In 2002 I wrote an article about my friend Roland John Wilson, or John as he was better known.
Sadly, I now find myself adding to that article more details of John’s long and distinguished military and medical service history after he died December 28th 2010 aged 62.
Wednesday January 5th 2011 John’s funeral was conducted at St Pauls Cathedral in the Octagon Dunedin by the Very Rev Dr Trevor James and Rev Canon Claire Brown.
The Cathedral was standing room only testament to the many people that John had connections to and the high regard and respect his many friends and associates had for him.
The honesty and openness of tributes from all four of Johns sons describing a father that had encouraged them to achieve and experience the great outdoors long distance running and adventure training was testament to the special person and loved father John was to them.
John’s colleague and business partner Doctor John Hyndman and Major General Rhys Jones and Lieutenant Colonel Darryl Tong gave tributes to John’s life of achievements his extreme expertise and many fine qualities. John loved the military and the last post and guard of honour was a very fitting inclusion in his send off.
John led a very full and active life always pushing himself to achieve the very best at everything he committed to.
John begun CQB training at the Todd Group in 1986 and was a member until his death. In 1987 at the annual CQB prize giving for the Todd Group John was a recipient of a most achieved exponent in group award and in 1992 he was presented with a dedication to the group award.
I not only trained John in CQB but all four of his sons have also trained at the Todd Group. John’s oldest son Mike climbed the stairs as a school boy with John when he first started training and went onto to move up through the ranks and be respected by his instructors and fellow exponents. Chris trained along with Mike as a youngster and Olly wrestled for the gym winning nationally. The youngest of the four sons Tom still trains at the Todd Group in CQB and wrestling.
John assisted me and the team at the Todd Group in many ways over the years and he will not be forgotten. He was our extremely over-qualified medic at CQB phase tests and our Doctor for prize fighting events.
John assisted me with my combative work in relation to the medical aspects of close combat and I intend to dedicate my soon-to-be-completed Psychological Preparation for Unarmed Combat Training Programme and package to him.
I will always respect John and hold him in the highest regard and have great memories of his time at the School of Self-Defence, combat sports school and Todd Group. I learnt from the tributes at John’s funeral of how he operated on a young boy in the Himalayas who had a cleft pallet and when he returned decades later the boy now a grown man travelled along with his family considerable distance to sing for John in testiment to the success of the operation.
John associated well with people of all walks of life treating them the way he would expect to be treated himself and I can remember him telling me of a situation that has stuck clearly in my mind of how when one of John’s training group members who had been a bit of a lad in his younger day and had had a bit of a colourful past passed away. John told me of how someone who he knew through his work had made adverse comments to him on this young man’s death not knowing that John considered him a friend. John replied I would have him babysit my children, but after those comments you would not be welcome in my home.
John was an excellent judge of whether someone was giving their all in training or a phase test and of identifying if they were using injuries as an excuse or making out the extent and effects of the injury were greater or lesser than what they were. I can remember John assessing an injury on a candidate at a phase test and when asked if he was fit to continue he replied if he doesn’t get hit there again he will be alright. I would call on his evaluation with phase test injuries and he would give it to me straight in relation to the extent of the injury and the individual’s inner resolve. Often he would identify that candidates were trying to cover serious injuries and wanted to get on and achieve the objective above all. John admired such commitment and inner resolve but would always clearly point out the risks of continuing under such circumstances.
John enjoyed our club tramps back then and I won’t forget the effects of trying to match his long strides on one such tramp when the dog took off after an animal and John and I left the group and chased the sound of the dog barks for miles. After a considerable chase we found the dog barking at a possum up a tree and now had to catch up with the group that were over an hour ahead. John set a steady pace but matching his considerably longer strides than mine led me to find many new muscles over the next few days.
I caught up with John at local wrestling tournaments watching Olly wrestle and it was good to have a catch up with him especially giving him a hard time about his little dog that had managed to get a fine from the doggy police for being off the lead up at Ross creek.
John was always interested in the CQB training and the last time I caught up with him was when I was working on a CQB training and management package and we briefly chatted.
EXPERIENCE
Clinical
Vietnam – First New Zealand Services Medical Team/Civilian Surgical Team 1970-71
Management of severe trauma, intensive care, regional and simple general anaesthesia. Extensive surgical, general and tropical medicine, public health experience.
Harlem Hospital, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA 1971-72
Abdominal surgery and intensive care with emphasis on management of gunshot and knife wounds, frequent involvement with treatment of narcotic abuse.
House Surgeon/Physician and Medical Registrar Positions 1972-75
General Medicine, Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Respiratory Medicine, Paediatrics, General and Orthopaedic Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Thoracic Surgery, Radiotherapy, Accident and Emergency, Endocrinology, Anaesthetic rotation as House Surgeon. Aviation Medicine Course with Defence Environmental Unit, Auckland, NZ. Part One FRACP Training Scheme.
