TRENTHAM CAMP INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2526, 29 July 1915, Page 7

TRENTHAM CAMP INQUIRY

A'- WORD TO CRITICS THE COUNTRY IN A WAR EMERGENCY GOOD-HOME DEFENCE SYSTEM BUT ONLY HALF PREPARED WAR ABROAD ' GENERAL ROBIN SPEAKS. , \L*ne trentham Camp. Commission con"timied* the hearing of evidence yesterday. (His . Honour Mr. Justice .Hosking presided, and the other members of the , Commission are Dr. A. A/ Martin and Mr. AY. .Ferguson. ' . . . . ! f Nurse Vera Keith, who was stationed at /Berhainpore Hospital from May 19 till July 5, was called.. She said that she was Sn charge; at the hospital. during all but about the first two weeks of that period. iThree.large marquees were erected to supjplement the woodoii building, and cope nvith the inrash cf patients. : Twenty 'patients were accommodated in "the main building at. 0110 -tim i, and sixteen after (the marquees were put up.' The late Privates Pollard and Fordham were there {during her time. ( His Honour: What was Private Pol.J.ard's condition when lie camo in? f Nurse Keith: He looked very white, and .leemed •to ; have influenza badly! '

I Do you remember Lis temperature ?—"I, iffemember.that he had a temperature all jfiho time, aid oil the Tuesday it. w salOS." V He died the following Fiiday ?—"Ycs.!He was admitted one Friday and died the (next Friday."- ; (: Were there many patients there with (Jiigli: temperatures?—'"Noj. only two." .! Privates Fordham and Pollard?—"Yea/'

> What- were . your. instructions?—'.'We (lad a doctor every night when. Privates iPollard and:Fordham. were thero." ■ '

r' . His Honour suggested that an effort (should be made to obtain the' temperature wecords from Berhamnore.. • , \ Colonel Purdy said that he had been Endeavouring to trace the books, but ,ao far unsuccessfully. He remarked that (thero had been issued an order for the {destruction of all things at > the Berhamvpore Hospital. - - I His Honour: The temperature ■ books, 'too? .

. Colonel Purdy: Possibly. . - t Nurse Keith stated that the temperatures o£ Privates Fordham -and Pollard not' in that book, but on separate; itharts.. ■. , Nurse Keith' added that these men were Well looked after. There were only eight ■patients in- tho room they were in, and /-.three nurses to look after them. •" 1 His Honour: Was the place clean? 1 Nurse Keith: Yes; it. was cleaned out frequently. ' ( Was there plenty of equipment?— Oh, : pes; more than wo could use." ... ■ • ■ I Having only 'twenty: patients there, you Sere able to cope with the nursing work? L-"Yes. There was; one nurse looking after these two men the whole time." i What was Private Pollard's condition f on Wednesday, June 30?—' Tartly deliri-, jous, partly conscious." '. ( Was any medical man there during that .•night?—"No." V Was'it necessary to call iu a doctor?— ]fNo; not where thero are trained nurses." | 1 .V . | ! "That is Very Sudden, You Know." The'dielirium was a phase.of the illness She was •'suffering from?—" Yes.". ■■• i What livis. his condition l 'oni-the Thursjday ?—"He was very bad." • (•You remember Jiis 'relatives calling?—: p'Quito well.'' . " , T ' {■'Did! they jnako any . complaint,?—''No; , p;hey thankied us for our kindness." 1 . Were yen there when attention was ferawn to the fact that his feet weio cold? /.—"The man was dying at the time, and ' although a hot-water bottle' was requisitioned, it is impossible to keep extomi- . fees ;warm .when a- patient. is so';-near t'death." ... : . :■ Then from the Ti/o.w.y fail the Friday IPtb. Pollard gradually sank, although his -temperature went down?—" Yes.'' [ Three nurses were sufficient?— ,r Yes."; ' It "was only these two men ' who deeded special attention, and, they got it?—" Yes." -You remember Pte. rjirdhom, also?— <"Ye 3; I think he came •on the Friday 'also." ....'■ '.-"I What was the matter with him?—"He "'just seemed to have influenza." , When did'you notice anything particularly the matter .with liim?—"On the i.Tuesday." . \ What was. his ,condition on .the: Wednesday?—'"He was worse and I sent a," telegram, to his relatives. - .1 was acting .for Captain Harrison in doing -that." ( What was-his'condition on the Thursday.?—"He was gradually getting worse • all the time." '. - .

Was he seen by a doctor on the Thursday?—'Tes; morning and evening." t Did he die on Jh« Friday?—" Yes; at : 10 o'clock on the Friday jissrniig."

