In his book, McKinney states, “The Mobile Surgical Unit, the only unit of its kind in the Eighth Army, was attached to the field medical units to carry out major forward surgery of all types.  It carried elaborate equipment in a specially designed van, and also a valuable extra supply of water.  It was fully mobile and self-contained and had a picked staff of surgeons and nursing orderlies”(1952). The following quote relates to the Dressing Stations on the 27 and 28 Nov 1941, The MDS centres working constantly, day and night, had been almost vainly endeavouring to give treatment and some measure of care and attention to the wounded men who so urgently required it. The reception centre was frequently choked with waiting cases, stretchers with wounded covering the entire floor of the large tarpaulin shelter, with many more outside; men with gaping, horrible wounds and piteously smashed and broken bodies, but there was hardly a murmur from them; their courage, and endurance was amazing. Blood transfusions could be given only sparingly, but wounds were dressed and fractures splinted. Day and night in the theatre, with the thick smell of blood, ether, and antiseptic in the air, work continued. Case after case followed from the preoperative tent next door, and the little steriliser boiled continuously. The evacuation centre had spread itself into tentage of every description, shape, and size. Tents of the ambulance units, German tents, and even the crude shelter of odd pieces of canvas accommodated the many hundreds of patients, but blankets were all too few among so many for the bitterly cold nights in the desert. The nursing orderlies could not hope to give these men the care they really required. Food had to be strictly rationed and water was so scarce that Red Cross invalid foods could not be prepared for the serious cases (McKinney, 1952). Reference:McKinney, J.B. (1952). Medical units of 2 NZEF in Middle East and Italy. Wellington: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved December 05, 2009, from http://www.ourstory.info/library/4-ww2/NZmed/nzmed05.html

Although Eruera Hamon died on the 30 November 1941, it took a little while for the list of casualties to filter through to home. On page 6 of the Evening Post Friday 12 December 1941, Eruera Hamon is listed as Wounded.Click here to view full page Evening Post 12 December 1946.

Eruera Dennis Hamon was in the captured Medical Centre near Belhamid, Libya when he died.  To read more about the Medical Centre under German and later Italian control, click on the link - In the Captured Medical Centre.Reference: McKinney, J.B. (1952). Medical units of 2 NZEF in Middle East and Italy. Wellington: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs.