Captain Macaulay Killick
Winchester Dental Officer and POW |
NX 76600 of
43 Australian Dental Unit |
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Mac Winchester was born 25 February 1916 in East Maitland
in the upper Hunter Valley. He enlisted as a Dentist in the Australian
Imperial Forces (AIF) on 24 November 1941 and four Doctors also from the
area, namely Thomas Hamilton, Roy Mills, Peter Hendry and Thomas Brereton
enlisted as Medical Officers around the same time. At the fall of Singapore
he, with many others, became a Prisoner of War (POW). Later he was sent
to work on the infamous Burma Thailand Railway. Little is written about
the work of the Dentists. On the line they had limited opportunity to
carry out their dental functions. The Japs would monopolise their services
and the POWs were a poor second when needing dental treatment. However,
the Dental Officers, because of their professional training, were able
to assist with doing anaesthetics and other administrative duties. The
following is a rather tragic story about Mac Winchester.
After the capitulation of Singapore the Japanese commandeered
all available X-ray film as well as other supplies both from civilian
and Army, Navy and Air Force sources.
Captain Mac Winchester, Dental Officer, had a portable
X-ray machine at Tanglin Barracks area and was required to use this machine
for two purposes:-
A. to
X-ray the mouths of hundreds of Japanese soldiers whose head would be
nestled on the pit of his stomach, so that his own lower abdomen would
receive a massive dose of radiation as well as his own chest;
B. to open hundreds of cartons
of film under supervision and then to expose one sample film from each
carton with his hand superimposed so that the clarity of the film could
be checked and the Japanese would not be sending to Japan any cartons
of film that had fogged.
It is no wonder that Mac developed cancer of his fingers
some of which needed amputation. It is also no wonder that when his bowel
became obstructed and the surgeon found it adherent to his bladder that
the pathologist reported extensive scar tissue in the large area of bowel
excised and the adherent wall of his bladder, also excised. It is no wonder
that Mac developed cancer of his lung which caused his death. He suffered
greatly on the Thai-Burma railway. He was sent from Singapore to Thailand
in May 1943 as a member of “H” Force, a composite force of
3,270 POWs. He had to march from camp to camp carrying his dental equipment;
then have to wait; then to receive a bashing; then to render dental treatment
to any Japanese soldier demanding it; all this before he was allowed to
treat any Dutch, British or Australian servicemen, if at all; sometimes
not, before he was bundled out to move on. Mac was a gentle person, an
excellent boxer. He could have flattened any of his tormentors even when
debilitated. Those in the AIF whom he treated or with whom he was associated
will never forget Mac.
The above story was collated by Lt Col Peter Winstanley
RFD (Retired) JP and based on portion of a book written by the late Doctor
Roy Mills titled “Doctor’s Diary & Memoirs” and
permission has been given to use/quote from the book.
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