H.W. Bryant

Born in Melbourne in 1860, Henry William Bryant studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and Edinburgh University.

On his return to Melbourne from Scotland, in the mid-1880s, he acquired a medical practice in Williamstown; by around 1906, he was running a ‘lucrative’ city practice. Alongside his professional interests, he had a passion for cricket, angling and twitching (he had a keen interest in Australian birds and was a founder of the Bird Observers’ Club).

Henry was aged 64 when he enlisted in the AIF on 10 October 1914, so youth was not on his side. He was appointed commander of No. 1 Australian Stationary Hospital (1ASH), made up largely of South Australians, and embarked on HMAT Kyarra in Melbourne in early December that year.

After two months in Egypt, Henry established 1ASH in East Mudros in March 1915. He had experienced gastric troubles since the voyage from Australia, but this worsened when he contracted dysentery on Lemnos in early July. He was hospitalised briefly in No. 3 Australian General Hospital before being transferred to Egypt in late August, where he was diagnosed with colitis. Due to his weak and depleted state, it was recommended that he take extended leave. His physical misery was no doubt compounded by news of his wife’s death on 19 August.

Henry was ‘invalided’ to Australia for six-months’ recovery on 20 October, sailing home on the troopship Kanowa. The District Standing Medical Board eventually found him ‘unfit for further active service’, terminating his appointment with the AIF from 28 February 1916. For his outstanding service, he had been mentioned in dispatches by Sir Ian Hamilton in November 1915 and he also received an honourable mention in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette in December.

In Melbourne, Henry resumed his medical practice and sat on medical boards assessing war pensions for the Defence Department. But his health continued to decline and he died at Anzac Hostel in Brighton on 6 May 1920.