■ Could anything have been better from Sa. nursing,point of •;:'cw?—"No." I Did you see the relatives when they feame?—'"Yes."

j Did they complain of anything?—"Oh, '!»>. They were very grateful. They said everything possible had been "'done for him. We have had a, letter 'since from his sister again thanking us." , Dr/Martin asked respecting the case :pf therlate Pte. Colley. (i Nurse YeitcE said that Pte. Colley. waa located in one of the marquees. One day ,!ho had been playing cards all the morning, and at 2 o'clock that afternoon lie 'told witness he. was sold. She made him warm, and his temperature went up to 103. She sent him to tho Wellington . Hospital thnt evening. Dr. Martin: What was tlie matter with "jhini when he was in the marquee? Nurse Keith: Ho..was. a light case of . measles'. '

i Were these light cases of measles under any constant watch?—"l cannot say personally but I think iso." V

Dr. Martin: You see, this is a curious icase. ; A man is sent to Ihe Wellington (Hospital on the tenth/ and be dies on the ielevonth. He. was~ diagnosed as pneumonia, following measles. .That is very teudden, you know. Dr. Martin (continuing): Ho reported to ' tvou at-two o'clock one/afternoon - .«. Nurse Keith: Yes. ' 1 Dr.' Martin: And next day.he vas dead! Y Dr. Martin: Did you send.patients to ,'tlio; Wellington Hospital on your own .'•refponsibility? ■ i Nurse Keith: Yes. .^ What was jour guide?—"'"lie tempera'tnre." ■ ■ 1 What temperature- M ?— 'No; wc. would not send , a man. with a temperature of 99." Weill 100?—" No." "' '. What, then?—"lo2." . ..You would wait till al man 'developed sa. temperature of 102 .'before you would ; send him to the General Hospital?— :s'Yes." V; , Dr. Martin , remarked that there did mot appear .to be any continuity of medial attention.. Dr. M'Caw saw a patient tone morning, Dr. Steele in the afternoon, (Captain Harrison next morning, and later Major Elliott. Mr. Saliriond': Prom your experience 'do, Vou think Private Colley was suffering from'pneumonia? i NuTse Keith: I am sure he' was not. >.■ . . He was a man whosoemed quito pell/ He was convalescent after measles. • Are yon satisfied that Private Pollard Received all the necessary'medical attention?—"He did." . And that it would not have done him any good to be removed to Wellington (Hospital?—" No." (tents and Hutments on Polluted Ground. ■William L, Newnham. assistant engineer in the Department , of Pnblic Works, produced plans of Trentharri Camp. These plans showed, among other tilings, that . m December tents were pitched on ground previously occupied by Rifle Association latrines.. later, the first row nf tuts was built over this ground, which had beon previously occupied by . tenw. ind "bofore-tents by latrines. He could , not say, of course, whether the latrihea

were used only by tho Rifle Association or also as a camp convenience. ATthur Edivard Whyte, secretary of the Wellington Racing Club, said that in October last the' club had granted tho Defence authorities the use of sixty acres of land, another forty-four acres a quarter of a milo away, and tho centre of tho racecourse for a parade ground. He said, too, that-the hoTse-boxes wero quite clean and dry, had been disinfected, and lio would not mind sleeping in any of them. Ho had had twenty years' experionco of ■the ground on which Trentham Camp was pitched, and he was of tho opinion that tlio place was a suitablo camp site. Brigadier-General Robin, who is. temporarily commanding the New Zealand Forces, and is, Quartermastor-General to the Forces, said that Trentham was first occupied 1 for a camp after Dho disembarkation of tho main body of the Expeditionary Force. Then the mounted men and, others wero sent th'oro, nearly 2000 strong. There ,tois« then no systematic laying out of tlio camp, and when tho main body finally embarked everything 'was taken away. In October, when it was decided that Trentham would be the most suitablo sito for a semi-permanent camp, 'the usual military precautions respecting tho laying out of the camp wero taken. Those chiefly, concerned' in the laying-out of the camp were the Chief of tho General , Staff (Colonel Gibbon), the Assistant-Quartermaster-General • (Major Robinson), and tho Director of Medical Services (Colonel Purdy). The men were put into tents at first. He did not. think boarded floors necessary in tents; they were a comfort, or a convenience more than a necessity. With the ground properly trenched, the tent floors would be perfectly dry all the time. Boarded floors had not been used in tho Easter manoeuvres., "• General Robin on the Camp, His Honour: Then this ground at Trentham, I take it, is excellent ground for keeping dry? ■ ■ General Robin: Yes. ; His Honour asked how the hutments idea, originated. General Robin said that idea began in December,' and' ws inspired a good deal by a prospective difficulty in obtaining tents. Our forces were being sent away with tents, so that they would be selfcontained forces, and that wherever they would set foot they would be able to •houso themselves. In addition there were constantly now men coming in, and also faith; had to be kept with the Defence Act, which meant that the time .for the Territorial camps was coming round. In .putting'fifty men into a hut, the question of ventilation itas considered. The text-books said twenty-fonr should be housed in a hut,' but it was not imperative to follow text-books implicitly. The huts for fifty wore going to bo less expensive, and more handy for the military.-,' , . His Honour: The question of cost was considered, then? General Robin: Yes. Were you aware that 21. is laid down 09 the maximum in Firth's : text book?— "Perfectly well aware of it." - , Then why did vou depart from it?— "Just what I said. It was going to be more convenient and more economical. In England they are. putting 30 into a hut now, so even there Firth has boen departed .from, and they are putting them into a hut GOft. by -Oft." It was pointed out that a liut of GOft. by' 20ft. gave 10ft. per man for 30 men. In tho Trentham huts of 70ft. by 22ft. the space per man was'3lft. for 50 men. It was mentioned also that Colonel Ivnox, an authority on military, camps, recommends 50ft. General Robin: But they had not the same'free ventilation ns the Trentham huts. ' ' 1 •' The orinigal idea to build the huts en echelon was departed from, General Robin stated, on the recommendation of the Special Board, consisting of Dr. Frengley, Mr. J. Campbell, and Mr. W. H. Morton. He liad slept in all conditions of places, and he was sure the ventilation in the Trentham huts was satisfactory. His Honour: Did you hear complaints that the huts were draughty?--■ General Robin: Yes, a number. '» » - .Chiefly, through the newspapers. Camp without Adequate Staff. Was anything done toremedy that matter?—"lt has. been 'steadily under consideration. Something, was dona in tho way of closing up some openings, and putting aboard nigher up.'" ■ General ' Robin added that there 'was no general consensus of . opinion among the men to the effect that the .huts, were draughty. Some men caid they: would not wish for anything better; others said they got their heads blown off. He received 110 report on the question of cold or draught from the medical officers. His Honour:. What is the practice in sleeping in huts? Do the men usually sleep on tho floor? General' Robin: - They .<. usually have Then why didn't they have stretchers at Trentham?—"Because I didn't'consider, it necessary." " ' ' ' '.' ' V The witness added that the tents were not too close together, and concentration was valuable in the matter of getting food to'the men'hot. It was the practice to. shift -the - whole collective. body of tents from time to time. His Honour: How often? General Robin: That is a. matter for the Camp Commandant, in consultation with his medical officers as to sanitation and so

