Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

PEACOCK Morris John AM MB BS FRACS

1940 –

Morris John Peacock was born on 9th May 1940 in LeFevre Community Hospital at Semaphore near Port Adelaide. He was the second of three sons of Rolffe James Peacock and Jean Mavis, nee Morris. His elder brother Rolffe William became a professor at the University of South Australia and similarly his younger brother Dennis Peter born on 10th September 1943 became an academic at the University of South Australia.  Peacock was raised in a strict protestant home in Kilburn, South Australia. Their Housing Trust house was surrounded by stock paddocks and he remembers much fun in the streets and the fact that houses were largely unlocked and people slept outdoors on hot nights. His parents, not having the opportunity, were keen to have their children an appropriate education including religious education. They were encouraged to get jobs and Peacock had a house to house milk round in the mornings before going to school, initially with a horse and cart and later with a 1928 buckboard. He was educated at Prospect primary school and Adelaide Technical High School. He was Dux of the school with commercial skills which gained him a position in the British Tube Mills, an office job he disliked. He decided to study medicine with no real idea why he chose it. He went back to school at Enfield and Adelaide High Schools to get the required science base and continued part-time employment as a brickies labourer in the summer holidays. Peacock gained a Commonwealth Scholarship to study medicine at the University of Adelaide and a full scholarship to reside at Lincoln College. He was required to do National Service from March to June 1959. He regards the three months of Army discipline and working in a team environment under the guidance of regular soldiers, served him well later. When he was in his third year of medicine, Peacock made the decision to join the Department of External Affairs to financially enable him to continue with his medical degree. This required him to work for the department in one of the various territories for five years after completing his studies. He graduated MB BS in 1964. He was awarded the William Gardner Scholarship for Surgery and the Shorney Medal for Ear Nose and Throat surgery. He was also awarded the inaugural Lincoln Collegian’s Prize. He did his resident year at TQEH. He married Elise Joy Bailey, a theatre sister, in January 1966 and they had three sons; Andrew, Timothy, both now doctors, and Samuel, an academic, all of whom excelled in a range of water sports.

Peacock was posted to Goroka in PNG for five years to fulfil his obligation to the Commonwealth. This provided the widest possible medical experience which he thoroughly enjoyed. As part of his duties with External Affairs in PNG he became the forensic expert for the police and coroner.  His father had been consistently sending him journals and paper clippings about the war in Vietnam at this time, some with adverts in the MJA searching for medical officers for the Army. Despite the conflict between External Affairs and the Army regarding his desire to transfer to the Army to serve in Vietnam, the Administrator of PNG, a retired Brigadier, supported his plans. The following day he was enlisted into PNG Volunteer Rifles, subsequently he became the only member of that unit to serve in South Vietnam.  Elise, who was pregnant at the time, flew home to her parents, while Peacock was flown to Victoria Barracks. He went to the School of Army Health, Healesville, early in 1967, for the military medical course and then posted to 8 FdAmb at Puckapunyal. The remainder of the unit, including Peacock, were flown to Vung Tau to take over from 2 FdAmb by Anzac Day. On arrival he was assigned to duties as assistant to the senior general surgeon, regimental aid post duties and treasurer of the officer’s mess. Most of their casualties in the first few weeks were sent directly to the United States 36th Evacuation Hospital where he took the opportunity to assist and learn from them. The first battle casualties came to the Australian hospital in May and from then on they increased in number. Peacock’s relationship with 36th Evacuation Hospital nevertheless continued and he gained much experience from young fully qualified US surgeons.  However, he noted that they were not confident with chest injuries which laid the foundation for his future civilian professional career as a thoracic surgeon. His commitment to his work also led him to spend a weekend non-stop operating with the civilian surgical team at Bien Hoa. However it was not all work and he had a rest and relaxation (R&R) break in Taiwan.  On arrival he was mistaken for a 3-star general by the American army driver, much to the amusement of the director of the R&R programme. On his return from R&R he was posted to Medical HQ in Saigon, then to the neurosurgical unit at the United States 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh.  He was also posted to 7 Bn RAR, 2 Bn RAR and 4 Fd Reg/ 3 CAV Reg.  From time to time he was attached to a US Armoured Group, where was he subjected to friendly fire.

After several short term replacement postings he returned to 7 Bn RAR when the whole Bn was preparing to deploy for the upcoming Tet Offensive. This was achieved by helicopter movement and foot patrols. It was during this time that he devised a plan, approved by his commanders, to alleviate the delay in treating casualties during a contact in the firefight area.  When there were several casualties he was to be inserted into the firefight area by winch to direct and assist the medics on the ground. Casualties would be evacuated later when it was safer for the helicopters. Just  after this that Peacock’s time in Vietnam was over and he returned to Australia. He recalls that during a long wait in Sydney airport the next day nobody said ‘g'day’ to a returning uniformed soldier. Nevertheless he was greeted fondly by his wife Elise and son Andrew before presenting to Keswick for discharge. He had to overcome difficulties associated with his regimental number as he did not enlist in an Australian unit, which took a while to sort out, but he was finally discharged from the Army in early 1968. Despite some pressure by Colonels Beard and Burston he chose not to continue his military service. He was still left with his commitment to External Affairs, which, after clarification, formally stated that he was now relinquished from his previous obligation.  Peacock was issued with the Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975, Vietnam Medal, National Service Medal and Vietnamese Medal.

After leaving the Army, Peacock briefly worked as a general practitioner in Tea Tree Gully and then gained a position as a general practitioner at the snow fields in Jindabyne, New South Wales. He came back to Adelaide to take a position as an anatomy tutor at the University of Adelaide from November 1968 to December 1969.  He was awarded the Gordon Taylor prize for top marks in the Primary examination of the RACS, in March 1970. He commenced formal surgical training at TQEH from March 1970 and was admitted as a Fellow of the College of Surgeons in May 1972. He commenced cardio-thoracic training at the RAH under Mr D’Arcy Sutherland until April 1974. Peacock then went to Great Britain for further training, in Liverpool and Edinburgh, concentrating on general thoracic surgery. On his return to South Australia he was appointed at Flinders Medical Centre, where he established a Chest Surgical Service and later to the RGH, the ACH and TQEH. He was a proponent of the introduction of surgical stapling and the development of appropriate instruments and videoscopic techniques which he taught around Australia. Morris John Peacock retired in 2002 and was awarded Emeritus status by the RGH and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 for his service to thoracic medicine, particularly as a pioneer of innovative surgical techniques. He is also well-known for his love of Holden Monaro cars. His love of four wheel driving with Elise has been curtailed because of spinal surgery, but is still able to enjoy adventure travel in peaceful, solitary and remote places.

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