Virtual
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Australia

Written and contributed by close friend- Bob Lewis Platoon Commander 9 Platoon 3 RAR in Vietnam

4721496 Captain John Robert Oakley was a revered member of the Third Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment during training at Woodside in 1970 and on combat operations in South Vietnam, 1971.

Having been called up in the 2nd National Service Scheme and on completion of medical school in Adelaide, John was inducted into the Australian Regular Army in 1970. Because of his higher training he was then sent off to Healsville for an induction course, after which he was posted as the Regimental Medical Officer to 3RAR then stationed at Woodside.

Even today, soldiers speak with reverence about mateship in the ranks from wars of the past; the kind of eternal comradeship welded by fire in extraordinary circumstances. I first met Captain Oakley when we were both posted to the Third Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, ‘Old Faithful’, when the unit had been warned for service in South Vietnam. He was assigned as the Regimental Medical Officer and I as a platoon commander.

But, on meeting back then, we immediately became staunch friends, which was the hallmark of John’s character. We sailed together for years after the war. It was his passion and genuine release from the pressure of such an overwhelmingly demanding profession. His commitment to medical science consequently saw him accelerate to become an internationally acknowledged Colorectal Surgeon. Throughout, he never forgot his experiences with humble ‘Grunts’, nor they with him.

3RAR soldiers from that era still talk today about ‘Doc Oakley’, - as they do frequently. He was a huge part of our younger, war time experiences. Most importantly because he instinctively and firmly chose throughout to identify himself with soldiers in the mud and in the rank jungle, rather than rank in the closeted officers’ mess.

During a remarkable, post war medical career, John spent many years at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, during which time he co-authored very many treatises on the intricacies of bowel surgery and established himself as an international expert in colorectal surgery.

On return to his homeland, he opened the first specialist colorectal clinic in Hobart to pursue the practice: a bold and highly successful move which is testament to his love of the profession, his high degree of skill and, most importantly, his dedication to preserving the life of his fellow beings. However, in later years, John was diagnosed with early onset dementia: a terrible disease which, despite his determination to prevail, ultimately overcame him. John Oakley died on Friday, 1st June 2018 in Hobart.

His wonderful brother, James, recalls; “I always remember a day we spent together shortly after his diagnosis. First we first visited a local pharmacy to collect a prescription and the shop assistant took me aside to tell me she owed her life to John. Eventually we did move on to a local cafe for a coffee and as we were leaving the cafe an elderly man introduced himself to John and explained that he had also been saved from certain death by John”.

We old soldiers who also knew him love John dearly because we recognise he was and remains one of our extended “family” of veterans who is well remembered indeed by all. He was a remarkable man, a true and genuine friend, and his expertise crossed many boundaries. He reached out to the great and the small without compromising his down-to-earth approach to life. He treated us all equally and we feel very privileged indeed to have known him so well. He is a great credit to this country, his friends, and above all, his wonderful family.

John Robert Oakley was born in Hobart on 19th May 1945.  He is the son of Glann Maurice Oakley and Marie Dorothea, nee Potter.  His father, the manager of the Sunbeam Corporation in Tasmania, served as a signalman during WW2 in the RAN, mainly in the Pacific; he rose to the rank of lieutenant by the end of the war.  Oakley had two siblings; Jennifer Marie, now Wells, a registered nurse and James Glann a practising solicitor. Oakley was educated at Hobart High School and he was a school prefect, as well as a keen rower and member of the senior hockey team. He was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study medicine at the University of Adelaide, in 1963, and completed the first year of a “pre-med” course in 1963 at Hobart University. He represented both the University of Tasmania and the University of Adelaide in intervarsity rowing. His greatest sporting interest, however, was sailing. He won national championships and was a keen ocean racer competing in five Sydney to Hobart races. He also competed in the classic Fastnet Race organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club of the United Kingdom and in long distance races in the United States. He graduated MB BS in 1968 and completed his residency at the RAH in 1969.

Oakley was selected in the National Service ballot of 1968 and was deferred until the completion of his medical studies. He joined the Army, on 29th January 1970, and was posted as RMO to 3 Bn in 1970 to 1071. He served with the Bn in Vietnam from February to October in 1971. He was discharged, in November 1971, from the regular army and did not continue in the CMF.

He decided to pursue a surgical career, and was appointed a general surgical registrar at the RAH, from September 1972 until January 1974, and from November 1974 until January 1976. This was followed by an appointment as senior surgical registrar from February 1976 till December 1976. Oakley then travelled to England to take up an appointment as a registrar in general surgery at Essex County Hospital, Colchester, England from March 1977 until August 1977. He returned to South Australia and was appointed as senior registrar at Modbury Hospital for six months and then at TQEH for a further six months. Oakley  went to the United States in January 1979 as a Special Fellow in the department of Colorectal Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation for six months and then on to England as senior registrar at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Luton, England. Returning  to Australia in July 1980 he was an associate specialist in the Department of General Surgery and visiting medical specialist in casualty at the RAH. This was followed by an appointment both as a half-time senior lecturer and visiting surgeon to the Professorial Unit at the RAH until December 1982.

He returned to Cleveland in 1983-1984 before again returning to the RAH as visiting surgeon to the Colorectal Unit of the RAH and also as a senior visiting surgeon at Flinders Medical Centre until the end of 1987. He had also undertaken private practice during these times in Adelaide. He had several senior appointments during a further time in Cleveland from February 1988 until April 1994. Oakley published extensively in medical journals and authored chapters in various medical text books. He was a member of a number of other medical associations as well as an active member of the RACS. He then returned to Tasmania as a visiting colorectal surgeon at Royal Hobart Hospital and a private medical practice, andwas joined by two other colorectal surgeons. He never married and retired in 2010.  John Robert Oakley has suffered increasing illness and died in 2018.

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