Don Roulston Buzzard

Appendix 5.2
John Corrie Dymock War Service
Albany to Egypt

The 2nd A.I.F. convoy arrived in Albany W.A. on 27th December 1914. The voyage from Albany to Egypt commenced on 31st December 1914, and the ships cargoes totalled 11,127 military personnel and 4,643 horses.

The 2nd convoy’s voyage to Egypt was not without many incidents but eventually all ships converged at Alexandria, Egypt on 3rd February and disembarkation was completed by the 7th February 1915.

Medical History Report

Whilst in Egypt, John Corrie became ill on 7th March 1915 and was confined to his billet. A Medical History Report on his service file lists his illnesses for March until May 1915. On 9th March, he was diagnosed with influenza and conjunctivitis and, together with this, on 15th March with synovitis. (This condition caused inflammation in the synovium, the membrane, only a few cells thick, that lines the joints of the body to produce a fluid to lubricate and nourish the joint). He also suffered a septic finger on the 26th and 27th March. On 4th May 1915 he was diagnosed with a “wasted arm” which was later to re-named atrophy of the arm. [85]

It is probable that the army believed that atrophy of the arm could be remedied by treatment at a convalescent hospital in England.

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[85] Neurogenic atrophy is caused by an injury or disease affecting nerves that connect to your muscles. When these nerves are damaged, they can’t trigger the muscle contractions that are needed to stimulate muscle activity. When your muscles don’t contract, your body thinks you don’t need them anymore. So your body starts breaking them down, which causes them to decrease in size and strength. It could have been caused by the influenza and septic finger.