Charles Begg was New Zealand's most decorated member of the Medical Corps during World War I.
Born in Dunedin in September 1879, he went to Kaikorai School and Otago Boys' High School, then the University of Otago Medical School in 1898.
He graduated with distinction from the University of Edinburgh in 1903. He became an MD in 1905 and the following year returned to New Zealand where he went into general practice in Wellington. In December 1909 he married Lillian Treadwell. The couple had two sons.
Appointed commander of the New Zealand Field Ambulance at the outbreak of war, Begg arrived in Egypt in December 1914. The Field Ambulance saw their first action during an Ottoman attack on the Suez Canal in early February 1915, then left for Gallipoli on April 17.
When the Anzacs landed on April 25 casualties were unexpectedly heavy. Begg sent his bearer sections ashore while surgical teams provided treatment on ships. But many did not get the surgery they needed so Begg set up a dressing station on the beach, where surgeons worked under constant fire. In late June, a Turkish shell destroyed the station. Begg, although wounded, relocated his unit further along the beach. By early August this dressing station had treated 15,000 wounded Anzacs.
The workload after the assault on Chunuk Bair in early August was almost impossible to cope with. Hundreds of men lay unprotected on the beach. Begg appealed to his superiors and infantry units arrived to help. Together with the navy, which resumed barge transport, they managed to clear the beach by August 13.
Begg set up a dressing station on the beach, where surgeons worked under constant fire.
After a short convalescence in England recovering from enteric fever, Begg returned to Gallipoli in early November. He helped to plan the successful withdrawal of Allied soldiers from Anzac the following month.
Attention now turned to the Western Front, where the New Zealand Division arrived in April and May, 1916. Respiratory and enteric diseases, infectious fevers, venereal disease, scabies, trench foot and battle fatigue were among the many problems.
In October 1916 Begg became Deputy Director of Medical Services in II Anzac Corps, responsible for efforts to improve the general health of the troops through better food, accommodation, health education, immunisation, sanitation and counselling. Despite a severe winter the condition of the men improved.
At Passchendaele in October 1917 the muddy conditions made it impossible to use wheeled vehicles. Teams of six bearers spent up to seven hours at a time battling knee-deep mud to carry the wounded to dressing stations.
In 1918 Begg, who had assumed responsibility for the care of wounded from the French Fifth Army, was presented with their highest order, the Croix de Guerre. He received many other honours, including Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB) and Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). He was mentioned in dispatches on three occasions.
At the end of November 1918, Charles Begg returned to London as Director of Medical Services. Eight weeks later he developed influenza, then pneumonia. He died on February 2, 1919 and was buried with full military honours in Walton-on-Thames.
Story courtesy of http://www.nzhistory.net.nz