AIR MINISTRY. Health Hints for Warm Climates: For All Personnel Proceeding to the Tropics and Subtropics.
London: Air Ministry, September 1943. First edition. A.M. Pamphlet 160; D.G.M.S. No. 2. 24 pages, illustrated throughout, in the original orange pictorial wrappers.
A scarce Second World War RAF publication produced for British personnel being posted to tropical and subtropical theatres of war. The pamphlet was intended as a practical defence against the diseases and environmental hazards which could render servicemen ineffective without ever encountering the enemy.
Its remarkably broad advice encompasses malaria prevention, mosquito nets, dysentery, yellow fever, drinking water, diet, sanitation, clothing, personal hygiene, venereal disease, bilharziasis, cholera, heatstroke, plague, sandfly fever, smallpox, ticks and snake bite. Contemporary RAF training literature described the pamphlet as particularly important, observing that illness in Africa and the East could seriously affect squadron efficiency.
Illustrated throughout with memorable instructional drawings and cartoons. The Wellcome Collection records that a series of drawings by Air Marshal Sir Harold Whittingham, Director-General of RAF Medical Services, were used in Health Hints for Warm Climates. Whittingham became an important figure in the development of British aviation medicine.
This copy retains its striking wartime pictorial wrappers and bears a contemporary ownership inscription to the contents page.
An appealing piece of RAF ephemera combining Second World War history, tropical medicine and the practical realities of overseas service.