Nepal 1975-77
Total medical care of approximately 100,000 people. All aspects of medical and surgical inpatient and outpatient care. Thirty five bed hospital with radiology, simple laboratory, pharmacy. 20,000 outpatients per annum. Major surgical and obstetrical care and associated anaesthesia: regional and/or intravenous. Extensive tropical medicine and public health experience. Comprehensive Village and Hospital Health Assistant Training schemes.
New Zealand Forces Hospital, Singapore 1977/1978-80
General Medicine, Tropical Medicine, General Surgery, Anaesthesia, Public Health, Veneriology, General Outpatient Care with General Practice, Community Medicine and Search
and Rescue. Post-graduate seminars in anaesthesia at Singapore General Hospital. Regimental Aid Posts with extensive field experience in Malaysian jungle.
Resident Medical Officer, Harley Street Clinic, London, UK 1977
136 bed hospital with six bed intensive care; main work in ICU with post-operative cardiac surgeon patients.
General Practice 1977-82
Obstetrics; Anaesthesia in Singapore and Woodbourne; Geriatrics at Ross Home, Dunedin; Student Health; Divisional Surgeon, St John's Ambulance Association – involving lecturing on First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.
Commanding Officer of RNZAF Base Hospital, Woodbourne, NZ 1980-82
Total medical care of 650 men and women, including obstetric cover. General practice with obstetrics.
Part time Medical Officer of Special Scale at Wairau General Hospital, Blenheim, NZ; duties including supervision and direction of House Staff and the Intensive Care Unit, provision of electrocardiogram reporting service for the hospital and general practitioners of Blenheim, and participation in twice weekly postgraduate clinical teaching sessions.
Senior House Officer/Registrar York District and Fulford Maternity Hospitals, York, England 1982-84
Anaesthesia for general, orthopaedic, ear nose throat, ophthalmological, oral, urological and paediatric surgery, accident and emergency cover, obstetrical anaesthesia with full epidural service, regional anaesthesia, pain clinic, radiology. Eight bed Intensive Care Unit. SHO and Nursing Staff tuition and supervision.
Senior Registrar Anaesthesia, Dunedin Public Hospital, Dunedin, NZ 1984-85
Full teaching hospital rotations including Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia, Pain Clinic, sixteen bed Intensive Care Unit including post cardiac surgery care. Medical Student, House Surgeon and Registrar teaching. Obstetrical Anaesthesia with epidural service.
Consultant Casualty Officer, Dunedin Public Hospital, Dunedin NZ 1985-86
Full Accident and Emergency cover.
Specialist Anaesthetist Mercy Hospital, Dunedin, NZ 1985-onwards
Anaesthesia for General, Vascular, Paediatric, Ophthalmological, ENT, Gynaecological, Orthopaedic and Urological Surgery, with day stay cases.
Consultant Anaesthetist, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Dunedin Public Hospital 1986-onwards
Reduction to 5/10 from 1987. Acute and Obstetrical cover with epidural service; General, Neurosurgical, major Vascular, Orthopaedic, Ear Nose Throat, Gynaecological, Paediatric and Ophthalmological anaesthesia.
Locum Consultant Anaesthetist, Cairns Base Hospital and Calvary Hospital, Cairns,
Australia 1989-90
General anaesthetic duties with acute cover and responsibility for Intensive Care Unit.
Specialist Anaesthetist NZ Forward Surgical Team, Suai, East Timor May 2000 & August 2001
Anaesthetic and Intensive Care services for New Zealand battalion and other UN forces in East Timor, including care of local East Timorese.
Regimental Medical Officer, New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team, Afghanistan Nov 2004 – Feb 2005
General medical duties; teaching and anaesthesia at Bamian Hospital; anaesthesia at US 325th Field Hospital, Bagram.
Service details; Colonel Roland WILSON:
Enlisted Aug 1978 in RNZAF as a specialist officer – doctor until Jul 1983. During 2000 and 2001 he completed two short engagements with NZDF as a civilian doctor. In April 2002 through to Nov 2004 he joined TF. In 2004-2005 and again in 2010 he took up RF engagements to deploy to Afghanistan.
Rank: made Sqn Leader in 1980. In the Army he was promoted to Major in 1994, Lt Colonel in 2005 and Col in 2009.
Awards: He received the NZ General Service Medal (Afghanistan) and the NZ Operational Service Medal on 23 May 2005 after his first deployment to Afghanistan and the NATO Medal for the Non-Article 5 Service for NATO Medal for ISAF Operations for his subsequent deployment in 2010.
