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PYNE Remington John

MB BS FRACS DO RCOphth

1929 – 1988

BCOF, KOREA

Remington John Pyne was born on 6th March 1929. He was the elder son of Maurice, a school teacher, and Jean Pyne.  Pyne spent much of his early life and education in Jamestown, South Australia, where his father was the headmaster of the local school.  His family were committed Catholics which was reflected in his disciplinarian upbringing. He gained a scholarship to attend Rostrevor College as a boarder and after matriculation Pyne studied medicine at the University of Adelaide. It was at University that his desire for fun and breaking the rules emerged. He became a resident of Aquinas College, one of the residential colleges of the Adelaide University, for one term, but was suspended from the College for stealing the crest of St Marks College and nailing it to the toilet door of the Queen’s Head Hotel.  He was reinstated to Aquinas after a term, but not as its president. He was awarded the Bundy Prize for English Verse in 1951 and graduated from university in 1952.  He then completed a year’s residency at the RAH.

Pyne joined the CMF during his residency year in 1952 as a captain in 26 FdAmb and, in 1954, when he was 25 years old, he volunteered to serve in Korea. He was posted to 3 Bn RAR after only 3 weeks military experience with the regular Army.  Conditions in Korea were poor, especially the weather which ranged from high heat to below freezing.  Apart from trauma, Pyne was faced with many medical conditions including, pneumonia, frostbite, and trench foot, and in the warmer weather, encephalitis and diarrhoea.  An incident occurred which demonstrated his ability to support his patient’s rights and stand up for what he believed in, whether in military or civilian practice, when his Commanding Officer demanded to see the records of patients who had a sexually transmitted disease.  Pyne refused to release the records to his Commanding Officer. Pyne argued that the records were confidential and that soldiers had a right to privacy and feel confident to seek medical attention without repercussions; consequently he was summarily dismissed from the unit.  He packed his bags and walked up the road to a nearby Canadian medical post; where after listening to his story, took him to the British 26th Bde FdAmb. The British were also sympathetic to his actions and he remained a medical officer in the British FdAmb while his case was heard. He was then posted as RMO to 1 Bn RAR based at Hiro in Japan. His former CO returned to Australia and left the Army. Pyne returned to Korea from October 1954 to January 1955. He continued in the CMF on his return and was appointed as medical officer to the Australian Defence Force in Maralinga from 1960 to 1964 and was a Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist to the Army from 1969 until his retirement from Defence in 1987.  Pyne was proud of his military service and always marched on Anzac Day alongside his friend Colonel Donald Beard. He received the Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975 with Korea Clasp, the Korean Medal, and the United Nations Korean Medal.

Pyne took up an appointment with the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia in Alice Springs after returning to Australia.  He developed an interest in eye disease when he saw the problems of trachoma in Aborigines and, later in life, was a member of the Trachoma Management Committee of the Royal College of Ophthalmology. Pyne married Margaret Evans, a legal secretary, the daughter of Roy and Blanch Evans, in 1956.  They were to have five children, Remington, Alexander, Nicholas, Samantha and Christopher. Following his marriage Pyne took up a position with the Department of Immigration as a medical officer in Rome.  It was during this time that he pursued his fledgling interest in ophthalmology and attended clinics with Professor Bagolini in Rome.  He travelled to London in 1959 to further study ophthalmology as a clinical assistant at the Moorfields Eye Hospital passing his Diploma of Ophthalmology later that year. Pyne was known to be creative when the correct instruments for his work were not available; for example, using an ordinary wooden desk ruler instead of a highly calibrated measuring device. He then went on to Northampton Hospital as a Senior Registrar before returning to Adelaide in 1960. It was at this time that he started his private practice and was later joined by Dr Glynn Davies; they were to have a 20 year partnership.  He was also appointed an Honorary Ophthalmologist to the RAH from 1960 to 1964. Pyne’s particular interest was in paediatric ophthalmology and he became the Senior Visiting Specialist at the ACH from1967 to 1987.  He and Margaret discovered that their son, Remington suffered from dyslexia and this led to his involvement in the forming of SPELD, the Specific Learning Difficulties Association of South Australia on 29th May 1969.  Whilst the association could not help his son as he was now an adult, Pyne was passionate about helping other children to manage their learning difficulties.  It was this passion and his equally committed work with paediatric ophthalmology at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital, that he was named SA Father of Year in 1976.  When the Craniofacial Unit was established by Dr David David in the 1970s Pyne became part of the multi-specialist team providing his expertise in ophthalmology. He had many other interests and passions and supported the Lions Eye Institute to undertake community glaucoma screenings. When he was elected president of the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists, in 1982 he saw this as an opportunity to address his concerns about eye disease in the Aboriginal population.  He, with Eric Willis, a former Liberal premier of New South Wales, tried to implement the recommendations of the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program, across Australia with a central administration. Whilst there was some success in the reduction of trachoma in the Aboriginal population, disappointingly, it never achieved its full potential due to the difficulties of getting all the health entities in each state to work with a central administration. Outside of his medical expertise he served for 20 years on the council of Aquinas College, clearly forgiven for his earlier misdemeanour. With Bishop Phillip Kennedy he assisted in establishing the centre for Catholic studies at Flinders University. For his services to paediatric medicine he was made a Commander in the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem. He was very fond of music and enjoyed painting. When his children were young he owned a sheep farm.  His son Christopher reflected in his book, A Letter to My Children, that his father’s farming ability was somewhat chaotic and the characteristics of compassion that made him a good doctor, made him a terrible farmer. Remington John Pyne, died unexpectedly on 9th April 1988.  He was survived by his wife Margaret and his five children.

Sources

Blood, Sweat and Fears II: Medical Practitioners of South Australia on Active Service After World War 2 to Vietnam 1945-1975.

Summers, Swain, Jelly, Verco. Open Book Howden, Adelaide 2016

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD