Person
Downes, Rupert Major (1885 - 1945)
CMG
- Born
- 10 February 1885
Mitcham, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 5 March 1945
Cairns, Queensland, Australia - Occupation
- Army officer and Surgeon
Summary
Rupert Downes was a surgeon best known for his significant and innovative contributions to the medical services of the Australian Army from 1914 to 1945. In the Middle East during WWI, he pursued rigorous programs to secure an adequate supply of potable water; to combat the incidence of epidemic diseases; and to overcome the lack of logistic support for the evacuation of the wounded. On becoming Director General of Medical Services for the Australian Army in 1934, Downes was primarily concerned with increasing the recruitment of medical practitioners; creating stockpiles of drugs and medical equipment against the advent of another world war, and the construction of major military hospitals in the State capitals. In his civilian career Downes established a reputation as one of Melbourne's leading paediatric surgeons. He was honorary consulting surgeon at several of Melbourne's leading hospitals. Downes devoted much time to both the Australian Red Cross and the St John Ambulance Brigade, for both of which he served as President or Chairman of the national committees. Downes published on medical aspects of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of WWI and was involved in the publication of the medical volumes of the official history of WWII.
Details
Chronology
- 1907
- Education - MB ChB, University of Melbourne
- 1908
- Career position - Resident Medical Officer Melbourne Hospital
- 1908 - 1945
- Military service - Served with the Australian Army Medical Corps
- 1909 - ?
- Career position - In general practice, Malvern, Victoria
- 1911
- Education - MD, University of Melbourne
- 1912
- Education - MS, University of Melbourne
- 1916 - 1917
- Military service - Assistant Director of Medical Services, ANZAC Mounted Division
- 1916 - 1918
- Military service - Assistant Director of Medical Services, Australian Imperial Forces, Egypt
- 1917 - 1918
- Military service - Deputy Director of Medical Services, Desert Mounted Corps
- 1918
- Award - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
- 1927
- Career position - Founding Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
- 1927 - 1931
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon to the Governor General
- 1930
- Award - Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (CStJ)
- 1934 - 1940
- Career position - Director General of Medical Services, Australian Army
- 1935
- Career position - President, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
- 1937
- Award - Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
- 1937 - 1938
- Career position - Chairman, Victorian Civil Ambulance Service
- 1940 - 1942
- Career position - Inspector General of Medical Services, Australian Army
- 1942 - 1944
- Military service - Director of Medical Services, Second Army
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Howie-Willis, Ian, Surgeon and General: a life of Major-General Rupert Downes 1885 - 1945 (Loftus, N.S.W.: Australian Military History Publications, 2008), 400 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Hill, A. J., 'Downes, Rupert Major (1885 - 1845), surgeon and soldier' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 332-4. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/downes-rupert-major-6008. Details
Journal Articles
- McLeod, Jan, 'The house that Jack built: DGMS Rupert Downes and Australian Army medical preparations for World War II', Health and History, 19 (1) (2017), 80-101. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7380280. Details
- CA 2001 Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office, ' NAA: B2455, Downes R M', B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=3519984. Details
- CA 2002, 2 Echelon, Army Headquarters; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, 'NAA: B883, VX57673', B883 Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6123602. Details
- 'Downes, Rupert (18850210-19450305)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1772654. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 19 December 2017, Last modified: 8 December 2022