Born 9 Feb 1875 in Diggorra, Victoria, Australia

Husband of Jessie Scott (Louden) Vickers — married 13 Feb 1901 in Violet Town, Victoria, Australia

Died about 1958 at about age 82 in Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia

Biography

ROBERT (O'DONNELL) VICKERS (O'Donnell-1550)

PARENTS. Michael O'Donnell & Mary Ann (Brownlee) O'Donnell

BIRTH. 9 Feb 1875, Diggorra, Victoria, Australia.

BIRTH. VIC BDM Birth Reg: #11819/1875

Family name ODONNELL

Given names Robert

Event Birth

Father's name Michael

Mother's maiden name Mary Ann (Brounlee)

Place of birth ROCH

MARRIAGE. 13 Feb 1901, Violet Town, Victoria, Australia

MARRIAGE. 13 Feb 1901, Jessie Scott Louden, daughter of James Louden & Marion Christie (Scott) Louden

MARRIAGE. VIC BDM Marriage Reg: #01123 Name Jessie Scott Louden Spouse Robert Vickers Marriage Details Country Australia

Children:

PARENTS. Robert (O'Donnell) Vickers & Jessie Scott (Louden) Vickers

(1) Allan Robert Stanley Vickers, ^[1] b. 3 Jun 1901, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, d. 30 Oct 1967, aboard the Imperial Star off Cape Town , m. 1 Feb 1934, St Andrew's Anglican Church, Cloncurry, Lilias Hinah Ella Whitman, daughter of James William Lytton Whitman & Lily (McClelland) Whitman

Birth of Spouse:

BIRTH. QLD BDM Birth Reg: #C9683: 1909; Dinah Ella Lilias Whitman; Father: James William Lytton; Mother: Lily McClelland

Death of Spouse: Aft. 1975, location unknown

BIRTH. 3 Jun1901 Shepparton

Alan Roberts Stanley

Father: Robert VICKERS Farmer age 25 b Diggers, Vic

Mother: Jessie Scott LOUDEN age 22 b Melbourne Vic

Married: 13 Feb 1901 Violet Town Vic

MARRIAGE. QLD BDM Marriage Reg: #C310: 1934; Allan Robert Stanley Vickers; Lilias Dinah Ella Whitman

WEDDING REPORT. VICKERS—WHITMAN. On Tuesday last, Dr. Alan Vlckers, known throughout Australia as the "flying doctor," and pioneer of the Australian Inland Mission's aerial medical service, was married to Miss Lillas Whitman (daughter of Mr. J. L, Whitman, Cloncurry), a popular member of the Cloncurry Younger Set. AFTER their marriage Dr. and Mrs. Vickers left for Sydney, where they will join the Taiping for China, Dr. VIckers having been appointed relieving doctor for the trip. On his return Dr. Vickers expects to open a new branch of the aerial medical service for the Australlan Inland: Mission at Broome. Daily Standard (Brisbane, Qld. : 1912 - 1936) Fri 9 Feb 1934, Page 10 : http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/186783695

Children:

(1) Robert Vickers, b. abt. Nov 1936,

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT. FLYING DOCTOR'S SON. The wife of Dr. Alan Vickers, the Flying Doctor, has presented him with a son, their first child. Hundreds of telegrams of congratulation have been sent to Dr. and Mrs. Vickers at Port Hedland (Western Australia). The Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939) Wed 4 Nov 1936, Page 3: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/125356444

Dr Alan Vickers was the very first Flying Doctor in Charleville. His son, Robert, after completing primary school in Charleville left to go to boarding school and University before working as a surgeon in Toowoomba for 34 years. Ash Moore caught up with Dr Robert Vickers, who still considers himself a Charleville boy, at the opening of the new RFDS base in Charleville on the 31st of October [?2015?]. They spoke about his Dad and what it was like growing up in Charleville in the early days of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. ABC Western Queensland: https://soundcloud.com/abc-western-queensland/charlevilles-first-flying-doctor

See also: Communication up in the air for first doctor: http://www.dm2architecture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/TWT_06-11-2014.pdf

(2) David Vickers,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS. Orthopaedic Surgeon and Microsurgery pioneer Prof David Vickers AM has received the ESR Hughes Award for Distinguished Contributions to Surgery

