Edward Ford (physician)
Encyclopedia
Colonel Sir Edward Ford OBE
FRACP
FRCP
(15 April 1902 – 27 August 1986) was an Australian soldier, academic and physician who played an important role in the anti-malaria
campaign in the South West Pacific Area
during World War II
, and in preventative medicine in Australia after the war, but is best known for his Bibliography of Australian Medicine.
on 15 April 1902, the son of Edward John Knight Ford and his wife Mary Doxford, née Armstrong. His first job after leaving Clunes Higher Elementary School was as a telegraph boy
at the Postmaster-General's Department
(PMG), which he joined in April 1917, later working in its accounts branch. After he matriculated at the age of 24 he enrolled in an arts course at the University of Melbourne
, but soon switched to medicine. He supported himself by continuing to work for the PMG by night. He graduated with his bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBBS) degrees in 1932, and did his residency
at Melbourne Hospital.
Ford became a lecturer in anatomy
at the university in 1933, and became a senior lecturer in anatomy and histology
in 1934. While there he met Frederic Wood Jones
, who shared and encouraged a passion for books. Ford would later dedicated his Bibliography of Australian Medicine 1790–1900 to Jones. Ford became interested in physical anthropology
, and later tropical medicine
. He moved to Sydney where he became a lecturer at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney
, from which he obtained a Graduate Diploma
in Tropical Medicine in 1938.
That year, he travelled to Papua where he conducted a study of sexually transmitted disease
among the people of the Trobriand Islands
, Goodenough Island
and the D'Entrecasteaux Islands
for the Papuan administration. When he returned to Australia in 1939, he became the Medical Officer in charge of the Commonwealth Laboratory in Darwin
.
in the Second Australian Imperial Force
in June 1940, receiving the service number
NX445. In March 1941 he was sent to the Middle East as commanding officer of the 1st Australian Mobile Bacteriological Laboratory, and was soon engaged in the diagnosis of a variety of hitherto uncertain diseases. In July 1941, the 1st Mobile Bacteriological Laboratory moved to Syria, where it was attached to the 2/3rd Casualty Clearing Station, providing the latter with the diagnostic capabilities of a larger general hospital, of which none were available.
Ford returned to Australia in March 1942, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
in August. He was appointed Assistant Director of Pathology, I Corps and New Guinea Force
. To combat the danger of dysentery
, Ford had all available supplies of sulphaguanidine in Australia shipped up to New Guinea. This was a new drug that Neil Hamilton Fairley
had tested in the Middle East, and found to be effective. An initial dose of 4g followed by 2g doses at four hourly intervals was found to rapidly relieve the symptoms and permit the sufferers to travel.
But the biggest medical problem was malaria
. In December Ford took his case to the Commander in Chief (and commander of New Guinea Force), General Sir Thomas Blamey
. After being lectured by Ford for about an hour on the history and dangers of malaria, and what needed to be done, Blamey said: "I think I understand you, Colonel Ford. If I don't do these things, my troops will suffer."
"What I have been trying to tell you, Sir," Ford replied, "is that if you don't do these things, you won't have any bloody troops to suffer."
Blamey liked officers who spoke to him like that. The effect was soon felt:
Blamey even wrote an article on malaria in New Guinea Force's newspaper, Guinea Gold, in which he exhorted his men to take proper precautions against malaria. "Our worst enemy in New Guinea is not the Nip," he wrote, "it's the bite." Gradually, the incidence of the once epidemic disease began to drop. For his part, Ford was mentioned in despatches.
In March 1943, Ford was appointed malariologist at Allied Land Forces Headquarters (LHQ) in Melbourne. Here he was charged with responsibility for coordinating the Army's overall effort against malaria. In March 1945, he became Director of Hygiene, Pathology and Entomology at LHQ, and in May he was promoted to colonel
. For his services he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) on 19 July 1945. He was transferred to the Reserve of Officers on 25 June 1946. After the war he served in the part time Citizen Military Forces, and was Director of Army Health from 1953 to 1964.
(MD) degree by the University of Melbourne in 1946. He was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship that allowed him to study at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he gained a Diploma of Public Health with distinction in 1947. Ford became Director of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney in 1946, and Professor of Preventive Medicine in 1947, concurrently holding these two positions until his 1968 retirement. In addition, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and a Fellow of the Senate from 1953 to 1957, and was Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney from November 1960 until March 1961. He was involved in the establishment of the medical school at the University of Western Australia
, and was a member of the council of Macquarie University
.
