Rupert Downes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 February 1885 Mitcham, South Australia |
| Died | 5 March 1945 (aged 60) near Cairns, Queensland |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1901–1903 1908–1945 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Service number | VX57673 |
| Unit | Australian Army Medical Corps |
| Commands | 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John Volunteer Decoration Mentioned in Despatches (4) |
| Relations | Major Downes (father) |
Major General Rupert Major Downes, CMG, KStJ, VD, FRACS (10 February 1885 – 5 March 1945) was an Australian soldier, surgeon and historian.
The son of British Army officer Major Francis Downes, Downes joined the Army as a trumpeter while he was still at school. He attended the University of Melbourne, graduating with his medical degrees in 1907 and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1911. He was commissioned as a captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1908, and after the outbreak of the First World War he joined the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1914 as its youngest lieutenant colonel. He served in the Gallipoli campaign, and was appointed Assistant Director of Medical Services (ADMS) of the newly formed Anzac Mounted Division in 1916, which he combined with the post of ADMS AIF Egypt. In 1917, he became Deputy Director of Medical Services (DDMS) of the Desert Mounted Corps. After the war, he wrote articles on medical aspects of the Sinai and Palestine campaign, and the section on the campaign for the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918.
Returning to Australia, Downes became an honorary consulting surgeon at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, and honorary surgeon at Prince Henry's Hospital. He became a foundation fellow of the College of Surgeons of Australasia in 1927, and president of the Victorian branch of the British Medical Association in 1935. He lectured on medical ethics at the University of Melbourne, writing the course textbook. He was also Victorian state commissioner of the St John Ambulance Brigade, which he led for 25 years, and president of the St John Ambulance Association for eight years.
In 1934 Downes became Director General of Medical Services, the Australian Army's most senior medical officer, with the rank of major general. He oversaw the construction of major military hospitals in the capital cities. In 1944 he accepted a commission to edit the medical series volumes of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945 but he was killed in a plane crash in March 1945, before he could begin the work.