Major Reid MBE

REID, John Anthony Gibson, Major, MBE

Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps

Canada Gazette dated 15 June 1946 (No. 24, Vol. 80, p.3849) and CARO/6632 dated 17 June 1946.

According to RG.7 Group 26 Volume 59 folio 8, he was originally recommended for a DSO. The King's Awards Committee chose to reduce this, and though Canadian authorities protested vigorously, the ruling stood (see Canadian Army file 54-27-94-56, "Honours and Awards - Prisoners of War - Northwest Europe" in National Archives file RG.24 Volume 2249).

Major Reid was Medical Officer to The Winnipeg Grenadiers when he was taken prisoner of war at Hong Kong in December 1941.

The problems that arose following the capitulation were mainly those of care for the sick and wounded and the large task of ensuring a high standard of sanitation and hygiene in the Prisoner of War camps. Being an area in which tropical diseases and diseases of filth thrived, a very real problem confronted the medical officers, and, judging by the universal acclaim granted to these self-sacrificing men, they rose fully to the occasion regardless of the consequences to themselves. The fact that the conditions were made worse through inadequate rations and disinterest and interference from the Japanese authorities seemed only to spur the medical officers to greater efforts.

Major Reid threw himself whole-heartedly into the difficult task ahead of him and shortly was confronted by epidemics of diphtheria, dysentery and malaria which had to be treated without medicines and at the gravest personal risk from infection. In the early stages, anti-toxin was not available, and the possibility of getting diphtheria was great and carried with it a strong likelihood of death. As time went on, due to a shortage of rations, lack of vitamins caused diseases such as beri-beri, pellagra, etc., which continued to ravage the prisoners of war throughout the period of their captivity.

In January 1943 a draft of 500 Canadian prisoners of war was sent to Japan as labourers, and Major Reid was the only Canadian officer to accompany them. Here he was met with the most discouraging conditions; no medicine, short rations, an ever present doubt as to what the unpredictable Japanese might do, and besides his medical duties, many responsibilities that devolved naturally on him which would ordinarily have been handled by a combatant officer. Such was the character of the man that he not only overcame the difficulties as they arose, but eventually won the respect, confidence and admiration of the Japanese themselves. Throughout the entire period of his captivity Major Reid spent almost all his money on medical supplies for the benefit of his patients. In Japan he arranged through black market sources a small supply of medicines. He took an active hand in controlling the prisoners of war, and on many occasions interceded for them with the Japanese, ensuring as fair treatment as was possible, particularly in regard to punishments which might have been visited on them by the camp authorities and in excluding the sicker men from working parties.

On one occasion when two Canadians were being beaten by Japanese guards, Major Reid elbowed them aside, picked one of the men off the ground and carried him to hospital; there he found him to be injured severely.

Major Reid was able during this period to maintain case histories of his patients, contrary to the orders of the Japanese authorities, and his records are now proving of considerable value to Canadian medical authorities both from the standpoint of the welfare of the individuals concerned and for their value in research in a field heretofore unexplored in this country where similar conditions and diseases do not obtain. Possibly because of his continually firm stand with the Japanese, but undoubtedly because of his qualities as a man and a medical doctor, the Japanese themselves came to look on him with an attitude almost of worship. A Japanese doctor named Iwo thought so much of him that he made a practice of bringing him gifts.

Major Reid also won the complete confidence of the camp staff, and by so doing, was able to help the lot of his men immeasurably. Despite the fact that his health suffered from the excesses of work and consideration for his men, Major Reid continued to display the highest qualities of humanity, skill and devotion to duty throughout his entire period as a prisoner of war. The opinions of the men under his care are the final test in his case, and, although there were many outstanding deeds performed by many of the men who had the misfortune to become prisoners of war of the Japanese, there is no individual to whim so much gratitude has been expressed. In no single instance has anything but the highest praise been heard of this officer, and considering the unusual difficulties, despression [sic: "desperation" or "depression"], near starvation and disease, experienced continuously for such a long period, there is no doubt that he deserves the highest possible recognition.

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