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War Memorial
Australia

GOLD Mervyn Roy OAM MB BS CQU D UNIV FACD DTM&H DDM

1916-2009

Mervyn Roy Gold was born, on 31st May 1916, in Mannum, SA. He was the son Roy Lindsay Gold, a bank manager, and Gertrude Laura, nee Wilksch. He was educated at Murray Bridge and Clare High Schools and studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, where he was an outstanding scholar. He gained a high credit in each year of his studies and was awarded the Davis Thomas Scholarship, the Alfred Lendon Scholarship and the Pauline Hayward scholarship for St Mark’s College.  He received the Clinical Medicine Prize for proficiency in clinical medicine, the Lister prize for surgery, the Archibald Watson prize for applied surgical anatomy and the Elder Prize.  He graduated the first in his class, in 1939, and was awarded the Everard Scholarship and Gardiner prize. He then undertook his residency at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Immediately after the completion of his residency Gold enlisted in the 2/AIF, as a captain, on 19th July 1940. Initially he was posted to 2/8 FdAmb, where he served in North Africa, including the siege of Tobruk. The 2/13th Bn, during the withdrawal from Cyrenaica, was involved in an action, at Bernina Pass, which resulted in over forty casualties.  Gold, whose mobile section from 2/8th FdAmb, was waiting for orders to leave, collected all the casualties, with RMO Captain P.C. Goode, in various vehicles; the last casualty was collected under machine gun fire. He was Mentioned in Despatches, on 30th June 1942, and was appointed Assistant ADMS HQ 9 Aust Div, from 18th October 1941 to 8th November 1942. He was promoted major on 9th November 1942 and posted DADMS, New Guinea Force from July 1943 until July 1944.  Posted DADMS, 1 Corps, Brisbane from Nov 1944 to May 1945 he moved from Brisbane to Hollandia, Morotai (Dutch East Indies) and then Labuan (Borneo). Gold was then posted ADGMS Adv LHQ, in the Philippines, in May 1945, attached to the staff of General Douglas Macarthur until 9th October 1945, at the rank of temporary lieutenant colonel. He was again Mentioned in Despatches, on 15th March 1945, for exceptional services, in the field, in New Guinea. He was discharged from the 2/AIF in March 1946, and re-enlisted in the CMF, in 1952, at the rank of lieutenant colonel and was appointed 2IC of 9 FdAmb in QLD.  This appointment was followed by his posting as CO 9 FdAmb, from June 1954 until his retirement from the Army in 1957, when he transferred to the Reserve of Officers, in 1957.

During the war, Gold studied for, and gained, his DTM&H in 1942. Following his discharge, from the 2/AIF, he became superintendent of Rockhampton General Hospital until 1951. He entered general practice in Rockhampton and became interested in dermatology.  Gold studied his DDM, in 1966, and became the registrar in dermatology at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, in Sydney. He returned to Rockhampton and continued his career in dermatology. He maintained his practice until his retirement at the age of 85, in 2001.  He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), on 11th June 1996, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University (Honoris causa) by the University of Central Queensland. Mervyn Roy Gold died, on 26th August 2009, in Rockhampton. He was survived by his third wife Norma, and his two daughters Sam and Jill. 

Source

Blood, Sweat and Fears III: Medical Practitioners South Australia, who Served in World War 2. 

Swain, Jelly, Verco, Summers. Open Books Howden, Adelaide 2019. 

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD