Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, (12 July 1907 – 2 July 1993) was an Australian

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life and family

Dunlop was born in Wangaratta, Victoria, the second of two children of parents James and Alice. He attended Benalla High School for two years of his education. He started an apprenticeship in pharmacy when he finished school, and moved to Melbourne in 1927. There, he studied at the Victorian College of Pharmacy and then the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

, where he obtained a scholarship in medicine. Dunlop graduated from the

in 1934 with first class honours in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

and in medicine, and excelled as a sportsman at Melbourne University and Ormond College. The nickname "Weary" was a reference to his last name—"tired" like a Dunlop tyre.

Rugby union career

Although brought up playing

Australian Rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

, when at university – and although still playing "Aussie Rules", as a ruckman for Ormond College – Dunlop took up

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

; commencing as a fourth grade player with the Melbourne University Rugby Club in 1931. He rapidly progressed through the grades, to state, and then to the national representative level, becoming the first Victorian-born player to represent the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

. He made his national representative debut against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association f ...

on 23 July 1932 as a number 8. In the first Test of 1934 he again appeared for Australia, this time as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

Australia won the match 25–11. Dunlop had broken his nose in a head clash in the Melbourne University boxing championships on 3 August 1934, and it was broken again in the first five minutes of the match. Two weeks later the second and final match of that year's

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

series finished in a draw; and, although Dunlop missed that match – he was one of a number of players from both teams who were victims of influenza – he stands as a member of the first Wallaby squad to have won the Bledisloe Cup away from New Zealand. In June 2008, he was honoured in the third set of inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame. To date, he is the only Victorian so honoured.

Pre-war career

Edward Dunlop (statue in Melbourne Botantic Gardens)

Statue of Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop at the AWM

Dunlop had been a school cadet, and he continued his part-time army service until 1929, when his service ceased under pressure from his pharmacy studies. He re-enlisted in 1935 and was commissioned into the Australian Army Medical Corps on 1 July with the rank of captain. In May 1938 Dunlop left Australia for London on a ship, where he served as her medical officer. In London he attended St Bartholomew's Medical School and in 1938 became a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

. The distinguished medical mentors Dunlop met in London, Professor Grey-Turner and Sir Thomas Dunhill, impressed him with their dedication to their job and he resolved to emulate their example.

War and imprisonment

During

, Dunlop was appointed to medical headquarters in the Middle East, where he developed the mobile surgical unit. In

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

he liaised with forward medical units and Allied headquarters, and at

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...

he was a surgeon until the Australian Divisions were withdrawn for home defence. His troopship was diverted to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

in an ill-planned attempt to bolster the defences there. On 26 February 1942, he was promoted to temporary

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

. Dunlop became a Japanese

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

in 1942 when he was captured in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

, Java, together with the hospital he was commanding. Because of his leadership skills, he was placed in charge of

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

camps in Java, and was later transferred briefly to Changi, and in January 1943 commanded the first Australians sent to work on the Thai segment of the Burma-Thailand railway where prisoners of the Japanese were being used as forced labourers to construct a strategically important supply route between Bangkok and Rangoon. Conditions in the railway camps were primitive and horrific—food was totally inadequate, beatings were frequent and severe, there were no medical supplies, tropical diseases were rampant, and the Japanese required a level of productivity that would have been difficult for fully fit and properly equipped men to achieve. Along with a number of other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Medical Officers, Dunlop's dedication and heroism became a legend among prisoners. A courageous leader and compassionate doctor, he restored morale in those terrible prison camps and jungle hospitals. Dunlop defied his captors, gave hope to the sick and eased the anguish of the dying. His example was one of the reasons why Australian survival rates were the highest. He became, in the words of one of his men, the author Donald Stuart, "a lighthouse of sanity in a universe of madness and suffering". He is depicted in a lighter moment during these terrible times on a birthday card painted by Ashley George Old for Major Arthur Moon and now held at the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

Post-war life

After 1945, with the darkness of the war years behind him, Dunlop forgave his captors and turned his energies to the task of healing and building. He was to state later that " in suffering we are all equal". He devoted himself to the health and welfare of former prisoners-of-war and their families, and worked to promote better relations between Australia and Asia. He was active in many spheres of endeavour. He became closely involved with a wide range of health and educational organisations, and served as President of the Australian Drug Foundation for 13 years, and also on the board of

Cancer Council Victoria Cancer Council Victoria is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to reduce the impact of cancer in Victoria. It is an independent body that advises various groups, including government, on cancer-related issues. Cancer Council Victoria a ...

