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[Page 13]
Surgeon Todd and myself attended the more serious cases and directed the first aid party with the simpler ones. I tried hard to keep the sick bay clear and ready for operations later, but we were soon crowded out of the ward room and the sick bay had to be used as a dressing station, the wounded being placed along the neighbouring corridors & spaces adjacent and soon there was scarcely room to move there.
Besides the 70 wounded received that day, there were over 110 prisoners and 20 chinamen from the sunken collier, so the crowding can be imagined, seeing that we were a crowded ship before. Of necessity the work done now was only immediate and temporary till the cases could be sorted out and put under anaesthesia in a clear theatre. From 35 to 40 of the cases were serious, the rest being more or less slightly wounded, and they were able to help themselves somewhat & wait. The condition of many was pitiable, some had legs shattered & just hanging; others had shattered forearms; others were burnt from head to foot; others had large pieces of flesh torn out of limbs & body. One man was deaf & dumb, several were stone deaf in addition to other injuries.
The worst sight was a poor fellow who had his face literally blown away. His right eye, nose, and most of both cheeks were missing. His mouth and lips were unrecognisable, the tongue, pharynx, and nasal cavity were exposed, part of his lower jaw was left and the soft tissues were severed from the neck under his chin, so that the face really consisted of two curtains of soft tissue hanging loosely from the forehead, with a gap in the centre like an advanced case of rodent ulcer. In addition.