Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

SWAIN Tony MB BS, FANZCA, RAN

1934-

Tony Swain was born in Orange, NSW in December 1934.  He was the only son of William Swain (1884-1970) and Dorothy, nee Martin (1900-1983) both of pioneer rural farming families. His parents were of small stature, his father being 5ft tall and mother 4ft 9ins. His father was called up in WW2 into the Civil Construction Corps, when he was in his late 50s, and worked on the construction of an airfield at Ivanhoe, NSW, and the construction of the Captain Cook Dock at Garden Island, Sydney. Swain’s early education was in Orange, followed by boarding school at Waverley College, Sydney. He studied medicine at the University of Sydney, graduating MB BS in January 1961. Whilst at university he resided at St Johns College, and he served on several College committees and was the House President of the Student body. Although he inherited his parent’s small stature he excelled in athletics and rugby and played competitive rugby at University and later in the navy he represented HMA-Ships teams when overseas at Butterworth, Hong Kong, Singapore and Saigon.

Swain had a long career in military like activities; as a Cub then a Sea Scout (in Orange without any sea) learning knots, marching and flag semaphore in the pre and WW2 years. At Waverley College, where Cadets were compulsory after age 14, in 1952, he won the Bede Kenny VC Award as “Sergeant Anthony Swain, Outstanding NCO”. Then, at Sydney University he was called up for National Service in “C” Coy, 13 National Service Battalion, at Ingleburn, NSW.  He was made the Associate Sub-Editor of The National Service Infantryman, the Regimental Journal. He continued his National Service until he accepted a scholarship in the RAN Undergraduate Scheme and became Sub-Lieutenant from 11th March 1957. After Graduation he was promoted to Surgeon Lieutenant, RAN from January 1961.  Following his resident year, Swain served his return of service four years in the RAN. This time was shared between two and a half years at sea on board HMAS Quiberon, and Melbourne in the FESR and Hydrographic Survey Ship HMAS Moresby in the FESR and on survey work offshore, Rowley Shoals to Port Hedland. HMAS Quiberon visited Nha Trang and Saigon, South Vietnam, in February 1963. While in South Vietnam, Swain had a day ashore with the American Rangers and a day at the Saigon University Medical School. Quiberon’s departure from SVN down the Mekong River was to escort the staff from the Australian Embassy, on a South Vietnam Navy boat, to Vung Tau resorts for a break. The trip demonstrated the dangerous situation, as the Quiberon sustained some minor structural damage above the waterline to her hull. Swain then served on the HMAS Melbourne, a light Fleet Aircraft Carrier of 20,000 tons.

This appointment was marred by its collision at 20 knots, on the 10th February 1964, with HMAS Voyager, a 3,500 ton Daring Class Destroyer, off Jarvis Bay, with the loss of 82 lives.  Voyager was hit amidships on the port side and was cut in half. Swain was standing on the flight deck at the time and saw and felt the collision. After repairs in Sydney Melbourne resumed her station with the FESR until December 1964. Time with the FESR involved exercises with Fleets of the USN and RN and visits to Subic Bay in the Philippines, Singapore, Penang and Hong Kong.  His next ship was HMAS Moresby, and, in September 1965, Moresby was tasked to travel to Bangkok and challenge the “freedom of navigation” through the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, Indonesia, during the Malaysian/Indonesian Confrontation. On the evening of 30th September 1965, an attempted coup occurred in Jakarta and with the Indonesian Defence Forces fully occupied with domestic matters, the ship passed through the Strait the next morning unchallenged. His time at sea was memorable; as surgeon for the removal of an inflamed appendix in the South China Sea in Quiberon in 1962 and the Voyager collision in 1964. Time onshore was shared at HMAS Penguin, Balmoral Naval Hospital, at a Jungle Survival course at Canungra Qld with pilots from the RAAF and the RAN Fleet Air Arm and at an anaesthetic course at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

 Swain completed his permanent naval commitment, in May 1966. He moved to Adelaide to complete his anaesthetic training at TQEH and the newly formed Adelaide rotation anaesthetic training program. He then transferred to the RANR, in which he spent over 20 years.  He was promoted to Surgeon Lieutenant Commander in 1977. During these years he qualified as a Specialist Medical Officer at the RAN School of Underwater Medicine (SUM), as a member of the Undersea Medical Society of USA, and the South Pacific Underwater Medical Society (SPUMS). He was instrumental in the establishment of the modern Hyperbaric Unit at the RAH, where held an honorary appointment. He spent one annual continuous training (ACT) in HMAS Supply and served during ACT’s as a Reserve MO at the Naval Hospitals at Penguin and Cerberus. During five weeks in 1984 he was acting DDGNHS under Surgeon RADM B T Treloar at Navy Office Canberra and in 1981 served for 5 weeks at the No.4 RAAF Hospital at Butterworth. He continued in the RANR and was placed on the retired officers list in 1999. He was issued with the Australian Active Service Medal 1945-75 with Vietnam clasp, the Australian Active Service Medal 1945-75 with FESR clasp, the Defence Long Service Medal with First Clasp, the National Medal, the Australian Defence Medal, the National Service Medal 1951-1972, the Pingat Jasa Malaysia.

Swain maintained his large and prosperous anaesthetic practice spanning for thirty seven years in private and public hospitals and administered over 50,000 anaesthetics. He always worked within a group practice, the longest and last being with Specialist Anaesthetic Services founded by Dr Bruce Perks who also encouraged him to join the Army Health Services Historical Research Group AHSHRG in 2008; he is the current Chairman of the AHSHRG. He founded the Adelaide Diving Medical Centre (ADMC) at Norwood at the suggestion of Surg CMDR Carl Edmonds of the SUM, HMAS Penguin, supported by the Diving Schools and State Government OHS for Police and their employed divers.  He was a Member of the combined committee from the ASA (SA branch) and the Faculty of Anaesthetists, RACS (SA Branch) investigating the implementation of a training program for anaesthetic assistants and anaesthetic technicians in SA in the 1970s, the SA Branch of the Faculty of Anaesthetists RACS Committee into manpower needs and training of anaesthetists in SA, the Committee of the Naval Military and Air Force Club, Adelaide, for 4 years surrounding the centenary in 1979, the Council of Mercedes College during the full implementation of the infrastructure facilities as a co-ed College and  Chairman of the Mercedes College Parents Association in the late 1970s, the Committee of the Arthritis Foundation in 1988-89, the Department of Labour and Industry committee investigating safe diving practice in SA in 1983, the Department of Labour and Industry committee investigating safe operating theatres in Public hospitals in 2003. From 2002- 2012 he was a Clinical Surveyor with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS).

Swain married three times. First to Helen Mostyn Wilkinson, nurse, of Sydney for twenty five years and they had three boys and two girls; secondly to Kaylene Joy Swaffer, of Cleve SA, nurse and secretary for seven years, and had one son, and for the last twenty years to Brenda Priscilla Hattingh, formerly from South Africa and a Personal Assistant to the Chairman of Hills Industries. Apart from his medical and military careers he enjoys his life as a father and family man, with many trips to Sydney and Orange to visit his sister and cousins. The families loved camping in the Flinders. As a trailer sailor owner and member of the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club he, with his families spent many a weekend and holiday in the Coorong and later skiing at Mt Buller at the Navy Ski Lodge or Pension Grimus. Holidays were spent overseas at Butterworth, RAAF Base, Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian Highlands, Singapore and Cape Town, South Africa including game parks.

Source

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

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD