Several grateful patients

In 1958 I served my national service as the sole anaesthetist in the British military hospital at Kluang, Malaya. In this region groups referred to as “communist terrorists” had frequent skirmishes with British patrols. The wounded British were treated at our hospital, whereas the wounded terrorists were taken to the civilian hospital in Kluang, but most were killed by knife attack on their first night.

Shortly after my arrival the British authorities extended a goodwill gesture to the civilian hospital by offering army medical specialist services for their problem cases. Complying with this directive had unforeseen results.

After the next skirmish we treated the wounded British and admitted them to our acute surgical ward. We then received our first referrals from the civilian hospital—five wounded communists. All required general anaesthetics. They were uncommunicative, resentful, and only reluctantly accepted treatment. Postoperative care was only available in our single acute surgical ward, so, with some misgivings, the surgeon and I sent them to the same ward as the British soldiers, but for review in the morning.

The commanding officer, horrified at the non-segregation, hurried to the ward the next day, expecting the worst. Instead, he found all those who could leave their beds seated around the central table engrossed in a game of pontoon, which the British had taught the communists. Most of the British soldiers were young national servicemen who were looking forward to returning to Britain. They held no animosity towards these new arrivals. The communists became well behaved, polite, and cooperative patients, appreciative of the care and trust shown to them.

When these patients were ready for discharge and told they could go they were unbelieving. They stated that they would be rearmed and ordered to fight again, and, after all our kindness, they did not want to fight us. We commented that we had ethical responsibilities for their treatment while in our care, but what they did after leaving hospital was their own choice.

After our care of these first patients we noticed a progressive decrease in hostilities. We continued to treat diminishing numbers of wounded, and hostile activity ceased within three months of this first event. Our care and treatment of enemy wounded produced grateful patients. This, and the knowledge that the British intended to withdraw once hostilities ceased, resulted, I believe, in aggression ending earlier than expected in this region.