Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop
The movie scene in which prisoners of war have to fend for themselves and sometimes take care of each other in every way was the reality for Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop. He was a surgeon, an army medical officer, and an advocate for war veterans. He is remembered for the compassion, leadership, and medical care he provided to his fellow prisoners of war that were captured by the Japanese.
Dunlop was born in Wangaratta, Australia to a family of Scottish heritage. He worked as a pharmacist’s apprentice and later attended pharmacy school. Sir Edward Dunlop at the same time, served part-time in the army. Later on, Dunlop studied medicine at the University of Melbourne. He gets the nickname ‘Weary’ from the fact that he shares the name ‘Dunlop’ with a tyre company renowned around the world- ‘weary like a Dunlop tyre’ may make sense.
These top 10 astonishing facts about Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop shed light on the many great accomplishments that he is held in high regard for, which also set him apart.
1. Sir Edward Dunlop Was A Sportsman
Dunlop was well built for physical activity and he harnessed this. He was six feet four and quite limber. A member of his university’s rugby union team, Sir Edward Dunlop played for the Australian national team in 1932 and 1934. He put his native Victoria on the map as the first person from the area to get inducted into the Wallaby Hall of Fame, the Australian rugby union. Dunlop however declined to take a spot in the Australian team in 1933 as he thought it would jeopardize his studies.
Additionally, Edward Dunlop was a champion boxer in his student days and was the university’s amateur heavyweight champion in 1932.
2. Edward Dunlop Was An Asset To The Military
In 1935, Dunlop joined the military. He didn’t start small either! Edward joined as captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps. He enlisted again in 1939 and joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and served in Jerusalem. Sir Edward was then promoted to the rank of major; he was appointed deputy assistant director of medical services at Australian Corps Headquarters and Australian Imperial Force Headquarters in Gaza and Alexandria Egypt.
Sir Edward Dunlop served in many countries in the military as a medic. He served in Greece, Crete, Libya, and Indonesia, where he had been promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel at the latter station. Dunlop proved himself invaluable to the military.
3. Sir Edward Dunlop Headed ‘Dunlop’s Thousand’
In 1943, Sir Edward Dunlop was a prisoner held in Thailand together with other Allied prisoners of war. The prisoners were about 13,000 Australians and other 47,000 allied prisoners. They had to work on the construction of the Burma Railway, under deplorable conditions. The prisoners were mistreated and tortured by the Japanese captors, on top of being underfed and denied adequate medicine. As one would expect the camps were full of diseases- cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, and other diseases had free reign.
This is unfortunately where Sir Edward was given some responsibilities which he took, albeit reluctantly- he was the chief physician and commanding officer of more than 1,000 prisoners. These prisoners were called ‘Dunlop’s Thousand’ or the ‘Dunlop Force’.
The Dunlop Force was essentially in Sir Edward’s hands. Dunlop was astonishingly known to stand up to their captors. Sir Edward tended to the prisoners’ injuries and illnesses, as well as determining the prisoners that would go to work based on their state- he made these recommendations to the Japanese.
Sir Edward Dunlop worked in a hardship area. He and his team of doctors lacked medical supplies but scavenged and improvised to get by and to get the men treated. Dunlop was lauded for his leadership and compassion.
4. Dunlop Always Championed Affairs Of Prisoners Of War
While he was a prisoner of war, Sir Edward Dunlop was a great servant leader. He demonstrated care and commitment to the prisoners of war in deplorable conditions. Even after the war ended Dunlop continued to be involved in the affairs of the prisoners of war. He was the president of the Victorian branch of the Ex-Prisoners of War Relatives Association from 1946 to 1989.
Sir Edward Dunlop stood for the prisoners’ agenda at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East by giving evidence; his agenda was to get the Japanese government to compensate the prisoners of war for the suffering, disability, and inhuman treatment that resulted in the loss of life.
It was very considerate of Dunlop to preserve fellow prisoners’ art, Ray Parkin. Parkin had created pencil sketches and watercolors while imprisoned. Dunlop hid these and brought them back to Australia, where he later opened an exhibition of the same. He also had his book ‘The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop’ published in 1986 illustrated by these artworks.
It is astonishing that rather than forget about the horrible experiences, Dunlop chose to make the very same experiences count.
5. Edward Dunlop Was Knighted
As his title suggests, Sir Edward Dunlop was knighted in 1969. This was in honor of his contribution to medicine. After the war, Dunlop became a civilian and practiced medicine. He was particularly interested in cancer treatment and gastroesophageal surgery.
Dunlop transferred his knowledge as a teacher at the University of Melbourne. He additionally was named one of the 200 people that made Australia great. This was in 1988. In 1976, Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop was named Australian of the Year.
6. Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Was High Profile
Dunlop was actively and continuously involved in the affairs of prisoners of war and the community. He was an active participant in community health and served as president of the Victorian Foundation on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence from 1970 to 1982. He was also the chairman of the executive committee of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria from 1974 to 1980.
Additionally, Dunlop was the Chairman of the Prisoners of War Trust Fund from 1968 to 1977.
7. Edward Weary Dunlop Has A Fellowship Named For Him
The Weary Dunlop Boonpong Fellowship Program allows Thai Surgeons to take their clinical attachments in Australian hospitals. The program was jointly convened by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand and was started by returning prisoners of war in Western Australia.
The fellowship was named for Weary and Boonpong, two men that found themselves in the same environment during the war. Boonpong was a Thai businessman who supported many prisoners who were building the railway for their captors, the Japanese. The two men became friends.
Each year approximately six fellowships are awarded in this program.
8. A Canberra Suburb Is Named For Dunlop
Within the Australian Capital Territory is a suburb that houses a Nature Park, Nature Reserve, and Ponds. The setup is quite picturesque. The Dunlop suburb is named for Sir Edward Weary Dunlop. Edward Dunlop’s name is in good company here too as the Streets in Dunlop are named after the greats- inventors, inventors, and artists.
9. Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Received A State Funeral
When he died in 1993, Dunlop was given a state funeral – he got full military honors given over ten thousand spectators who lined the streets. Dunlop’s casket was carried on a gun carriage to the shrine of remembrance. He was cremated. Weary Dunlop’s funeral eulogy was delivered by the former governor then, Sir Ninian Stephen.
Dunlop died at age 85 and many great personalities spoke highly of him. Amongst the great things said about him at his death was that he was a special leader- he attempted to mend fences with the Japanese, Thais, and Malaysians after the war.
10. Dunlop Is Immortalized
In Benalla, Melbourne, and Canberra you will find prominent statues that immortalize Sir Edward Weary Dunlop. At the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, there stands a statue of this Australian hero. Here, Dunlop is depicted as an elderly, gentle, and humble man. The statue was a 1995 creation of Peter Corlette’s.
Sir Edward Weary Dunlop’s statue in Benalla Botanical Gardens depicts him in his political prisoner days; in his element, Dunlop is shown stooping over a prisoner’s stricken figure while another doctor attends to him.
These statues contribute to the continuation of Sir Edward Wear Dunlop’s legacy and remembrance, keeping his place in history.
One of the astonishing facts about Sir Edward Weary Dunlop that earned him respect and admiration is the honorable thing that he did; even when he had the opportunity to escape while working on an Island that fell to the Japanese, he chose to stay and take care of his patients, thus becoming a prisoner of war.
Additionally, Dunlop stayed on in Thailand after the war’s end in 1945 to coordinate the evacuation of the prisoners, portraying servant leadership yet again. Sir Edward Weary Dunlop loved farming, traveling, golf, and rugby. He was a member of the British Barbarians’ Football club.
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