Hot? Thats not hot! Temperatures in our southern states such as Victoria and South Australia have recently soared, hitting the 40+ degrees Celsius mark on more than a couple of occasions. However reading the book Forgotten Men: The Australian Army Veterinary Corps 1909-1946 by Michael Tyquin recently, I discovered that our Light Horse in Palestine and Syria in WW1 had to cope with far worse conditions. In March of 1916, for example, the temperature inside a tent was recorded as 52 Degrees Celsius causing 36 soldiers to be evacuated to hospital due to hyperthermia, and several months later, the temperatures were measured to have been 59 Degrees in the shade. Temporary horse shelters made of cane matting or tarpaulins had to be rigged to provide shelter from the conditions, and 500 horses were for some time unfit for use. [Reference: Forgotten Men: The Australian Army Veterinary Corps 1909-1946, by Michael Tyquin, Big Sky Publishing, Newport, N.S.W., 2011. p.90].
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 00:34:13 +0000
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