Kiernan John Joseph "Skipper" Dorney (9 January 1912 – 30 August 2007) was an Australian surgeon and one of the most decorated doctors of the Australian war effort. He was educated at St Kevin's College in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and studied engineering at Melbourne University before transferring to medicine, in which he graduated in 1937. He worked at St Vincent's Hospital before enlisting in the armed forces on 4 December 1939. First posted to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, he subsequently served in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, where he was captured by the invading Germans. He escaped the

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

camp and lived in hiding until he was able to gain passage on a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

boat to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Following a period of illness, he then served in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

with the 9th Division, and then in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

; during a leave in Melbourne between Syria and New Guinea, he was married and promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

for acts of bravery in New Guinea. Later promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, Dorney commanded the 2/3 Field Ambulance in Labuan and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

, and during the war was thrice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(twice in Africa and once in New Guinea). Following the war he returned to surgical training, becoming fully qualified in 1947. From 1947 to 1949 he was medical superintendent at Latrobe Hospital in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

before he was recruited to become medical superintendent of

Townsville General Hospital Townsville University Hospital (TUH), formerly The Townsville Hospital (TTH), is a public tertiary care hospital on Angus Smirth Drive, Douglas, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is the largest facility within the Townsville Hospital and He ...

. In 1952 he volunteered to serve in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, where he was a surgeon with the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, t ...

. On his return, finding that his post at Townsville had been filled, he moved into private practice. He served briefly as medical superintendent following his successor's retirement in 1971. In 1971 Dorney was part of a civilian team sent to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, where he served for three months. From 1960 to 1982 he was Chairman of the North Queensland Conference Committee of the

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...

, and he was also closely involved in the local

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. He established the North Queensland branch of the

Endeavour Foundation Endeavour Foundation is a not-for-profit charity headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the largest disability service providers in Australia, employing over 1800 staff and supported by 1200 volunteers. The organisation ...

, of which he later became Queensland Vice-President, and also served as chairman of the Women's Catholic Residential College of St Raphael's at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

from 1974 to 1982. He was also a member of the university's council from 1971 to 1982. He later retired to

Buderim Buderim ( ) is an urban centre on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It sits on a mountain which overlooks the southern Sunshine Coast communities. In the , the urban area of Buderim had a population of 54,483. The name "Buderim" i ...

, and was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1992. In 2005 he was awarded the Tribute Medal for the Battle of Crete by the Greek government. Dorney was also involved in politics as a member of the Democratic Labor Party, standing several times as a candidate. He died in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorney, Kiernan 1912 births 2007 deaths Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Australia Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Australian surgeons University of Melbourne alumni Australian Army personnel of World War II Democratic Labor Party (historical) politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century surgeons Australian colonels Australian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Escapees from German detention Australian military personnel of the Korean War