Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Brian Thomas McMahon (born 1929) is a retired

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

officer. He worked as a

venereologist Venereology is a branch of medicine that is concerned with the study and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The name derives from Roman goddess Venus, associated with love, beauty and fertility. A physician specializing in vener ...

before joining the Defence Force and served in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970. He also served in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore. From 1980 to 1983, he was director-general of Defence Force Medical Services. After retiring from the Defence Force, McMahon worked as medical superintendent of the

Wakari Hospital Wakari Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is situated in the suburb of Wakari, about three kilometres north-west of the city centre. The hospital is operated by the Southern District Health Board (formerly Ota ...

and then Dunedin Hospital. In retirement he has carried out charity work, particularly in relation to leprosy. He was given the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association ANZAC of the Year Award in 2011.

Early life

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1929, Brian McMahon was educated at Otago Boys' High School. He went on to the University of Otago, and is a graduate of its

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

. He worked part-time as a

in several New Zealand hospitals from 1953.

Military service

McMahon began a career in the

in 1966 as resident medical officer at the Waiouru Military Camp. In 1968, he was appointed to run the sexual health services of the Defence Force. In 1969, McMahon served with the New Zealand forces in the Vietnam War, as part of the 1st New Zealand Services Medical Team. He left Vietnam in 1970, and later served in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia, the latter occasion as medical officer to the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. McMahon was appointed director-general of Defence Force Medical Services in 1980 and retired in 1983. During the same period, McMahon served as

Honorary Surgeon to the Queen The Medical Household is the medical part of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the Monarch, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It mainly comprises a range of Physicians and Surgeons to the Sovereign and to the Royal Hous ...

Later life

After leaving the military, McMahon served as medical superintendent of

and then Dunedin Hospital. He was also medical officer of health in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

and Southland, and a senior lecturer at Otago Medical School. In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, McMahon was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. The same year he became an officer of the

Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

, being appointed a commander in the same order in 1985 and a knight in 1990. He is also a knight commander of the

Order of St Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care bec ...

. In retirement, McMahon has continued to mentor medical students. He was appointed to the honorary role of colonel commandant of the

Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps The Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps (RNZAMC) is a corps of the New Zealand Army, the land branch of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). The Medical Corps provides for the medical needs of soldiers, such as diagnosing and treating diseases ...

in 1992 and held that role until 1995. He was appointed to a second term from 2005 to 2008. McMahon served as life governor of Otago Boys' High School Old Boys' Society from 2000 to 2017 when he voluntarily relinquished the role. In 1998, McMahon returned to Vietnam to reopen a hospital at

Bong Son A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis (drug), cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper po ...

that had been destroyed during the war. During the trip he visited the site where a friend and sergeant had been killed by a land mine in front of McMahon. McMahon is a member of the Leprosy Trust Board Fiji and regularly visits the South West Pacific and South East Asia on missions with the Pacific Leprosy Foundation. He has also helped to raise $3 million for the neurosurgery chair at Dunedin Hospital. In April 2011, McMahon was awarded the second Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association ANZAC of the Year Award, which was presented to him by the governor-general, Sir Anand Satyanand, at

Government House, Wellington Government House, Wellington, is the principal residence of the governor-general of New Zealand, the representative of the New Zealand head of state, King Charles III. Dame Cindy Kiro, who has been Governor-General since October 2021, currentl ...

. He was also appointed the first patron of the University of Otago Medical School Brain Health Research Centre. In 2019, a scholarship was established in McMahon's name for second-year Bachelor of Health Science students at Auckland University of Technology. The $10,000 scholarship was funded by Veterans' Affairs New Zealand and the Ranfurly Veterans Trust, and commemorates New Zealand medical personnel of the Vietnam War. McMahon has five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Brian 1929 births Living people Health professionals from Dunedin People educated at Otago Boys' High School New Zealand brigadiers New Zealand medical doctors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Order of St John University of Otago alumni New Zealand military personnel of the Vietnam War Venereologists Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) Military personnel from Dunedin