Rectangular paper glossy monochrome photograph of Major Allan Manchester Davidson performing operation on patient’s hand in military operating room; Major Davidson is wearing surgical mask and is seated in centre with anesthetist to his left wearing surgical mask and holding anesthesia mask to pati…
Rectangular paper glossy monochrome photograph of Major Allan Manchester Davidson performing operation on patient’s hand in military operating room; Major Davidson is wearing surgical mask and is seated in centre with anesthetist to his left wearing surgical mask and holding anesthesia mask to patient’s mouth; two additional personnel wearing surgical masks and caps standing to Major Davidson’s right; all are wearing military uniforms; hand written notes and maple leaf stamp appear on back; photograph taken in Egypt at the United Nations Hospital Middle East in 1957.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Belonged to donor; photograph of donor's father, Lieutenant Colonel Allan M. Davidson, taken at United Nations Hospital Middle East in 1957.
Lt. Col. Davidson (then Major) served in Egypt/Gaza Strip in 1957; hand written date on back September 16/57
Material
paper: cream, white
ink: black, blue
Inscriptions
Hand written on back in blue ink: “Sep 16/57 // 4 x 5 ½ // Surgeon At Work”; hand written in black ink: “Major Allan M. Davidson, Surgeon // United Nations Hospital Middle East (Egypt)”; stamped in black ink: “ME822”
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-G Military Medicine Binder pg 6 a
Length
21.0 cm
Width
16.8 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Condition Remarks
Minor warping of substrate; minor soiling all over back
Copy Type
original
Reference Types
Documents
Website
Reference Comments
Donor file (018.014)
"The Canadian Armed Forces in Egypt." Veterans Affairs Canada, Government of Canada, 2019. Accessed 11 July 2019.
Research Facts
Lieutenant Colonel Allan M. Davidson was a medical officer in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps; Lt. Col. Davidson had a distinguished military and medical career, holding chief and head surgical positions at several hospitals in Canada and around the world; in addition to his service in Korea, Lt. Col. Davidson was also posted to Japan; he served in Egypt at the United Nations Hospital Middle East in 1957, the Gaza Strip, and represented the Surgeon General as Canadian Forces Medical Liaison Officer with The Surgeon General U. S. Army in Washington D. C. from 1962 to 1964; Lt. Col. Davidson retired from the military in 1970 and entered civilian practice in Peterborough, Ontario.
A hand written note on the back of the photograph states it was taken in 1957 at the United Nations Hospital Middle East (Egypt). Canadian Forces and other U. N. peacekeeping forces were deployed to Egypt and the Gaza Strip following conflict in the region over control of the Suez Canal; Egypt achieved independence following the Second World War, but the British and French still controlled the Suez Canal; in 1956, Egypt forcibly took control of the Canal, prompting Great Britain, France, and Israel to respond militarily; the global response to the Suez Crisis was the first major U. N. peacekeeping mission in history, which is seen as the beginning of modern international peacekeeping; medical support was one of the major Canadian contributions; future Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, then Minister of External Affiars, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in organizing the peacekeeping mission; Egypt and the Gaza Strip remained a hot spot for conflict in the decades following the Suez Crisis.