REMAINING WITH WOUNDED

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23361, 21 June 1941, Page 8

REMAINING WITH WOUNDED

T>WO DOCTORS AND CHAPLAIN

GERMANS RESPECT RED CROSS

(P.A.) AUCKLAND, June 20. How two Auckland' doctors asd • well-known' Auckland Baptist minister, chose to remain with the seriously wounded men, rather than tq seek'.to. escape from Crete, is told in letter! which have been received by Mr Allan J. Moody, chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, whose son, Dr. R. P. Moody, was one of the 'doctors, and by Mrs Hiddlestone, of Epsom, whose husband, the Rev. J. S. Hiddlestone, was the chaplain. The second doctor ■ was Dr. Seiwyn de Clive Lowe. The letter, which Mr Moody re* ceived to-day, was from Colonel Ken* neth MacCormick, also ’ of Auckland, who_said:,‘T haye not been able to.get the full facts from those, who have re* turned, except that, in company with Dr. Seiwyn de Clive' Lowe, he (Dr. , Moody) himself with a number of seriously wounded men practically cut off, and decided .that it was M duty to stay with the wounded. ! “The consensus of opinion among those who .have' returned,” continue!/ Colonel MacCormick, “is that unleMj medical units o'ot in the way of active operations, the Germans have re* spected the Red Cross and the medx* cal personnel had‘nothing to fear.” A similar opinion is expressed in • . letter which Mrs Hiddlestone received from the Rev. Frank Buck. He says “Men of his (Mr Hiddlestone’s) unit told me that the enemy were respect* ing the Red Cross at this point, ana had refrained from bombing. Hiddlestone and the patients were m a cave under good shelter when they were left behind. The Germans would be especially apt to be kind to I®, Hiddlestone, because he had been very good to a jiumber of wounded Ger* man prisoners collected in this ho** pital.” Mr Buck says the men of Mr Hiddle* stone’s unit said ho was well, but wo® out by the strain of the contiriuoul bombing the- forces had undergone. When the evacuation began the o®* cers in the hospital were faced wi® more than 40 miles of road which wj* little better than a goat track. Hiddlestone and other officers felt U»j their duty lay with the wounded, wM could not be brought away under sum ; conditions. ■ ' , Both the letters pay a tribute to tnl , courage of the officers concerned ® making the decision to stay with wounded. Colonel MacCormick ado* that Dr. Moody had, been promotes, from lieutenant to captain, and WS* : probably unaware of his advance.