. He was the first Australian Patron of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association (now St. Andrew's First Aid). His tireless community work had a profound influence on Australians and on the people of Asia. As well as numerous tributes and distinctions bestowed upon him in his own country, he received honours from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and the United Kingdom. Dunlop was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Honours and awards

'Weary' Dunlop received many honours and awards throughout his life, including: * Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(1947) * Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(1965) *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

(1969) * named

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territ ...

1976 * Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(1987)It's an Honour: AC
/ref> * Knight Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

) of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1992) * Knight Grand Cross (1st Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Royal Crown of Thailand (1993) * Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. T ...

* Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons * Honorary Fellow of the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

* Honorary Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

* Honorary Life Member of the Returned and Services League of Australia * Life Governor of the Royal Women's Hospital and the

Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (the Eye and Ear) is a specialist public teaching hospital in East Melbourne, Australia. It is the only hospital in Australia which specialises in both ophthalmology and otolaryngology. History The hos ...

. In 1988 'Weary' Dunlop was named one of '200 Great Australians'. In June 2008, he was honoured in the third set of inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame. He received the posthumous honour of having the Canberra suburb of Dunlop named after him shortly after his death in 1993. His image is on the 1995 issue Australian fifty cent piece with the words "They Served Their Country in World War II, 1939 – 1945". The fifty cent piece is part of a set including the one dollar coin and the twenty cent piece. He has a platoon named after him in the Army Recruit Training Centre, Blamey Barracks, Kapooka. Weary Dunlop Platoon is a holding platoon to recruits that want to leave recruit training. He was on one of 1995 Australia Remembers 45c stamps.

Footnotes

References

Gvozdic, Jelena (2012), "Sir Ernest Edward “Weary” Dunlop: Archival Snapshot", ''Public Record Office Victoria'', 31 January 2012.

College of Pharmacy, ''The Argus'', (Thursday, 3 February 1927), p.6.

Pharmacy College Opens for 1929, ''The Herald'', (Wednesday, 6 February 1929), p.8.

Successful High School Boy, ''The Benalla Standard'', (Friday, 17 December 1926), p.2.

'The Watchman', "Sport Eddies", ''The Herald'', Thursday, 9 August 1934), p.39.

Degrees Conferred at University: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, ''The Herald'', (Saturday, 22 December 1934), p.16.

National Archives of Australia: Prisoner of War Record: Edward Ernest Dunlop (VX 259).

National Archives of Australia: World War II Service Record: Edward Ernest Dunlop (VX 259).

Lighthouse of Sanity in Universe of Madness (Editorial), ''The Canberra Times'', (Sunday, 4 July 1993), p.10.

The Knight Who Forgave His Tormentors (Obituary), ''The Canberra Times'', (Saturday, 3 July 1993), p.16.

Biographical Note: Sir (Ernest) Edward "Weary" Dunlop, Memorial Encyclopedia: Australian War Memorial.
* Dunlop, E.E., ''The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop: Java and the Burma-Thailand Railway, 1942-1945'', Nelson, (Melbourne), 1986. * Ebury, Sue, ''Weary: The Life of Sir Edward Dunlop'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1994. * Edwards, H., ''Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop'', New Frontier Publishing, (Frenchs Forest), 2011. * *
Wells, K., "'Weary' Dunlop and the Burma Railway", ''Australian Stories'', Australia.gov.au, 2013.

External links

Australian War Memorial Site

Biography at ''Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop Medical Research Foundation''

Biography and timeline at Melbourne University Rugby Club]
"Some Inspirational People"
Profiled by Sir Laurence Muir, Laurence MacDonald Muir.
Pictured on a birthday card for Major Moon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop, Edward 1907 births 1993 deaths People from Benalla People from Wangaratta Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian colonels Australian surgeons Australian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Australian of the Year Award winners Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Order of St John Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Melbourne Medical School alumni Rugby players and officials awarded knighthoods Australian military doctors Burma Railway prisoners Rugby union players from Victoria (Australia)