From Mr S. Klar, MRPharmS
SIR,—Like Malcolm Almond (PJ, December 18/25 1999, p1000) I, too, had one of the plum National Service postings - staff sergeant pharmacist on the SS Oxfordshire. In fact I was one of his predecessors, as I was on board in 1959-60.
His article brought back many memories both military and pharmaceutical. The first encounter with the chest of surgical instruments - what was the difference between the various forceps, eg, mosquito or Spencer Wells, etc. But one soon was able to recognise the many and varied items. On one particular trip I carried out over 100 X-rays, mainly hands and feet, so many that the medical officer insisted that I had a blood check at the British Military Hospital in Hong Kong. One highlight that stands out was speeding across Aden Harbour in a Royal Air Force high speed launch to collect an essential drug from the hospital - a very exhilarating experience. One mystery that I never solved - what did the families do with the limited supply of medicine bottles we issued? These were rarely recovered and most dispensed liquids by the end of each voyage were issued in the strangest variety of bottles (at least we had an adequate supply of corks).
Malcom Almond mentions the "magic" potion for the treatment of prickly heat. I still have my copy of Martindale's Extra Pharmacopoeia (24th ed) on the fly leaf of which I have written the formula. It may have been an inelegant preparation but it was effective!
There are so many memories: the victim of playing "chicken" who was caught in the watertight doors, the persons of all ranks encountered, the shore visits, the Gurkhas and their families transported from Singapore to Hong Kong and being played out of harbour by their pipe-band, the trips to the New Territories, the weekend spent in Macao and so on.
The roles that had to be assumed were varied, not just being a pharmacist: the sense of responsibility; the ability to improvise; the doctor who wrote his diagnosis on the prescription form and left the treatment to me. It was a great way to spend a year and to travel over 80,000 sea miles. I am glad I had the opportunity.
Stanley Klar
London W5