' Respecting the suggested, shifting of I tents, Genia'al Robin said tliat.it would lie suicidal when '.lie whole camp was muddy to shift a tent the inside of which was nuite dry.. Trentham was an instance in point; the whole place was muddy, some ! of it ankle deep. The .text books were for miidapce, and one had to use discretion in applying: What was laid down in them His Honour: But if &ey are departed from, is it not usual to. have some reason. General Robin: Yes. , Do you think the Camp Commandant had an adequate staff at Trentham.^ "No; he should have had more, but we •weve all in the same —- "Wait a minute. Had he an adequate 6taff when there were, say, 3000 meni there?—" Yes."' » i . And after that lie had "Why?—" Simply because we had not the number of qualified _men. ... • .. How long has that been the case? '■"Ever ■sinco the mam body went away. Then • we have to send' awajr qualified ■men with the Reinforcements. _ Then' you will reach a point when there are no more qualified men to send. —"Yes. I, am hoping to get away myselt You Will be the last of the grand army?—"l am told, I have to stay here, and work this thing out; but the sooner I the day comes when I can get away the better I will be pleased. vrt<ira With understaffinng and overvvork tnero were suro to be complaints?—'No; not I an officer complained." j Criticism Without Due Allowances. No; I do not mean complaints from officers—General Kobin said that difficulties had to be overcome even 111 tho way of teaching cleanliness and sanitation to the men, and the staff was small to do that with. The Reinforcements were going away with only enough officers to take them to Egypt, the Medical Corps had been severely taxed to discharge its duties. . His Honour: Had you any difficulty in getting your recommendations attended to? ' • General Robin: No. You got everything you wanted?— "Yes." General Robin said that New Zeatand, in his opinion, had not enough medical men trained in military work. Mr. Gray asked General Robin if he thought critics had made enough allowance for the circumstances in which the Department was working. General Robin said that duo allowance had not been made, and ho had often wondered that so many people in New Zealand,, and so many men in influential had not allowed for the fact that the country was under a. war emergency. This emergency affected not only tho military and medical side, but manufacturers, shippers, and so on. Tho public seemed to forget- that altogether. Mr. Gray: As I understand it, all connected with the war supplies are working at high pressure? General Robin: Yes? General Robin said, also, that all efforts in the New Zealand Defence scheme bad first of all been turned towards tho organisation of h'omp defence, and as all energies had first of all to be turned in this direction, tho ordnance and tho medical side had been somewhat neglected, but necessarily and rightly so. The medical and ordnance services were important, of course, but wore at a stage of efficiency sufficient for home defence. "When the Defence Department had to

eend a division abroad, they found tlio wont o£ not having, been able to give tho samo amount of attention to tlio medical and ordiumco sides as to tho other branches of the organisation. Ordnance entailed arrangements with manufacturers. Ii a sense,. New Zealand was only half prepared, although tho organisation for home defence was excellent, had the onomy come hero instead.flf our having to go to them. Now ZcalSiul had suddenly to prepare for a state of war in another country, and that fact, had been forgotten or overlooked by the public.

Sister Hanna, who was stationed «t Berhampore Hospital, deposed that tho men there were well nursed, and that the equipment of the place .was adequate. 'Ernest Albert Vincent, who went into camp at Trentham on December ID to join the Howitzer Battery of tho Third Reinforcements, said that he contracted rheumatism through sleeping on wet straw given to liim in Trentham Camp ami lmd been since discharged from the forces as unfit fir-. service. The Commission will resume this morning. . • ■