Some things are worth fighting for – War Surgeon and Socialist Doug Jolly

Central Otago-born Doug Jolly served on the front lines throughout the Spanish Civil War and in WW2, developing innovative systems for treating patients as soon as possible after they were injured. His systems were widely used by UK and US surgeons in WW2 and later wars, and their influence can be traced today in the emergency surgery practised in both war and peace time.

Jolly was a lifelong non-aligned socialist, although his politics evolved from Christian socialism and dedicated pacifism to a reluctant acceptance of the unavoidability of armed conflict. This talk will trace that ideological progression and consider its present-day relevance.

Mark Derby is a New Zealand writer and historian whose work has also been published in Britain, Spain and the US. His most recent book is Frontline Surgeon: New Zealand medical pioneer Douglas Jolly. His previous publications include Petals and Bullets: Dorothy Morris: New Zealand Nurse in the Spanish Civil War, White-collar Radical: Dan Long and the Rise of the White-collar Unions, The Prophet and the Policeman: The Story of Rua Kenana and John Cullen, and Kiwi Compañeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War. He lives on Wellington’s south coast with three generations of his family and is currently writing a history of the New Zealand Wars in the Bay of Plenty, with the help of the New Zealand Society of Authors award for 2024.

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Event Proceedings:
6:00 pm – Doors Open
6:30 pm – Introductions
6:40 pm – Talk presented by Mark
7:20 pm – Intermission
7:30 pm – Audience Q&A

For those unable to attend we will have a live stream on the Wellington Socialist Society Facebook page.

Drinks and food will be available to order from the bar. As always we are thankful to Bedlam & Squalor for hosting us.