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Thomas Hudson Beare was born on 17th September 1926 in Adelaide.  He was the second son of Frank Howard Beare CBE and Beatrice Amelia, nee Field. Beare had two brothers Robert and James. Beare’s father, a medical practitioner, served in both WW1 and WW2.  The Beare family were amongst the first settlers to South Australia arriving in Kangaroo Island on the Duke of York, in June 1836, prior to the Proclamation of South Australia. Beare lived on Henley Beach Road and then Walkerville as a young child.  His early primary school was at St Andrews Street, Walkerville run by the two Miss Bignalls. Then to preparatory schooling at the Queen’s College followed by St Peter’s College. Beare’s father was often away during his childhood, first for postgraduate study in England. His family could not travel with him due to Beare’s older brother, Robert, contracting polio, and secondly due to his father’s long period away during his service in WW2.  Beare described this as ‘harming the family integrity’ and especially difficult for his mother during all three boys teenage years.  Nevertheless, despite struggling, Beare passed his school examinations, became a house prefect and enthusiastically played cricket and football.

WW2 was in its closing stages, in 1945, when Beare left school at the age of 18 years. He joined the RAAF with friend David Davidson and was accepted to train as a navigator, but the war soon ended and he was discharged after just over six months of service. This allowed him to study medicine, under the Government Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme, which was introduced in March 1944 and finished in 1950. The Scheme provided training for ex-servicemen and women to be re-established in suitable civilian occupations. Over 300,000 people were accepted into the scheme, making it one of the most significant strategies for social change in Australia. Beare commenced medicine at the University of Adelaide in 1946. After graduating in 1952 he was appointed as a house surgeon at the Royal Adelaide Hospital where he met his lifelong friend Dr Donald Beard. Beare also recalls that the highlight of the year was being a resident to his father in his two wards.

Beare had joined the CMF on 5th December 1952 and in February 1953 was appointed as a medical officer in 3 FdAmb with the rank of Captain.  He became interested in paediatric medicine and so gained a position at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital (ACH).  To undertake his postgraduate studies he worked his passage as a ship’s surgeon on the Blue Funnel liner Nestor to the United Kingdom. While he was there he was seconded to a British unit for two years to undergo further military training. Donald Beard soon followed him to London and both sat for their fellowships at the same time.  They both failed. Not to be undone they went to Edinburgh for more experience and both passed. Beare returned to London to again sit his Fellowship in Medicine and this time was successful. During this time in England he took positions at the Hospital for Sick children, Great Ormond Street, and the School of Tropical Medicine, also finding time to pursue his love of cricket and tennis.  He intended to stay longer in England but was invited to return to the Adelaide Children’s Hospital, by Dr Henry Rischbieth. He returned the way he went, as a ship’s surgeon on the Nestor.

Beare met nurse and future wife, Julien Ormsby Downey, on return to Australia in 1958, when she was assisting with a lumbar puncture procedure at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital. They were married on 1st August 1959 and had four children, Michael Hudson, Frances Evelyn, Patrick Hudson and Rachael Seymour. Beare also resumed his regimental duties in 3 FdAmb, in July 1958. He was promoted to Major in April 1959 and posted to DADAH HQ Central Command. This was followed by a posting to 3 Gen Hosp from 1960 until his deployment to Vietnam in 1968.  He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 5th April 1964. Beare with Donald Beard, discussed with General Gurner, in 1967, the possibility of forming a surgical team from CMF volunteers to serve in Vietnam attached to the regular Army medical units.  They both immediately found themselves in the team and off to Vietnam.  On the journey to Vietnam Donald Beard recollects that they distinguished themselves by over-sleeping in Sydney and nearly missing their flight, and subsequently losing their rifles.  They arrived in Vietnam during the Tet offensive and they were on duty 24 hours a day, overwhelmed with medical and surgical patients. Beare was posted as a specialist physician to the 8 FdAmb in Nui Dat, South Vietnam on 26th February 1968.  He replaced Colonel KJA Fleming, a regular Army Medical Officer, who had his tour of duty reduced to take up a position at the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) Medical Research Laboratory in Bangkok. However, even though Fleming had only spent six weeks in Vietnam, he carried out a survey of medical disease cases that had occurred in the Australian Force over the previous nine months. The aim was to try and minimise the loss of manpower from various ‘fever’ conditions. This data collection was further enhanced by the appointment of pathologist Colonel Cowling, who introduced culture testing to provide a definitive diagnosis and therefor the appropriate treatment for each disease. Due to this preliminary work Beare was able to diagnose the cause of gastrointestinal infections when they reached seasonal epidemic proportions in March and April.  Beare was able to show that most of the fifty cases of bacillary dysentery that he treated were of the Shigella sonnei type.  He also found eight cases of infectious hepatitis, which requires long periods of convalescence and had a significant impact on manpower in the Australian force.  Beare’s tour of duty finished on 15th June 1968.  He was posted to the Training Group, Central Command in January 1970. He was promoted in January 1971 to Colonel and appointed CO 3 Gen Hosp and then as Director of Medical Services (DMS) 4 MD in October 1974.  He was placed on the Reserve of Officers list in 1977 until 1982 when he was posted as DMS Army Office until his retirement in September 1983.  He was appointed Honorary Colonel for the RAAMC in May 1984 for four years until May 1988.  He was issued; the 1939-45 War Medal, the Vietnam Medal, the National Medal, The Australian Defence Medal, and awarded the Reserve Forces Decoration and the Efficiency Decoration.

Beare continued his private practice as a paediatrician, in North Adelaide. He had taken over Dr Neville Bickford’s clinic at the ACH in the early 1960s and remained head of the clinic for the next 38 years, a position that he thoroughly enjoyed. Beare was also a neonatal paediatrician at TQEH and gained a reputation as a great clinician, teacher and administrator. He participated in many committees especially the Medical Staff committee at the ACH, which he chaired for some time. He reflected, in 2006 that this committee had many a debate with the government over the adequate provision of beds for the ACH. During his working life he also found time to volunteer for Legacy. Beare maintained his involvement and love of golf and cricket throughout his life and was a member of the Royal Adelaide Golf Club. His many interest included tennis, bowls, bridge, crosswords, making marmalade and above all he loved classical music. Thomas Hudson Beare died after a short illness on 22nd July 2009.  He was survived by his wife Julie, his three surviving children and five grandsons. His son Patrick pre-deceased him in 2002.

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