One of the College’s most prestigious awards – the ESR Hughes Award for Distinguished Contributions to Surgery – was presented to Orthopaedic Surgeon and Microsurgery pioneer Professor David Vickers AM at the Annual Scientific Congress (ASC) held in Brisbane. Professor Vickers, now retired, gained renown over the course of his career not only for his ground-breaking surgical procedures and anatomical discoveries but also for his design of novel surgical instruments developed to aid surgeons conducting hand and micro surgery. In particular, he became an international authority on the early surgical treatment of Madelung deformity and his discovery of a ligament in the wrist not previously observed was later named after him to become known as the Vickers ligament. His other novel techniques included the use of microsurgery and physeal (growth plate) surgery to correct traumatic partial growth plate fusion and to prevent progress of deformity in children with congenital abnormalities including Delta phalanx. He also described a method to separate syndactyly without skin graft. The author of 14 chapters or contributions in nine medical textbooks, and 14 papers in journals, Professor Vickers’ article on Madelung Deformity – titled Surgical Prophylaxis (physiolysis) – was chosen in 1995 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand as one of the most important 50 papers in congenital surgery in the previous 50 years. His ergonomic micro surgical instruments, commonly known as the Vickers Universal Microsurgery Set, won the British Design Council Award for Excellence of Design in 1982 and were sold in 30 countries. Since then, a new set of his instruments for Hand Surgery has been manufactured in Germany and sold worldwide. In 1994, Professor Vickers was a Guest Professor at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, Department of Hand Surgery. As a result of his presentations he was invited to write two chapters for the Mayo Clinic Textbook “The Wrist”. A former Chair of a number of national and international hand surgery societies and committees, Professor Vickers was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2006 for service to medicine in the area of paediatric microsurgery through the development of surgical procedures to treat congenital deformities, to the design of specialised operating instruments and services to professional organisations. The son of a doctor who became a pioneer of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, Professor Vickers said adaptation, persistence and lateral thinking had been pivotal aspects of his childhood which had naturally influenced his subsequent professional development. “My father Dr Allan Vickers was asked by John Flynn to help save the flying doctor service – the first in the world – because it was failing in those early days 85 years ago and he opened several bases in outback Australia and established working protocols,” Professor Vickers said. “He and his pilot would set off with no radio assistance, few maps and in unreliable aircraft and they basically followed the railway lines to get where they were going. “In the process he taught me that things can be done through planning and courage - no matter the challenge. “I grew up in Charleville during WWII at a time when we had very little access to consumer goods so if you couldn’t make it or fix it, you couldn’t have it and that had an indelible effect on me.” Professor Vickers spent the majority of his working life combining his private practice with equal time working in the public health system at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. He said that while microsurgery was relatively new to Australia in the early 1970s, he found the challenge irresistible. “I was asked by my boss at the time to look into microsurgery and one of the first things I discovered was that we needed new instruments that would allow us to perform delicate, time-consuming work,” he said. “I designed those instruments in my own time and with my own funds and once that was done I began to investigate congenital musculoskeletal deformities that could be treated with microsurgical techniques. “At the time, conducting orthopaedic procedures on babies or even tackling growth plate surgery was avoided as too risky because children were still growing, but I thought if we designed the surgery correctly we could change the lives of our young patients. “Orthopaedic microsurgery was a very dynamic field to be involved in and I feel fortunate that I had the chance not only to teach myself but to teach others.” Throughout the course of his career, Professor Vickers presented 32 scientific papers at International Congresses and 51 presentations at Australian Conferences all of which described his new surgical techniques or his novel surgical instruments. The winner for Best Presentation at the Australian Hand Surgery Annual Congress three times, Professor Vickers was frequently invited overseas to lecture and teach and he conducted 18 microsurgery workshop demonstrations both here and abroad. He said that his greatest professional achievement was introducing an early surgical intervention to treat Madelung deformity, a treatment which had a great impact on the lives of affected children. “Until then, surgeons often waited until the child had stopped growing which made for much more complex surgery which could not really correct all the damage,” Professor Vickers said. “When I first started researching this as a surgeon, I discovered the ligament responsible for the deformity which had not been identified previously because Madelung had described the condition in the days before x-ray or MRI scans were available. “That was very exciting and it opened a whole new surgical treatment pathway for the condition. “I feel very privileged to have been working in such a dynamic field at such an early time and I feel enormously honoured to receive the ESR Hughes Award.” Inaugurated in 1998, the ESR Hughes Award was created in recognition of the outstanding contributions made to surgery by Sir Edward Hughes, a world renowned colorectal surgeon. SURGICAL NEWS THE ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS VOL 17 NO 06 JULY 2016, p45: https://www.surgeons.org/media/24441216/art-2016-07-25-surgical-news-july-2016.pdf

