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John Oxley Library

A Night in the JOL: The Medical Front WW1

By JOL Admin | 6 November 2014

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On Tuesday 21 October, State Library's regular A Night in the JOL event featured distinguished army medical officers and historians Professor John Pearn AO, RFD and Dr Robert Likeman CSM in conversation with host, ABC Radio National announcer Ian Townsend. In a lively and informative 90 minutes, they discussed the contribution of Queensland doctors and nurses who served on the front line during WWI.

Medicos from Queensland played significant roles during the First World War, and the John Oxley Library houses some significant medical-related WW1 collections. Original materials on display included items from the Marks Family Papers, featuring letters and photographs of Alexander Marks, Ted Marks and Espie Dods - three brothers who served as doctors throughout the bloody conflicts of Gallipoli and the Western Front. Also on display was the collection of David Gifford Croll, a Queensland doctor who commanded the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance, and a reminiscence written by Eleanor Elizabeth Bourne, the first Queensland woman to study medicine, who served as a doctor in the British Army Medical Corps.

The evening was a sell-out affair, with several members of the Marks family in attendance.

The audio file of the conversation can be found here or below.

http://youtu.be/6rym9QCdKSw

Robyn Hamilton - QANZAC100 Content Curator, State Library of Queensland

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