Dr. Peter Edward Mayner
Dr. Peter Edward Mayner
(December
14,1938-January , 2023)
Foreword There are people who, due to their actions and their moral compass, have
left an indelible mark on what was the South Atlantic conflict . The intention
of this blog is to honor them and perpetuate their memory both for their
relatives and for combatants on both sides, thus consolidating the
reconciliation process.
There are many parents of British soldiers and young Argentine
conscripts who owe eternal gratitude to Dr. Peter Mayner, who was the senior surgeon on the SS Canberra in 1982.
On this ship, built in the Harland and Wolff shipyards, Belfast, Northern
Ireland, Dr. Mayner participated in the treatment of 172 Argentine and British
patients all of whom recovered.6
BackgroundWe know from the Haileybury Society (Haileybury College alumni association), that Dr. Peter Edward Mayner represented his school in boxing between 1955 and 1957 and studied classics at Trinity College, Cambridge.Dr. Mayner played rugby, cricket, squash and tennis. In Malvern (Worcestershire county borough), his home, he became a member of Malvern Rugby Club, Manor Park Tennis Club and Hadley Bowling Club. 3Also being a diver, he belonged to the Cambridge Underwater Exploration Society. He also enjoyed flying and trained with the University of Birmingham Air Squadron (RAF).He supported the Friends of the English Spring Orchestra, helped write two local history books, and was a long-time trustee of ARCOS (Association for the Rehabilitation of Communication and Oral Skills) a Malvern charity. He completed his medical studies at the Queen Elizabeth Medical School Birmingham. Birmingham Medical School dates from 1820.For 22 years he worked as a cruise surgeon, especially with the company P&O. This last is a Cruise line of British-American nationality based in Southampton, England.Dr. Mayner was aboard the SS Canberra, docked in Naples when the ship was requisitioned by the British Ministry of Defense to serve as a hospital ship in the 1982 conflict. 5 The interior of the cruise went from having two restaurants and several dance floors, to having rooms with hospitalization beds and two surgical teams where 84 operations were performed in which Dr. Mayner and his team intervened.4 Together with Dr. Rick Jolly, he participated in the preparations for the inevitable casualties that the Task Force anticipated. Mayner recalls "we were the largest blood transfusion unit in the South Atlantic."
In the 94 days since Southampton set sail she sailed 27,187 miles and served 646,847 mealsThe combat
On May 21, 1982, the SS Canberra was very close to Argentine air raids and, as Mayner recalls, “The attacks occurred every half hour. If we had been hit, we would have had no chance of survival. We couldn't believe how lucky we were."The SS Canberra (nicknamed the Great White Whale) transported over 9,000 miles to 5,200 Royal Marines and Paras to the combat zone.6 After the war, Argentine pilots said they were ordered not to attack the SS Canberra as it it was thought to be a hospital ship. (Ward, Sharkey (1992). "24". Sea Harrier over the Falklands. Cassell Military Paperbacks. p.271. ISBN 0-304-35542-9).In the following days the SS Canberra received Argentine wounded. Due to the fighting, part of the blood bank reserves had to be brought ashore by the Field Surgical Team, so the lack of blood on the SS Canberra could be resolved, because the Argentine prisoners of war offered themselves as blood donors.4
At the SS Canberra, the blood groups of bleeding patients were checked. Only a 2.7 percent error was found between the actual blood group and the stamp on their dog tags.1,2
Argentine wounded, on the SS Canberra. From left to right: Lt. Humberto Martínez, 1st Lieutenant Luis Brun, 1st Sergeant Humberto Medina. Members of the section of Cap. Vercesi, from the Ca 602 Commandos that fought at Top Malo House. They are attended by Dr. Mayner. Image from the first days of June. (image received from Luis Brun, author unknown)4
Patient Testimonial Among those assisted by Dr. Mayner (June 16) was Conscript Ariel Tascon who on June 14 dragged his left foot completely engorged, affected by trench foot.4First Corporal Jorge Marchesini was struck by a shrapnel in his left arm, causing a deep wound with intense bleeding. He underwent surgery. Marchesini remembers when entering the operating room: “the faces of the nurses with their masks and the angry face with which they looked at me. Then Dr. Mayner, before I was put under anesthesia, noticed my nervousness. He told me to stay calm, accompanying his words with a thumbs-up gesture."
The SS Canberra arrives at Puerto Madryn The capacity of the SS Canberra was 3,351 passengers, but at the end of the conflict it carried 4,144 Argentine prisoners on board, added to its civilian crew and military personnel.4 On Saturday, June 19, the captain of the SS Canberra, D. J. Scott Mason, spotted the Patagonian coasts and, raising the Argentine flag at the top, docked at the Almirante Storni dock in Puerto Madryn (Chubut). Note:Puerto Madryn was founded on July 28, 1865, the day 150 Welshmen arrived on these Argentine coasts aboard the Mimosa and who named this natural port Puerto Madryn in homage to Loves Jones Parry, who was Baron de Madryn in the Welsh country.. Dr. Mayner retired from P&O in 1996 and continued as a medical adviser to Avery Berkel in Birmingham and on the Board of Shipping in London. He attended the San Carlos Dinner in Plymouth every year and even returned on one occasion to the islands with other war veterans. Due to a family commitment, he did not participate in the national commemoration of the 25th anniversary. Dr. Mayner passed away on January 19, 2023 at the age of 84 leaving behind a wife, daughter, and two grandchildren. The funeral was held at Malvern Grand Priory at noon on Tuesday 28 February 2023. 6,7
Bibliography:
1-Gerding,
Eduardo-A distinguished visit
Captain Martin Reed RD-
2-Gerding,
Eduardo-The 1982 South Atlantic Conflict`s Aftermath
http://nottinghammalvinas.blogspot.com/2013/08/2002-1982-south-atlantic-conflicts.html?m=1
3- Malvern Gazette-
https://www.malverngazette.co.uk/news/malvern/1491784.doctor-is-caught-up-
in-battle-for-islands/
4-Stoessel, German Andres Forestal Engineer-The
postcard of the Canberra.
blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8761751389644744067/6353874185418159787
5- The Haileybury Society
-https://www.hailsoc.org/news/dr-peter-mayner-th-52
6-The Telegraph-March 5, 2023-Dr Teddy
Mayner, ship’s surgeon who carried out vital work during the Falklands War – Obituary
https://www.google.com/search?q=6-The+Telegraph-March+5%2C+2023-Dr+Teddy+Mayner%2C+ship%E2%80%99s+surgeon+who+carried+out+vital+work+during+the+Falklands+War+%E2%80%93+Obituary&oq=6-The+Telegraph-March+5%2C+2023-Dr+Teddy+Mayner%2C+ship%E2%80%99s+surgeon+who+carried+out+vital+work+during+the+Falklands+War+%E2%80%93+Obituary&aqs=chrome..69i57.1741j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
7- Worcester News.
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/memorials/death-notices/death/30524201.peter-edward-dr-mayner/.
