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | 2/11th Australian General Hospital |
| Where formed | Hobart & Victoria |
| Date formed | late 1940 |
| Locations | El Amiriya, Egypt; Argos Greece; Alexishafen, New Guinea; Aitape, New Guinea; Madang, New Guinea |
General Information
Early records indicate some of the unit was raised in Hobart in late 1940, and other elements in Victoria. The unit arrived in the Middle East in April 1941 at a tiem when evacuees were arriving from Greece. Their initial operating location was Alexandria, where they also received casualties from Tobruk. In November 1941 they relocated to Beit Jirja in Palestine. With Japan's entry into the war they left for Adelaide in Australia during February 1942. The relocated to Warwick in Queensland in June and then to Chermside in May 1943 to prepare for their move to New Guinea.
The hospital embarked in Brisbane for Port Moresby, disembarking four days later. In July 1943 Buna was being prepared as a base for the attack on Lae, and the hospital moved to Dobodura. They remained there in support of the Lae, Markham Valley and Finschhafen campaigns. At Buna (Dobodura) they had established a fully equipped 600 bed hospital. In July 1944 the hospital relocated to Madang, and in November 1944 it moved again, to Aitape where they remained until the end of the war.
Two members of the unit died during their time with the unit, both to illness, one in Victoria and one in New Guinea.
Staff
Patients
El Amiriya, Egypt
- † John Hector Russell MacDonald 17 - 22 Aug 1941
- Charles Henry Walter Hansen 9 - 19 Sep 1941
- Joseph James Burrows 24 Sep - 20 Oct 1941
- William Boyd Griffiths 27 Sep - 25 Oct 1941
Warwick, Queensland
- Robert Ralph Thompson 25 Jul - 4 Aug 1942
- John Patrick Whitaker 10 - 30 Dec 1942
- Francis Malarkey 23 Dec 1942 - 14 Jan 1943
Dobodura, PNew Guinea
- Douglas John Elliott 4 - 14 Sep 1943
- Edward Ernest Wilson 20 - 22 Oct 1943
- Mervyn Roy Drummond 28 Nov - 8 Dec 1943
- John Blair 8 - 17 Mar 1944
Aitape, New Guinea
- Thomas Malarkey 25 Jan - 8 Feb 1945
- Walter Roland Williams 27 Jan - 25 Mar 1945
- Walter Leonard Axford 4 Feb - 29 Mar 1945
- Arthur Gordon Hubbard 5 Feb - 8 Mar 1945
- Edmond Hepple Brown MID 9 Mar - 1 Apr 1945
- Francis (George) Hicks MM 14 - 22 Mar 1945
- Alan Kirwan Donaldson 27 Mar - 10 Apr 1945
- William George Davis 16 Apr 1945 16 - 26 Apr 1945 & 23 Jun - 3 Jul 1945
- Edmond Hepple Brown MID 5 - 8 May 1945
- Arthur McVeigh 11 - 31 Jul 1945
- John Henry Adams 6 - 16 Aug 1945
Individual Honours
- 23 x Mentioned in Despatches
- 1 x Royal Red Cross (1st Class)
Notes
Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 4 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 4.119 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018