Wooden box used by Major J.W. Barrett (1862-1945) at the 1st Australian General Hospital
Date
1915
Description
Varnished wooden box used by Major J. W. Barrett. It has a hinged door that opens downwards and which would normally be supported by two metal arms. There are also two swivel metal handles either side of the box.
Major Barrett was based at the first Australian General Hospital , A.I.F.
On the outbreak of World War I he became honorary secretary of the Australian Red Cross and in October he joined the Australian Imperial Force with the rank of major (serving without pay until the following May, when he was promoted lieutenant-colonel). In December he sailed in the Kyarra, arriving in Egypt on 13 January 1915. He was posted to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis as registrar and oculist and was also consultant to the British forces in Egypt; he nurtured a close connexion with the director of medical services, Major General Sir R. W. Ford. He was also executive officer of the Australian Red Cross Society in the region. In June he was appointed by Ford, quite irregularly, as 'Assistant Director of Medical Services, Australian Forces', thus securing authority which went far beyond the 1st A.G.H.
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