OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 9, 6 October 1943, Page 6

OBITUARY

Mr. W. B. Highet, F.R.C.S.,

R.A.M.C.

Lieutenant 'William Bremner Highet, Royal Army Medical Corps, eldest son of Mr and.'Mrs. David Highet, Wellington, and. late of Dunedin, was among those lost in the sinking of the liner Ceramic, news of which has just been released. Mr. llighet was 32. lie gradu-. ated M. 8., Ch.B., of Otago University m 1934. and was elected b.R.C.b. in l-w. When first he was reported missing a tribute to him in the “Lancet, the toremost British surgical journal, described him as “one of the most promising men. of his generation.” When preparing tor his profession. Mr. llighet won junior, senior and university national scholarships, and his first medical appointment was as a house surgeon at Dunedin Dos Pi Li' 1935 he sailed as medical officer with the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. and on his return, before going to England, he spent three months visitin,hospitals in the United States. He held resident posts at the Norfolk and Not wich Hospital, and while resident orthopaedic officer there he became deeply interested in orthopaedic surgery. As rest dent surgical officer at tire 1 rincess Beat rice Hospital he had charge of the fracture clinic and inaugurated a septic filler clinic. Then, as surgical registrar of the Royal Cancer Hospital, he made a thoiou‘’h study of bone tumours. In April, 1940, he joined the staff of the W ingfileldMorris Orthopaedic Hospital, Oxfoid. where he had been appointed NuffieMl Scholar in Orthopaedic Surgery. Th. creation of the peripheral nerve centre at this hospital later that year was o - lowed by such an influx of cases that it soon became necessary to appoint a man who could devote all his time to nerve injuries. Mr. Highet gave up his scholar ship and, with a special research from the Oxford University, took on the work (in which he continued till h e joined the R.A.M.C. in September 1942 There he blossomed out as a ni st-iate e - ea o r f h hffi°work a. fellow-F, 6860 . 1 opportunities. He brought a tremendous enthusiasm to supplement his operate ® skill and a gift for the solution of the decisive problems of . the experimental method . . • collaboration with him was made anpv by the mental powers which he earned so lightly, and by his charm and friendliness.” Independent ly of this tribute the “Lancet says that he de veloped a technique for investigating an - malies of motor and sensory nerve distribution . . . in two years he published seven original papers and was awarded Sens“Jh <«.•!>• J,“ a ” standing and mtuition tdiat mark t • ab °ga°me from him • imtin-ed by intellectual synconhanev Hte demotion to duty was unremitting’ and his industry unflagging. Mr Highet is survived by his wife and daughter, who are still residing ) ford, England. ' Mr. R. B. Horsley

ducted a general merchandise, grain and produce business, as vvell as qperatin o ? coastal and intercolonial shipping firmMr Horsley had an adventurous trip on one of his ships, the steamer Gertie, when he supervised her transfer fro Durban Natal, to New Zealand about 40 year’s ago. Heavy weather and heavy seas delayed the Gertie between the African and Australian coasts. , Fuel ran low and a quantity of . the ship s fittings an furniture had to be used 111 the furna<.e». As a climax the ship ran ashore o n the Western Australian coast, -near Alburj, but was later towed off without damage and brought to New Zealand. The Gertie was well known for a number of years afterward in the coastal trade. Mr Horsley was interested 111 church activities and for a time was prominent in the temperance movement. He spent one term as a member of the M anganm Borough Council during the mayoralty of Mr? Alexander Hatrick. Mr. Horsley is survived by two sons and three daughters. Mrs. Horsley predeceased him about 12 years ago. z Mrs. H. M. Wilson Mrs. 'Winifred Gertrude Wilson, wife of Dr. H. M. 'Wilson, Hastings, died in her sleep early yesterday morning. Mrs. Wilson was an enthusiastic patriotic worker and readily helped with any cause for the welfare of the town. She was a member of a well-known pioneer family in Hawke’s Bay. being the eldest daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. F. S. Waterhouse, Mangawhare Station, where she was born. An uncle of her father. Mr. George Marsden 'Waterhouse, was_ Prime Minister of New Zealand in 1872 and fhq following year. Her great-grand-father was a Wesleyan missionary who did much work in the Pacific. In her youth Mrs. Wilson took up nursing and qualified while on the staff of St. Thomas’s Hospital, London. Later she returned to New Zealand and was married in .Napier. Since the outbreak of the present war Mrs. Wilson had been a tirelwss patriotic worker and she will long be remembered for her activities in connexion with the A.N.A. Club. She is survived by her husband, one son, Lieutenant Peter Wilson, who is serving overseas with the Royal Navy, and four daughters. Mrs. J. Ludbrook, Te Kuiti, Mrs. R. Ludbrook, Ruatoria, Miss Dorothy Wilson and Miss Diana -Wilson, who is with the nursing service in the Middle East. Mrs. Mary Walsh The death has occurred at Hamilton of Mrs. Mary Walsh, a well-known resident and pioneer of the Manawatu. Born at Foxton in 1864, the eldest daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. S. Howan, she spent her early life there, being as a babe hastily carried from her crib into the tea-tree to escape the Hou Hou tribe in the Maori Wars. She and her sister, the late Mrs. P. L. Arcus, who died a month ago at Levin, were among the first white children born in the Mahawatu and first attended a little private school conducted by Mrs. Evans, and when a public school became necessary were among the first pupils enrolled. She had a natural gift and a great love for nursing, and her active interest in Red Cross work rendered her of great service during the influenza epidemic. She was a keen lover of nature, specially of New Zealand flora, and took many prizes at flower shows. Her husband, the late Mr. J. W. 'Walsh, predeceased her 13 years ago. She is survived by three daughters. Mesdames A. McCheyne Murray, Ttihikaramea, T. C. Horner, Kiwi Avenue, and Miss Gladys 'Walsh. Forest Lake, and one son. Mr. Speneer Walsh, Forest Lake. Sisters of Mrs. Walsh are Mrs. .T. N. Irvine, Hamilton, and Mrs. F. S. Birch, Longburn, and there is one brother, Mr. W. C. Howan, “Wellington.