Virtual
War Memorial
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VERCOE Geoffrey Stanley OAM RFD MB BS FRCS (Edin) FRACS

1940 –

Geoffrey Stanley Vercoe was born in North Adelaide on 25th October 1940.  He was the son of Colin Vercoe, an accountant and horticulturist, and Joan, nee Goldsworthy.  His father was born in Loxton, South Australia, in 1914, and became one of the founding members of the Berri Cooperative.  His father joined the RAAF during WW2 and was a gunner and radio operator in 13 (Hudson bomber) Squadron.  He was killed in action over Ambon in May 1942. His mother, Joan, who was born in Port Pirie, in 1919, was educated at the Wilderness and Girton colleges.  She remarried, in 1946, to Gordon Porter and they had two children Andrew and Criena. Vercoe was educated at Highgate, St Morris School and, later, Pulteney Grammar School.  He started engineering at the University of Adelaide and changed to medicine after two years. He joined the AUR in 1958 as a private soldier. He was promoted to Lieutenant on transferring to the regular Army, in 1964. This enabled him to study through the Army Undergraduate Scheme with colleagues Bruce Perks, Chris Butcher, Robert Jeffrey, John Crosier and John Bickmore.   During his time at university Vercoe had a penchant for speed, he enjoyed yacht racing in skiffs and sharpies.  He also built and raced three cars, winning the Adelaide Tourist Trophy at Mallala at the peak of his success. His career in car racing came to an end when he crashed a formula 1 car at Sandown Park and selling his own car. He graduated MB BS in 1967 and completed his residency at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 1968. He married Pamela Pridham in May 1964 and they were to have two children, Jane and Edward.

Vercoe was posted to 2 Camp Hospital at Ingleburn, NSW where he ran the venereal disease clinic.  He enjoyed his four month posting here as it was close to the Oran Park race track. He renewed his passion for car racing and achieved the under 1500cc sports car lap record amongst other wins. He was the posted to PNG as RMO to 1st Pacific Islands Regiment at Taurama Barracks, Port Moresby. He was promoted to Major and posted as the Officer Commanding (OC) Taurama Medical Centre. During this time he was involved in a Caribou aircraft crash at Tapini in the PNG Southern Highlands, fortunately escaping any serious injury. He was then posted as OC 8 FdAmb and SMO of the Task Force at Nui Dat, South Vietnam. Vercoe reflects that during his time as OC of 8 FdAmb several major incidents occurred, and that between December 1970 and January 1971, more soldiers died from injuries sustained from ‘inside the wire than outside’.  Two incidents remain firm in his memory; the first was on Christmas Day 1970, when a soldier shot three unarmed sergeants sitting in the sergeant’s mess.  After resuscitation, all left Nui Dat alive, but two sadly subsequently died of their injuries.  The perpetrator. Private Ferriday, was originally charged with murder, but was reduced to manslaughter. He was jailed for ten years and was released eight years later. The second incident, recalled by Vercoe, was when Sir John Kerr, who, as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW was investigating military pay and conditions at the time, visited his unit. They staged a mock evacuation to show how a patient was lifted to a helicopter in at ‘hot extraction’.  Vercoe’s admin clerk John Gillespie was the mock patient. During the demonstration there was an alert due to enemy action and the helicopter with Gillespie aboard was tasked to attend. The helicopter was hit by an enemy RPG7 and crashed, killing Gillespie.  Vercoe goes on to say that Gillespie’s remains were one of the last to be repatriated to Australia, and he was honoured to place his medals on his coffin in an emotional ceremony at Laverton Air Force Base.

When Vercoe left Vietnam he decided to pursue a career in ear, nose and throat surgery.  He consulted with Major General Colin Gurner who introduced him to Lieutenant General Matheson, the ex DGMS of the British Army. He assisted Vercoe to be fast tracked into his primary examination course at Edinburgh. After successfully passing he practiced at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and completed his fellowship.  He lived with his family in the gate house of the City Hospital in Morningside and his daughter went to a small school called “Cranley”; his son was born in the Royal Infirmary. He was offered a consultant position in Edinburgh but the desire to return to Australia was too great to stay. On his return to Adelaide, he took up a position as a consultant at TQEH and commenced private practice.  He resumed his military career in the Army Reserve at 3 Gen Hosp at Warradale Barracks attending many annual exercises in Australia. Through these Army exercises he became very interested in providing ENT surgery in Aboriginal communities, a legacy that is continued by him in Central Australia today. His final posting in the Army was as the Army Office ENT consultant.

Vercoe reconnected with his love of sailing in the late 1980s and purchased a 30ft trailer sailor and joined the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron.  With a few mates he raced in and won Division 2 even though they were tagged as ‘Dad’s Army’.  He upgraded to a Farr 40 race yacht so that he could enter the Sydney to Hobart annual race, which he completed in 1992.  During the ill-fated Sydney to Hobart race in 1993 his boat broke up, but managed to get to Eden on the NSW coast.  Thanks to the insurance, he was able to build, with friends, a Jutson 43 and came 5th in the 1996 Sydney to Hobart race, 3rd in the racing division and won the Sydney to Southport race.   Geoffrey Stanley Vercoe is now semi-retired from ENT practice and only goes to Katherine Hospital in Northern Territory to undertake surgery for Aboriginal ear disease. Vercoe was awarded the National Medal which recognises long and diligent government service in times of an emergency or natural disaster. He was also awarded the Medal in the Order of Australia, in June 2006, for service to medicine, particularly in the field of otolaryngology and to Indigenous health in the Northern Territory. Vercoe has a small farm in the Adelaide Hills above Carrickalinga, which stocks stud sheep and cattle. He has a 1000 olive trees and processes 40 tonnes of table olives for markets in Australia and Asia.  His yacht is also semi-retired but racing is still in his blood and the Adelaide to Port Lincoln race and the Port Lincoln Regatta is on the agenda for next year. Geoffrey Stanley Vercoe, continues to live in semi-retirement, with Pamela, sharing the time between his family home in Adelaide and his farm in the Adelaide Hills.

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. Open Book Howden, Adelaide 2016

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD