Abstract
Objective: The aim of this paper was to review the literature written by doctor-prisoners of the Japanese working on the Burma-Thai Railway with particular emphasis on the psychological and psychiatric conditions they encountered.
Conclusions: The enormous respect and gratitude expressed by survivors for their medical attendants is an indication that in addition to performing extraordinary surgical and medical care in appalling conditions and with very limited available resources, these doctors also very adequately attended the clinical problems of demoralization, depression and acute delirium.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to Liz Rouse and the library staff at the RACP History of Medicine Library, Sydney for their wonderful assistance accessing the relevant literature.
Australian doctors on the Burma-Thailand Railway: BH Anderson, CD Anderson, HL Andrews, V Brand, FJ Cahill, RL Cahill, JS Chalmers, AE Coates, EL Corlette, TP Crankshaw, GD Cumming, GFS Davies, EB Drevermann, IL Duncan, EE Dunlop, NB Eadie, KJ Fagan, WE Fisher, JL Frew, T Godlee, T Hamilton, AR Hazelton, PIA Hendry, JP Higgin, D Hinder, AF Hobbs, TGH Hogg, BA Hunt, CP Juttner, SS Krantz, T Le Gay Brereton, EA Marsden, PT Millard, RM Mills, AA Moon, PF Murphy, RG Parker, CRB Richards, EA Rogers, SEL Stening, RH Stevens, JL Tayler, AJM White, RG Wright.
DISCLOSURE
The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.