(1937). Dr. Alan Vickers, the flying doctor of the North-West of Western Australia, left Port Hedland on Sunday by the Koolinda for Fremantle. He is commencing three months' holiday and is accompanied by Mrs. Vickers and their infant son. He expects to leave Perth on Sunday by mail plane for Melbourne, and, being an ardent angler, will spend most of his holiday fishing. Dr. Vickers is being relieved by Dr. Lawson, of Melbourne. The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) Wed 22 Dec 1937, Page 18: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41601035

(1938). Dr. Vickers Visiting Albury. The fine service that is being given to dwellers in the great North- West, through the successful functioning of the Australian Aerial Medical Service, was outlined by Dr. Alan Vickers, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vickers, of Mate-street, Albury, who is on three months' leave from his many duties at Port Hedland, Western Australia. Dr.

Vickers is known as "The Flying Doctor." From his office at Port Hedland, Dr. Vickers besides carrying- out the duties of resident magistrate, mining warden, quarantine officer, harbor master, chief protector of aborigines, and medical officer to three hospitals, finds time as the 'flying doctor' to keep dwellings in far removed localities in health. Dr. Vickers thinks the North-West has tremendous possibilities of contributing largely to Australia's wealth, because of its rich mineral deposits. Asked what were the mineral deposits in the North West, Dr. Vickers replied that only the surface of some of the richest lodes had been scratched. The only known deposit of tantalite in the world was to be found there. It was worth £1000 a ton — while gold was being won in large quantities. "There are many signs of progress in this locality, which only a few decades ago was not trodden by man," said Dr. Vickers. Large holdings measured by the square mile were producing wool and meat, but growers were experiencing difficulty in finding economic markets. Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW : 1896 - 1938) Fri 7 Jan 1938, Page 9: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/102340597

WWII Service Record

Name VICKERS, ALLAN ROBERT STANLEY

Service Australian Army

Service Number W233394

Date of Birth 10 Jun 1901

Place of Birth CANIAMBO, VIC

Date of Enlistment 12 Jun 1940

Locality on Enlistment NEDLANDS, WA

Place of Enlistment PERTH, WA

Next of Kin VICKERS, LILIAS

Date of Discharge 27 Jul 1943

Rank Lieutenant

Posting at Discharge Australian Army Medical Corps

WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display

Prisoner of War No

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=825931&c=WW2

(1946). Dr. A. R. Vickers, after establishing a base at Charleville, is spending his first holiday for 2½ years. He and his wife and two sons are the guests of Mr and Mrs John Elliott at Toowoomba. He leaves later to go to Albury, N.S.W., where he intends to do some trout fishing. Mrs John Elliott and Mrs Alan Vickers were formerly the Misses Lillias and Mavis Whitman, daughters of Mr Whitman, Cloncurry. Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954) Tue 29 Jan 1946, Page 4: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62871267

(1950). DR. AND MRS, ALLAN VICKERS (Charleville) are the guests of Mr. and Mrs. J. Hulbert, Esplanade, Southport. Dr. Vickers, who is well known as the Flying Doctor of the south-west, will leave shortly for Kosciusko, where he intends spending a well-earned holiday trout fishing. Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 - 1954) Wed 25 Jan 1950, Page 22: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/216590983

