TRENTHAM CAMP

Southland Times, Issue 17483, 26 July 1915, Page 2

TRENTHAM CAMP

THE ROYAL COMMISSION. YESTERDAY’S PROCEEDINGS. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, July 23. The Trentham Royal Commission continued. taking evidence to-day. Colonel Purdy, continuing his evidence, said that on 31st May Major Elliott, at his request, visited the Berhampore Hospital and afterwards told him that the place was over-crowded. On hearing this witness stopped patients from being sent to Berhampore and had. marquees erected at Trentham. By removing convalescents the number was brought down to 56 by 6th Juno. In reply to Dr Martin, Colonel Purdysaid that when the Trentham regiment and the Seventh Reinforcements were mobilised they brought in a very virulent form of influenza. Some of these cases were taken to Berhampore hospital. Dr Martin : Then you admit that serious cases went to Berhampore ? Yes; but I know nothing of them. I wrote my report on Bth June and it was afterwards. To his Honour: He knew of no case of a man removed to hospital on the point of death, or carried direct to the morgue. One case from Berhampore was refused admission at Wellington Hospital as it was not considered sufficiently deserving. The nurse ordered the patient’s removal, but when witness saw the man lie agreed that it was necessary. The patient ultimately made a complete recovery. Ronald Smith Badger, indent agent, of Christchurch, brother of Archibald Smith Badger, who died in camp on the 4th July, said that his brother was in good health when he enlisted. He went on sick parade on 22nd June and again on 23rd June, when he was sent to the tea kiosk at tiie racecourse. His temperature then was 101.4 According to a letter received by a friend he was lying on his mattress on the floor. They could not shave nor wash unless they were able to get up. Private Rax Glen, who was willing to give evidence, said that some of them were not washed for three days. On 25th June they were transferred from the tea kiosk to the jockey's quarters and sent back next day. There were only inexperienced orderlies attending the men until 27th June, when three nurses arrived. He was informed that the men often had half cooked ground rice for dinner and tea while they had high temperatures. The men were medically examined once only a day. He hoard of only two doctors—Dr Purdy and Dr Ferguson being there.

Colonel Purdy remarked that he'had not been at the camp since 28th June. His Honour : Well, that disposes of the point; there must be a mistake. Walter Reynolds, bootmaker, Constable street, criticised the material of which the boots were made. The front of tiie boot was lined withcowhide. which was nothing more than tanned chrome. Both the outer and front parts of the boot (chrome) and the inner lining were very porous. The leather that should be adopted was a waxed kip. The boot made for the soldiers would not be bought for a farmhand for use in wet weather. Much of the sickness was undoubtedly due to wet feet. Another point, witness continued, was that all the boots were, made broad fitting, so that some men had to put on as many as three pairs of sox to fill the boots. Once when the First Expeditionary Force was marching over Constable street hill the men would fall out because of sore feet. Witness used to help them and found that their trouble was due to the boots, which fitted the men like a sack. Magnus Badger, sergeant in the Field Ambulance, said that lie joined on 2Sth .Tunc and went on duty on 23th June at the racecourse kiosk. He happened to find Private Badger that day. Knowing the sick man’s brother slightly, though not related, he paid particular attention to him, washing and giving him all care possible. He visited him every two hours between Tuesday and Thursday. Dr Ferguson visited the patient seven or eight times. Sorgt. Badger referred to the difficulties in the way of delivering correspondence promptly to men in hospital. Sometimes they would have 120 admissions and half as manv discharges in a day. No officer could look after all this and the correspondence should have been dealt with by the platoon corporals.

In the afternoon evidence was given by Dr H. A. Delatour, of Wellington. In answer to Mr Skerrett’s question as to his qualifications, witness stated that he, was a duly qualified medical practitioner, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and an Associate of King's College, London. He had had 35 years continuous service in the New Zealand defence forces, from July 3 1S io, to June, 1311. He had been in charge of every camp held in South Canterbury and Otago for thirty-three years.

In answer to Air Skerrett’s inquiry as to what personal knowledge he had of the Trentham Camp. Dr Delatour said that he went out in January last to visit one of his sons, win was in the Auckland Mounted Rifles. He went there, again about a fortnigit later, and again in May, and examined the sample hutment. He went out ojee more about three weeks ago, just before the camp broke up.

“And you take a special interest in the conditions of Tnntham Camp?” Yes; from the start. When the war broke out I offered my services to the Minister for Defence, writing on August

Air Skerrett asked what was the general experience Df sickness and mortality in standing encampments in recent (■cars.

