Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley | |
|---|---|
 Brigadier Neil Hamilton Fairley | |
| Born | 15 July 1891 Inglewood, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 19 April 1966 (aged 74) Sonning, Berkshire, England |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1946 |
| Rank | Brigadier |
| Service number | VX38970 |
| Commands | Director of Medicine at Allied Land Forces Headquarters 14th General Hospital |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Commander of the Order of St John Mentioned in Despatches (2) Fellow of the Royal Society[1] Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1947) Manson Medal (1950) |
| Relations | Gordon Hamilton-Fairley (son) |
Brigadier Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley, KBE, CStJ, FRACP, FRCP, FRCPE, FRS[1] (15 July 1891 – 19 April 1966) was an Australian physician, medical scientist, and army officer who was instrumental in saving thousands of Allied lives from malaria and other diseases.
A graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he was resident of Ormond College, Fairley joined the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1915. He investigated an epidemic of meningitis that was occurring in Army camps in Australia. While with the 14th General Hospital in Cairo, he investigated schistosomiasis (then known as bilharzia) and developed tests and treatments for the disease. In the inter-war period he became renowned as an expert on tropical medicine.
Fairley returned to the Australian Army during the Second World War as Director of Medicine. He played an important role in the planning for the Battle of Greece, convincing the British Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Archibald Wavell to alter his campaign plan to reduce the danger from malaria. In the South West Pacific Area, Fairley became responsible for co-ordinating the activities of all allied forces in the fight against malaria and other tropical diseases. Fairley again sounded the alarm on the dangers of malaria, persuading authorities in the United States and United Kingdom to greatly step up production of anti-malarial drugs. Through the activities of the LHQ Medical Research Unit, he fast-tracked research into new drugs. Fairley convinced the Army of the efficacy of the new drug atebrin, and persuaded commanders to adopt a tough approach to administering the drug to the troops.
After the war Fairley returned to London where he became a consulting physician to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Wellcome Professor of Tropical Medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. A serious illness in 1948 forced him to resign his professorship, but he retained his practice and membership of numerous committees, becoming an "elder statesman" of tropical medicine.