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Finally, a Field Ambulance!

Morris Hirsch's company, under the Major who was the 2 IC, were given the task of medical support for the Gordon Highlander mopping up operation of the last Italian stand, 300 miles south, on the high escarpment barrier to the Gondar region, the source of the Blue Nile.

The Climb to Asmara

Morris Hirsch was anxious to catch up with the Three Musketeers and their Field Ambulance Unit. Over 70 miles, he travelled from coastal desert, through rock to spectacular mountains, then rolling green grasslands, to Asmara at 7,500 feet.

In the Hot Seat

Morris Hirsch's differences with Captain Boles had fatal consequences. East African Forces began boarding the troop transport ship at Mombasa's Kilindini Docks. The civilian passenger-cargo liner SS Salween had been converted into a naval troopship as HMS Salween, to carry 1,400 troops.

Secondment to the 6th Ugandan Field Ambulance

The three South African Musketeers, George Gosling, Sam Garber and David Goldberg and Morris Hirsch were finally seconded to the 6th Uganda Field Ambulance under the command of Col. Cowan, a Nairobi physician in civilian life.

Whacking El Wak

Morris Hirsch turned around after exploring the extinct volcano at Marsibit in the Northern Frontier of Kenya.

Kenya, the Shangri-La and a Surprise

The rich green beauty of the undulating Kenya Highlands soaked into Morris Hirsch during his stay near Nyeri and Nanyuki and visits to Mathaga.

Ups and Downs of One Sort or Another

After three months back at Sonderwater Army Base Camp, Morris Hirsch was posted to East Africa on two day's notice.

Hurry Up and Wait--Again!

Three months to the day came with orders for Morris Hirsch to report to Medical HQ for reposting.

Flirting of One Sort or Another

Barberton Army Camp had a reputation for fun: partying, sport, theatricals and visits to the local attractions.

A Drastic Remedy

At the Barberton Army Camp, Morris Hirsch faced, in the main, a steady stream of acute benign tertian malaria. It tends to recur without lethal complications.

Barberton Days

When Morris Hirsch asked why he was being overlooked for the campaign in Abyssinia he was promptly posted to remote Barberton in the Eastern Transvaal for an indefinite period!

Telling the Army What to Do!

Soon enough, the Army beckoned Morris Hirsch back to Sonderwater Base Camp. He was looking forward to an early posting.

Anything is Possible, Nothing Presumed

Dr. Morris Hirsch's first exposure in private practice taught him that a doctor has to withstand Tartars

Highs and Lows at Kensington Sanatorium

At the Kensington Sanatorium the first case Morris Hirsch was presented with was an acute pelvic appendicitis, He completed it in record time--fifteen minutes from gloves on to gloves off.

Back to Civvy Street

Morris Hirsch need not to have worried about finding temporary employment. Times had changed from the unemployment he faced on graduation two years before.

Medical Corps Training

Morris Hirsch found his training at Sonderwater was just playing soldiers, an anticlimax to the great world drama and even compared to the accelerating tempo of South African mobilization.

Army Call-up at Last

Exactly one year into WWII, Sept 1940, Morris Hirsch was called-up for basic training. During the initial six months of phoney war he sometimes wondered whether it would be over before he had a chance to be involved.

"Germiston Here I Come..."

Morris Hirsch jumped at the opportunity to be a resident medical officer at the much smaller Germiston Hospital offering him experience in Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics. It meant more responsibility and practical experience than he had enjoyed in the ENT and Surgical posts.

A Casualty--in the Psychiatric Ward

Morris Hirsch moved on to the European Casualty Department, (the equivalent of the current US Emergency Room.) Housemen (Interns) earned £5 a month, now he had moved up to £20 per month.

Euthanasia?

An old man in an advanced, inoperable stage of prostatic cancer begged Morris Hirsch during a ward round to do something about his pain although he was already on high doses of morphia.

Urology

Morris Hirsch found the Urology Department depressing although the job entailed both European (in a newly completed ten story modern building) and Non-European wards.

Battling in the Theater...and War

On Sunday September 3, 1939, Chief Surgeon Pencharz and Morris Hirsch battled to close a rent in the carotid artery of the victim of a stabbing assault at the Non-European Hospital.

On the Receiving End of Surgery

Morris Hirsch, on an intake Sunday, woke early with abdominal cramps. He was brewing another attack of acute appendicitis.

Remuneration

In 1939, Morris Hirsch working a 70 hour week in his surgical rotation at the Non-European Hospital was still on a meagre remuneration of £5 a month, though still all found.

A Concentrated Surgical Experience

Now part of the intern establishment Morris Hirsch succeeded to a surgical post, also in the Non-European Hospital, for the customary six months.