Douglas Clelland Pigdon MB BS ED (1891 - 1945)

Ancestors

Biography

Doctor Douglas Clelland Pigdon MB BS ED FRCS was born on 6 December 1891 at Carlton North, Victoria, Australia, the the only surviving child of Thomas Miers Pigdon and Elizabeth Kate Pigdon.^[1][2]

Douglas successfully completed his medical degrees – Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS) – at the University of Melbourne and was registered as a doctor. His father died soon afterwards, in 1917. In 1925, Douglas was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London).

From 5 November 1915, Douglas served as a medical officer with the Australian Army Medical Corps in The Great, or First World, War. He embarked five days later at Melbourne aboard HMAT Ascanius A11 with the 8th Field Ambulance.^[3] After receiving promotion to Major, he returned to Australia on 10 September 1917.^[4][5] After the war, whilst returning to his medical practice at Heidelberg, Douglas remained in the Citizens' Military Force, earning the Efficiency Decoration for twenty years as an officer in the militia.

Douglas married Beatrice Holtom on 10 December 1919 at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Chapel in Victoria.^[6][7]

On 8th January 1941, Douglas volunteered for the Second Australian Imperial Force, and was posted to the 2/13th Australian General Hospital as commanding officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, deploying to Tampoi, Johor, Malaya in 1941.^[8] Ahead of the Imperial Japanese Army advance trough Malaya, In January 1942 the hospital was strategically withdrawn to Singapore. Unfortunately, the move only delayed the inevitable by a few weeks. After seeing to the evacuation of the (female) nurses and some of the patients, when the Singapore garrison surrendered on 15 February 1942, Douglas became a prisoner-of-war (POW), firstly at Changi, but then at Formosa (Taiwan), Japan and Manchuria.

He died of illness on 6 July 1945 – just weeks from the end of the war – at the prison camp at Hoten, Manchuria, China. He is buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery, Sai Wan.^[9] Douglas Clelland Pigdon's name is located at panel 88 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.^[10] He is also listed on the honour roll of the Melbourne Cricket Club.^[11] He was survived by his wife, two daughters and one son.^[5] Douglas' mother passed away in 1946.

Sources

1. ↑ Douglas Clelland Pigdon's birth record at Births, Deaths, Marriages Victoria: Reg. No: 2229; Reg. year: 1892. Retrieved 13 May 2017 by Clare Spring from https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm/indexsearch.doj.
2. ↑ "Colonel Douglas Clelland Pigdon" Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 13 May 2017 by Clare Spring from https://www.awm.gov.au/people/P10680600/.
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial embarkation roll: Captain Douglas Clelland Pigdon; accessed 6 Mar 2020
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: Major Douglas Clelland Pigdon; accessed 6 Mar 2020
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Death in POW camp at Mukden." 1 September 1945. The Argus (Melbourne), p. 5. Retrieved 13 May 2017 by Clare Spring from http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/966715.
6. ↑ Marriage record at Births, Deaths, Marriages Victoria: Reg. No: 9110; Reg. year: 1919. Retrieved 13 May 2017 by Clare Spring from https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm/indexsearch.doj.
7. ↑ "Marriages." 11 February 1920. The Age (Melbourne), p. 1. Retrieved 13 May 2017 by Clare Spring from http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/202976468.
8. ↑ Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: VX39275 (V5799) Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Clelland Pigdon; accessed 6 Mar 2020
9. ↑ Australian War Memorial POWs and missing persons: VX39275 Colonel Douglas Clelland Pigdon; accessed 6 Mar 2020
10. ↑ Australian War Memorial roll of honour: VX39275 Colonel Douglas Clelland Pigdon; accessed 6 Mar 2020
11. ↑ Monument Australia. Melbourne Cricket Club Roll of Honour, World War Two. Accessed 13 Mar 2021.