(1953). For the past month, Mrs Allan Vickers, of Charleville, wife of the Flying Doctor, has been visiting her brother-in-law and sister, Mr and Mrs John Elliot, at Yeppoon. Mr Elliot is manager of the Bank of New South Wales there. The visit to Central Queenland's popular tourist resort afforded Mrs Vickers the opportunity of a reunion with her father, Mr Litton Whitman, formerly a chemist at Cloncurry, who is now living, in retirement at Yeppoon and with other relatives, Mr and Mrs Bert Bannon, Mr and Mrs Jack Whitman and family (Rockhampton) and Mr and Mrs Paul Whitman (Brisbane). Mrs Vickers, who is accompanied by her younger son, David, will leave for Brisbane today to enjoy a further holiday at Southport before travelIing home to Charleville. Her elder son, Robert, who is a student at Slade's School, Warwick, is attending a cadet camp. Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954) Thu 15 Jan 1953, Page 3: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57243985

(1954). HOLIDAYING at Yeppoon for the next two weeks are Dr and Mrs Allan Vickers and their two sons, Robert and David, who arrived from Brisbane this week. They are the guests of relatives, Mr and Mrs J Elliot at the Bank of New South Wales. Dr and Mrs Vickers recently returned to Australia from England. They are formerly of Charleville where Dr Vickers was associated with the Flying Doctor Service. Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954) Thu 16 Dec 1954, Page 3: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57348231

==

(2) Russell James Barton Vickers, b.23 Jun 1904, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, d. Jul 1978, m. abt. 1935, Katherine Stewart, daughter of ??

CREMATION. Springvale Botanical Cemetery; Vickers Russell James Barton; Cremated; Date of Service: 18/07/1978; Location: The cremated remains have been collected

(3) Percy Gordon Keith Vickers, b. 26 Jan 1906, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, d. ??, m. 15 Jan 1941, Honor Edith Broadfoot, daughter of A. J. Broadfoot & ??

ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT. The engagement is announced of Miss Honor Edith Broadfoot, youngest daughter of Mr. A. J. Broadfoot, of Wagga. and the late Mrs. Broadfoot, to Mr. Percy. Vickers, third son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vickers, of Albury. Cootamundra Herald (NSW : 1877 - 1954) Thu 27 Jul 1939, Page 3: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144483515

MARRIAGE. NSW BDM Marriage Reg: #2909/1941: VICKERS PERCY GORDON KEITH; BROADFOOT HONOR EDITH; District of WAGGA WAGGA

WEDDING REPORT. VICKERS— BROADFOOT St. John's Church, Wagga, was

chosen by Miss Honor Edith Broadfoot for her marriage on January 15, to Mr. Percy Gordon Vickers. The bride is the youngest daughter of Mr. A. J. Broadfoot, 96 Best-street, Wagga and the late Mrs. Broadfoot, and the bridegroom is the third son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Vickers, Tribune-street. Albury. The Rev. S. Broadfoot, the bride 's uncle, officiated. . . . Albury Banner Wodonga Express and Riverina Stock Journal (NSW : 1941) Fri 7 Feb 1941, Page 34: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/138908751

POSSIBLE DEATH. NSW BDM Death Reg: #VICKERS PERCY 103440/1979 DIED NEW LAMBTON

(4) Raymond Leslie Vickers, b. 11 Apr 1903, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, d. 1910, Albury, NSW

DEATH. NSW BDM Death Reg: #4376/1910: VICKERS RAYMOND L; Father: ROBERT; Mother: JESSIE S; District of ALBURY

(5) Albert Rivers Vickers, b. 7 Apr 1909, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, d. aft. 1980, m. 6 Mar 1931,Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, Winifred Elsie M. Archer, daughter of Austin Archer & Annie M. (Demmery) Archer

(6) Harold Rupert Vickers, b. 17 Oct 1914, d. 3 Mar 1987, Albury, NSW, m. 30 Jun 1945, England, Mary Suzanne Kidner, daughter of ??

WWII Service Record

Name VICKERS, HAROLD RUPERT

Service Royal Australian Air Force

Service Number 408540

Date of Birth 17 Oct 1914

Place of Birth ALBURY, NSW

Date of Enlistment 23 May 1942

Locality on Enlistment Unknown

Place of Enlistment MELBOURNE, VIC

Next of Kin VICKERS, MARY

Date of Discharge 17 Jan 1946

Rank Flight Lieutenant

Posting at Discharge 544 Squadron

WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display

Prisoner of War No

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=R&veteranId=1066430

(1942). PERSONAL. COMES FROM A FLYING FAMILY. L.A.C. HAROLD VICKERS has an interesting job in the R.A.A.F. From slides he makes silhouettes by tracing, so that Air Force trainees can learn aircraft identification. L.A.C Vickers is a brother of Dr. Alan Vickers, the flying doctor mentioned in Ion L. Idriess' book 'Flynn of the Inland,' and now Lieut. -Col. Vickers, in charge of General Military Hospital. Perth. The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) Sat 3 Jan 1942, Page 12: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/55767246

MARRIAGE.

