John Frederick Clair Camphin Cobley MBBS FRACP (1914 - 1989)

Born 3 Aug 1914 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Sanbrook) Cobley — married 9 Mar 1943 in Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia

Died 4 Jan 1989 at age 74 in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

John Cobley MBBS FRACP is Notable.

John Cobley MBBS FRACP is an Anzac who served in World War Two.

Lieutenant Colonel Doctor John Cobley MB BS FRACP was an Australian physician and historian who, through his publications, played an important role in popularising Australian history. His primary medical interest was diabetes. He served in the Second AIF as a medical officer and after the war in the Citizens Military Force.

John Cobley MBBS FRACP was born in New South Wales, Australia

John Frederick Clair Camphin Cobley was born on 3rd August 1914 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He was only child of New South Wales-born parents, Joseph Cobley, a clerk, and his wife Ada Robertson. ^[1] He attended Abermain Public and Katoomba Intermediate High schools and won a scholarship to the University of Sydney. By this we may ascertain that the family moved to New South Wales' Blue Mountains in the mid-1920s.

Medical career

Aged 23 years, John graduated from the University of Sydney in 1937 with the dual degrees Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS). As a ship’s surgeon, he travelled to London, England, whereupon he obtained a diploma in anaesthetics issued jointly by the Royal College of Physicians, London (RCP), and the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) in 1938. Whilst remaining in England for another year he also qualified as a Member of the RCP.

Making his return to Sydney immediatley prior to the declaration of (the Secnd World) War in 1939, John became a tutor in medicine at St Paul’s College, University of Sydney, and practised as a physician at Sydney Hospital and privately in Macquarie Street.

John Cobley MBBS FRACP is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Second Australian Imperial Force 1940-1945
2/3rd Casualty Clearing Station; 2/8th Field Ambulance; 111th Casualty Clearing Station

On 19th June 1940 at Leura, in the Blue Mountains, John was commissioned in the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF), his nation's all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War. ^[2] Making the voyage to the Middle East, John served in the disastrous Greek-Crete campaign of March-May 1941 with the 2/3rd Casualty Clearing Station, in the occupation of the recently-captured Syria, and in the battle of El Alamein, Egypt in 1942, with the 2/8th Field Ambulance. The unit returned to Australia in late 1942, in preparation for re-deployment to the north of Australia.

John married Margaret Sanbrook, a member of the Australian Women’s Army Service, on 9th March 1943 in St Paul’s College, with Anglican rites. ^[3]

The remainder of the war, 1943 to 1945, saw John in New Guinea on promotion to Major with the 111th Casualty Clearing Station. During this period was Mentioned in Despatches, equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry, for 'exceptional services in the field in New Guinea'. ^[4][5]

The war over, John was demobilised from the AIF on 22nd February 1946, ^[2] remaining as a Major in the Australian Military Force's Militia, the Citizen's Military Force. Continuing to serve in this part-time capacity, he attained promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. Post-war, John held appointments at the Royal Hospital for Women, the diabetic clinic at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital. A member (from 1940) and Fellow (from 1978) of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), he was also a councillor (1957-60) of the State branch of the British Medical Association. For many years he was an accredited medical examiner of airline pilots and, in 1966-68, as 'Dr John', he appeared on the television program Casebook' on Channel 7 in Sydney.

Historian and author

Throughout his life John was an avid reader and book collector and interested in genealogy. In 1961 he became a member of the Royal Australian Historical Society (RAHS) and two years later the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG). With Margaret's support and assistance over the next twenty years he published a five-volume series entitled Sydney Cove, recording daily events in the Sydney settlement from 1788 to 1800. He also published the seminal works, The Convicts 1788-1792 (1964), The Crimes of the First Fleet Convicts (1970) and The Crimes of the Lady Juliana Convicts, 1790 (1989).

John's passing

Aged 74 years, John passed away on 4th January 1989 in Wahroonga, New South Wales. His remains were cremated. ^[6] He was survived by his wife and their three daughters.

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #38671/1914; registered at Newcastle
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: NX35128 Major John Frederick Clair Cobley; accessed 12 May 2023
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #4710/1943; registered at Newtown
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: Mentioned in Despatches; accessed 12 May 2023
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): Mentioned in Despatches; accessed 12 May 2023
6. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #1525/1989

See also

• Johnson, Keith A. 'Cobley, John Frederick Clair Camphin (1914–1989)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2007; accessed online 12 May 2023.