His wartime Army service was recognised in 1946 by his appointment as a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) in 1946. He later served as its Vice President from 1970 to 1972. He became a fellow of the the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in London in 1958, and also of the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators, the Zoological Society, London, and the Royal Sanitary Institute, London. he was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia in 1971, and of the Royal Australian Historical Society in 1957. On 1 January 1960, he was created a knight bachelor
. In 1969 the RCP and the RACP awarded him the Neil Hamilton Fairley medal, and he was granted an honorary Doctor of Letters
by the University of Sydney in 1971.
Ford collected books, and he was a curator of the RACP library from 1958 until his death in 1986. He donated some 2,200 items to the library. Today other books from his collection can be found in the libraries of Latrobe University, Macquarie University and the University of Sydney, where the Burkitt-Ford library is named in his honour. In 1976, he published his Bibliography of Australian Medicine 1790–1900, "one reason Ford's name will be permanently recalled in any study of the historiography of Australian medicine." Ford, who never married, died at his home in Potts Point, New South Wales
on on 27 August 1986 at his home and was cremated. Some of his papers are in the Mitchell Library
in Sydney, while other can be found in the National Archives of Australia
in Sydney.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
FRACP
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, or RACP, is the organisation responsible for training, educating, and representing over 9,000 physicians and paediatricians in Australia and New Zealand. It was founded in 1938....
FRCP
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
(15 April 1902 – 27 August 1986) was an Australian soldier, academic and physician who played an important role in the anti-malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
campaign in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and in preventative medicine in Australia after the war, but is best known for his Bibliography of Australian Medicine.
Education and early life
Edward (Ted) Ford was born in Bethanga, VictoriaBethanga, Victoria
Bethanga is a town in north eastern Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Towong Local Government Area, from the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Bethanga had a population of 589.-History:...
on 15 April 1902, the son of Edward John Knight Ford and his wife Mary Doxford, née Armstrong. His first job after leaving Clunes Higher Elementary School was as a telegraph boy
Telegraph boy
Telegraph boys were uniformed young men between 10 and 18 years of age who, mounted on bicycles, carried telegrams through urban streets...
at the Postmaster-General's Department
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department was created at Federation in 1901 to control all postal services within Australia. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission and the Australian Postal Commission...
(PMG), which he joined in April 1917, later working in its accounts branch. After he matriculated at the age of 24 he enrolled in an arts course at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, but soon switched to medicine. He supported himself by continuing to work for the PMG by night. He graduated with his bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBBS) degrees in 1932, and did his residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
at Melbourne Hospital.
Ford became a lecturer in anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
at the university in 1933, and became a senior lecturer in anatomy and histology
Histology
Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...
in 1934. While there he met Frederic Wood Jones
Frederic Wood Jones
Frederic Wood Jones , usually referred to as Wood Jones, was a British observational naturalist, embryologist, anatomist and anthropologist, who spent considerable time in Australia....
, who shared and encouraged a passion for books. Ford would later dedicated his Bibliography of Australian Medicine 1790–1900 to Jones. Ford became interested in physical anthropology
Physical anthropology
Biological anthropology is that branch of anthropology that studies the physical development of the human species. It plays an important part in paleoanthropology and in forensic anthropology...
, and later tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
. He moved to Sydney where he became a lecturer at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, from which he obtained a Graduate Diploma
Graduate Diploma
A Graduate Diploma is generally a postgraduate qualification, although some graduate diplomas involve the study of undergraduate level courses...
in Tropical Medicine in 1938.
That year, he travelled to Papua where he conducted a study of sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
among the people of the Trobriand Islands
Trobriand Islands
The Trobriand Islands are a 450 km² archipelago of coral atolls off the eastern coast of New Guinea. They are situated in Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea. Most of the population of 12,000 indigenous inhabitants live on the main island of Kiriwina, which is also the location of the...
, Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island
Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and south west of the Trobriand Islands.It should not be confused with Goodenough's Island...
and the D'Entrecasteaux Islands
D'Entrecasteaux Islands
D'Entrecasteaux Islands are situated near the eastern tip of New Guinea in the Solomon Sea in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The group spans a distance of 160 km, has a total land area of approximately 3,100 km² and is separated from the Papua New Guinea mainland by the...
for the Papuan administration. When he returned to Australia in 1939, he became the Medical Officer in charge of the Commonwealth Laboratory in Darwin
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:* Charles Darwin , English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection* Darwin, Northern Territory, a capital city in Australia- People:...
.
Second World War
Ford was commissioned as a majorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the Second Australian Imperial Force
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
in June 1940, receiving the service number
Service number
A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian term as well...
NX445. In March 1941 he was sent to the Middle East as commanding officer of the 1st Australian Mobile Bacteriological Laboratory, and was soon engaged in the diagnosis of a variety of hitherto uncertain diseases. In July 1941, the 1st Mobile Bacteriological Laboratory moved to Syria, where it was attached to the 2/3rd Casualty Clearing Station, providing the latter with the diagnostic capabilities of a larger general hospital, of which none were available.
Ford returned to Australia in March 1942, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in August. He was appointed Assistant Director of Pathology, I Corps and New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...
. To combat the danger of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, Ford had all available supplies of sulphaguanidine in Australia shipped up to New Guinea. This was a new drug that Neil Hamilton Fairley
Neil Hamilton Fairley
Brigadier Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley KBE CStJ FRACP FRCP FRCPE FRS was an Australian physician, medical scientist, and army officer; who was instrumental in saving thousands of Allied lives from malaria and other diseases....
had tested in the Middle East, and found to be effective. An initial dose of 4g followed by 2g doses at four hourly intervals was found to rapidly relieve the symptoms and permit the sufferers to travel.
But the biggest medical problem was malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. In December Ford took his case to the Commander in Chief (and commander of New Guinea Force), General Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
. After being lectured by Ford for about an hour on the history and dangers of malaria, and what needed to be done, Blamey said: "I think I understand you, Colonel Ford. If I don't do these things, my troops will suffer."
"What I have been trying to tell you, Sir," Ford replied, "is that if you don't do these things, you won't have any bloody troops to suffer."
Blamey liked officers who spoke to him like that. The effect was soon felt:
Blamey even wrote an article on malaria in New Guinea Force's newspaper, Guinea Gold, in which he exhorted his men to take proper precautions against malaria. "Our worst enemy in New Guinea is not the Nip," he wrote, "it's the bite." Gradually, the incidence of the once epidemic disease began to drop. For his part, Ford was mentioned in despatches.
In March 1943, Ford was appointed malariologist at Allied Land Forces Headquarters (LHQ) in Melbourne. Here he was charged with responsibility for coordinating the Army's overall effort against malaria. In March 1945, he became Director of Hygiene, Pathology and Entomology at LHQ, and in May he was promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. For his services he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division) on 19 July 1945. He was transferred to the Reserve of Officers on 25 June 1946. After the war he served in the part time Citizen Military Forces, and was Director of Army Health from 1953 to 1964.
Academia
After the war, Ford wrote a thesis on malaria control in the South West Pacific, for which he was awarded his Doctor of MedicineDoctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(MD) degree by the University of Melbourne in 1946. He was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship that allowed him to study at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he gained a Diploma of Public Health with distinction in 1947. Ford became Director of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney in 1946, and Professor of Preventive Medicine in 1947, concurrently holding these two positions until his 1968 retirement. In addition, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and a Fellow of the Senate from 1953 to 1957, and was Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney from November 1960 until March 1961. He was involved in the establishment of the medical school at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
, and was a member of the council of Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
.
His wartime Army service was recognised in 1946 by his appointment as a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) in 1946. He later served as its Vice President from 1970 to 1972. He became a fellow of the the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in London in 1958, and also of the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators, the Zoological Society, London, and the Royal Sanitary Institute, London. he was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia in 1971, and of the Royal Australian Historical Society in 1957. On 1 January 1960, he was created a knight bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
. In 1969 the RCP and the RACP awarded him the Neil Hamilton Fairley medal, and he was granted an honorary Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
by the University of Sydney in 1971.
Ford collected books, and he was a curator of the RACP library from 1958 until his death in 1986. He donated some 2,200 items to the library. Today other books from his collection can be found in the libraries of Latrobe University, Macquarie University and the University of Sydney, where the Burkitt-Ford library is named in his honour. In 1976, he published his Bibliography of Australian Medicine 1790–1900, "one reason Ford's name will be permanently recalled in any study of the historiography of Australian medicine." Ford, who never married, died at his home in Potts Point, New South Wales
Potts Point, New South Wales
Potts Point is a small, densely-populated suburb of inner-city Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Potts Point is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney....
on on 27 August 1986 at his home and was cremated. Some of his papers are in the Mitchell Library
Mitchell Library
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The library was established with a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer, whose company, Stephen Mitchell & Son, would become one of the constituent members...
in Sydney, while other can be found in the National Archives of Australia
National Archives of Australia
The National Archives of Australia is a body established by the Government of Australia for the purpose of preserving Commonwealth Government records. It is an Executive Agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and reports to the Cabinet Secretary, Senator Joe Ludwig.The national...
in Sydney.