Name Harold R Vickers

Event Type Marriage Registration

Registration Quarter Jul-Aug-Sep

Registration Year 1945

Registration District Edmonton

County Middlesex

Event Place Edmonton, Middlesex, England

Spouse Name (available after 1911) Kidner

Volume 3A, Page 2627, Line Number 115

Harold R Vickers probably married one of the following people

Name Mary B Kidner

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVDM-P3CD

(7) Walter Clyde Victor Vickers, b. 8 Apr 1911, Albury, NSW, d. 20 Jul 1977, NSW, m. 1939, Doris Kathleen Boundy, daughter of ??

DEATH. NSW BDM Death Reg: #17331/1977: VICKERS WALTER CLYDE VICTOR; Father: ROBERT, Mother: JESSIE SCOT

BURIAL. Albury Cemetery, corner Waugh Road and Fallon Street, North Albury, New South Wales , Australia

Also buried: Wife: Doris Kathleen: d. 30 Jun 1976

Remembered: Son: Peter James Vickers, d. 27 Oct 1961

Remembered: Son: David John Vickers, d. 31 Aug 1982, aged 35 years

(8) Vimy Constance Vickers, b. 24 Feb 1920, Albury, NSW, d. 2003, m. 1945, Kenneth Brian Innes Smith, son of James Moffat Smith & Mary (Mackay) Smith

MARRIAGE. NSW BDM Marriage Reg: #7097/1945: Smith Kenneth Brian Innes; Vickers Vimy Constance; District of Albury

Birth of Spouse: BIRTH. SA BDM Birth Reg: #50A/468: 1920; SMITH Kenneth Brian Innes; Father: James Moffat SMITH; Mother: Mary MACKAY; District of Adelaide

WWII Service Record

Name SMITH, KENNETH BRIAN INNES

Service Royal Australian Air Force

Service Number O4730 (407132)

Date of Birth 14 Feb 1920

Place of Birth ADELAIDE, SA

Date of Enlistment 22 Jun 1940

Locality on Enlistment BRIGHTON, SA

Place of Enlistment ADELAIDE, SA

Next of Kin SMITH, VIMY

Date of Discharge 16 Jun 1945

Rank Flight Lieutenant

Posting at Discharge 80 SQUADRON

WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display

Prisoner of War No

http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=R&veteranId=1204657

DEATH NOTICE. South Australian Advertiser: SMITH Vimy Constance (Connie); 2003

WWI Service Record:

Name: Robert Vickers

Service No: 6187

Place of Birth: Rochester, VIC, Australia

Place of Enlistment: Warwick Farm, NSW, Australia

Next of Kin: Vickers, Jessie Scott (wife)

http://australiaremembers.net.au/anzacstories/anzac/?aid=217213&let=#book5/page2-page3 WWI Enlistment Record: Robert Vickers http://australiaremembers.net.au/anzacstories/anzac/?aid=217213&let=#book5/page4-5

Death of Spouse: 1943, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

DEATH. NSW BDM Death Reg: #15874/1943: VICKERS JESSIE SCOTT; Father: JAMES; Mother: MARION; District of ALBURY

Marriage of Spouse's Parents:

MARRIAGE. VIC BDM Marriage Reg: #04123

Name James Louden

Spouse Name Marion Christie

Marriage Details

Country Australia

DEATH. Abt. 1958, Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia

DEATH. VIC BDM Death Reg: #15420

Name Robert Vickers

Age at Death 83

Mother Name Bramley Mary Ann [sic, Brownlee Mary Ann]

Father Name George

Location of Last Residence

Death Place VIC Ivan

Sources

1. ↑ Vickers, Allan Robert Stanley (1901–1967), by Michael J. Richards, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, (MUP), 1990: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/vickers-allan-robert-stanley-8919

• Marriage: VIC BDM Marriage Reg: #01123

• Death: VIC BDM Death Reg: #15420