Dr Delatour Hud he could show how the health of tie service had been improved as Lie remit of the experimental camps lie had nentioned. In Egypt in 1906 the number of men constantly noneffective from sickness was 103.72 per 1000. and in 190; it had fallen to 16.64, while the mortalty rate fell from 25.10 to 4.21. Jn Bcrmuia the number of men non-effective thiugh sickness was reduced from 22.35 to 9.52, and the deaths from 4.65 to .Si per 1000. The same benefit was seel in India and all the other stations. From returns published in the House of Commons on February last by Mr Tenlant it was shown that among the trooss of the Expeditionary Force fighting i the front there were no cases of diplheria, and no cases of pneumonia in tie first six months. The following statistics were also given in the report: —Tyjhoid cases 625, deaths 4 9; scarlet fevif eases 196, deaths 4: measles cases 1.6, deaths 2. Among the soldiers in trailing in the United Kingdom diseases wre recorded as follows: Typhoid eases 262. deaths 47: scarlet fever cases, 139, deaths 22; diphtheria cases TB3_ deutls 0; measles cases 10 15, deaths 65; dysejtery cases 215, death, 1; pneumonia case) 150S, deaths 351; cere-hro-spinal menijgitis cases 62, deaths 26. The period covjred was from August 1 to February 15,' His Honour; )r Martin says that there are later retunj showing that those are imperfect. Dr Delatour:; The only way you can get the numb) - of troops is from a paper read at (ie Royal Colonial Institute by Mr Spcicer Wilkinson, who said there were at iast three million, if not four millions, hj training in the United Kingdom. ! His Honour::! don’t see how we can gather any preentage of value from these data. i Air Skerrett asked Dr Delatour if he knew of any rjison why as satisfactory results could K)t have been produced in New Zealand ni in England. "Only the wint of training of medical officers," was] the reply. The doctor added that Njw Zealand was a more healthy county than England and less densely populated. Would you,] under normal conditions and the propel establishment and regulation of the have expected to find a number of rjevfentable cases of disease occurring? | They shoulj not occur. X am refermg to the Trentham site. There is mfhing in the site to cause preventable dbeases. Would youjexpect under normal conditions and (roper constitution of the camp an ephfcmic? No; there hould not have been under normal condilons. Under furtfer examination Dr Delatour said that hi considered the hutments quite wrong. A hut was a building to contain usiuly not more than twelve men, and a jutment a building to contain not iiioptfian 24 men. Air Skerre.: What have you to say to the lodging >f 100 men in a hutment divided into the two? 'Witness: think it is quite wrong. All modern Utracks provide for breaking the men injj small sections of 12 or 24 in one ward which is io the benefit of

discipline, management and health. Any disease would spread very rapidlythrough a number of men' who were overcrowded. At this stage the Commission ad Journed till to-morrow. SATURDAY’S EVIDENCE. WELLINGTON, July 25. At the Trentham inquiry yesterday David Robertson, teacher at the Petone West school, said that in March last he was concerned with others in raising a sum of about £lO for the purpose of presenting a bed to the Trentham base hospital. He communicated first with the Camp Commandant as to the style of bed, and was advised to write to the Mayoress (Mrs Luke), who had the matter of equipment In hand. She replied suggesting that as the full complement of beds had been obtained the money might be devoted to other hospital needs. The committee still wished to present a bed, so the members went to Trentham on Sunday, 7th March, and there met Major Fyffe. Witness said : “But you have no hospital.” Major Fyffe replied:

“Come and see.” He was most condemnatory of the action of the authorities as regards the Trentham hospital equipment. He took the committee into an open marquee, in which there were fohr beds. There was only room for three. Two beds were occupied. Major Fyffe said lie did not know where to get supplies; he had sent to Wellington and they knew nothing about them. He could not even get a change of sheets until the man left a bed. The mattresses were not mattresses, and the men were practically lying on the wire screen. An orderly brought them samples of the sheets. One was a bolster cut in half, about 18in. wide; the other was just patchwork. There was no flooring and the ground was covered with dust. In the dispensary there were a few packing cases on which various articles were placed. The only part of the hospital which was not covered with dust was the dentistry department. Witness said that lie would hand Major Fyffe the committee’s £lO to ’ buy equipment and would also write to the papers to create a stir. Major Fyffe accepted the money and forwarded to witness a list of articles he had purchased with it. The list comprised nearly all kitchen utensils, which had not previously been provided. He understood that previously patients had brought the utensils from their own kits. This marquee and two other bell tents were the only hospital accommodation. Dr De Lautour. continuing his evidence, produced a diagram to support his contention that tents had been pitched over abandoned latrines. The latrine arrangements were good. If there were a sufficient number there should be eight per cent. Witness criticised the latrine arrangements in some minor particulars. When it was known that the camp was to be enlarged it should have been spread out and each unit separated from the others, on a sufficient area of ground to permit of the tents being moved at intervals. The ground should not have been allowed to become super-saturated with the organic matter pertaining to camp life. Tliis should not have involved any extra cost. In the way of cooking arrangements if a proper system had been introduced at the outset each unit should have had its own kitchens and been taught to make its own arrangements as it would have to at the front. By reason of the concentration at present the men were in a township and might as well have been billeted on Lambton Quay. The fault of the present military medical system was that it relied too much upon civil hospitals. Camp hospital accommodation should have been provided in proper proportion from the very start and no reliance placed upon the civil hospitals except in special cases. Tliis would have provided training for medical men. orderlies and nurses and prompt attention in accident and other cases. It had been suggested that with the batches of reinforcements coming in fresh disease was introduced. He suggested that the real explanation was that the men already in camp were the fittest who had survived amid conditions conducive to disease. The new men brought in fresh blood and were put in tents which had never been shifted. Ho knew, of his own observation, that tents had not been shifted for a number of months. Witness added that he condemned the original hutment proposal because, as first published, it was proposed to crowd 4 700 men into four and a half acres for sleeping accommodation only. They would occupy a greater urea than that, giving each man his sixty feet of floor space. His Honour ; They are to have thirtyone acres now.

Dr De Latour : That is about half what they should liavp. with separate dining rooms, proper intervals, streets, etc. He agreed entirely with what Mr Bates had said as to the galvanised iron hutments being cold and draughty. He read from Blacke Knox on the character of model liutments. These were on a wooden or iron framework, with walls of felt lined with canvas, floors raised off the fjround with ridge ventilation and windows. They should he built on echelon, and when for permanent: occupation they generally had walls of brick as iron was very cold. The Commission at this stage adjourned till Monday.