When researching for this Blog, I find so many facts and figures about Tidworth. many are just not publishable because the facts stated cannot be verified, and some cannot be published because of copyright reasons. Today though, when I should have doing jobs allocated to me by my Leader(my wife) I stumbled upon a number of Questions concerning The R.A.M.C, raised in The House(of Commons) in 1920, which were answered by the then Secretary of State for War-Winston Churchill. The keen eyed amongst you will recognise the name of one questioner,Sir William Cheyne, the designer of the beloved Watson Cheyne Double Ended Dissector, 12.5cm or 18cm version. I have published just a few of the questions raised during 1920. They do not neccessarily appear in date order, for which I hope you will excuse me. I found it quite interesting that postings back then could last for up to 10 years, rather than how they are managed these days.
Wot? No Chippie!!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir William Watson Cheyne, 1st Baronet KCMG CB FRCS FRS[1] (14 December 1852 – 19 April 1932) was a British surgeon and bacteriologist, who pioneered the use of antiseptical surgical methods in the United Kingdom, as well as abdominal surgery.
Cheyne was born at sea off Hobart, Tasmania. He came from a humble background. His father, Andrew Cheyne, was a captain in the mercantile marine from Ollaberry, Shetland. His mother Eliza, the daughter of the Rev. William Watson, died in 1856, leaving Willam Cheyne to be brought up by his grandfather, the Rev. William Watson, and latterly by his aunt and uncle-in-law,[2] in Fetlar. In 1864 he was sent to attend Aberdeen Grammar School until 1868, when he went to King's College, Aberdeen, studying Greek, Latin, English, and Mathematics. By 1870 his uncle and aunt had desired him to be trained for the church, but as his father, his own inclination was for the sea. With the idea that if he became a doctor he could join the navy, he entered the University of Edinburgh where to study medicine in May 1871.[3] He received degrees in surgery and medicine from there in 1875.
Cheyne became the house surgeon to Joseph Lister, the British founder of antiseptic medicine, in 1876. Bacteriology had been much researched in France and Germany in the 1870s and 80s, but little work was done in the field in Britain. Lister was one of the few pioneers of its study in Britain. In 1877, the two took positions at King's College Hospital, where Cheyne served as an assistant surgeon, and later as surgeon from 1880 to 1917 and also as a professor of surgery from 1891 to 1917. He was a devoted follower of Lister and his antiseptic surgical methods. Cheyne was greatly inspired by the work of German bacteriologist Robert Koch, and had his work Untersuchungen über die Aetiologie der Wundinfenktionskrankheiten (1878) translated for the New Sydenham Society in 1880, which greatly enhanced the acceptance of bacteriology in Britain.[3] He had a work published in 1882, Antiseptic Surgery: Its Principles, Practice, History and Results, and later in 1885 a book, Lister and His Achievements. The work he did in his early career on bacteria and preventative medicine was highly influenced by Koch, and in Spring 1886, Cheyne visited Koch's laboratory in Berlin and studied his methods.[4] He undertook many trials on giving doses of tuberculin. He reported his findings to the RMCS in April 1891. He found that giving repeated doses improves the conditions of patients, but rarely acts as a cure. His paper was recognized as the first important contribution to the topic in Britain.[5] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1894.
Cheyne served as a consulting surgeon for the British military in South Africa from 1900 to 1901. In 1910 he was made the Honorary Surgeon-in-Ordinary to King George V. With the outbreak of world War I he became a consulting surgeon to the Royal Navy in 1914, and in 1915 was for a short time the temporary surgeon general, RN. He was later made Surgeon Rear-Admiral and KCMG.[3] From 1914 to 1916, he served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and in 1924 he was awarded the inaugural Lister Medal for his contributions to surgical science.[3] The following year, he delivered the first Lister Memorial Lecture.[6]
He was made a baronet in 1908, and having retired from active practice, he was elected in 1917 as a Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities[7] and for the Combined Scottish Universities in 1918, holding the seat until he stepped down at the 1922 general election.[8] He was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland in 1919. Cheyne left London for good in 1922 and retired to Fetlar and resigned his position as lord lieutenant in 1930. He died in 1932 at Fetlar after a prolonged illness.[3]
ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS (OFFICERS IN INDIA).
HC Deb 01 March 1920 vol 126 cc50-1W 50W
asked the Secretary of State for War if officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps serving 51W in India are precluded from resigning their commissions; and, if so, what is the reason for this?
Instructions have been issued that Regular Royal Army Medical Corps Officers serving in India cannot be permitted to resign their commissions until the statutory date of the termination of the War. This step was rendered necessary by the fact that India is much below peace establishment, and that at present it is not possible to provide Regular Army Medical Corps Officers to replace those who were desirous of
ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS (INDIAN SERVICE).
HC Deb 01 March 1920 vol 126 cc43-4 44
asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that many officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps serving in India have been in that country for nine or ten years and appear to have little prospect of relief; and if he will state what steps are being taken to expedite their relief?
There are forty-one officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps still in India whose tour of service has expired, and every effort is being made to release them as other Regular officers become available. Twenty-four officers are under orders to proceed to India, and these will be employed for the relief of tour-expired officers and towards completing the permanent establishment of the Royal Army Medical Corps in India.
....................................TIDWORTH MILITARY HOSPITAL (MEDICAL OFFICER).
HC Deb 24 February 1920 vol 125 cc1517-8W
asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the medical officer employed as nose specialist at Tidworth military hospital has very little surgical experience and that the nursing staff and patients in this hospital have no confidence in this officer's ability; and what steps he proposes to take in this matter?
I very much regret that the hon. and gallant Member should have placed this Question on the Order Paper and have thereby given currency to such unfounded complaints as to this medical officer's professional capacity. I find, on enquiry, that he had three years' experience in oral surgery before joining the Royal Army Medical Corps, being resident house surgeon at a general infirmary and later having sole charge of all such patients in the hospital. Since joining the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1915, he has been employed almost entirely on nose and throat cases, both at home and abroad. He has done excellent work as a nose and throat specialist since being appointed to Tidworth Hospital. His commanding officer considers him very able, and is of the opinion that he has the entire confidence of his patients.
....................................Wot? No Chippie!!
TIDWORTH CAMP.
HC Deb 16 April 1920 vol 127 c2002W 2002W
asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that considerable feeling exists among the civil population of Tidworth owing to the refusal of the General Officer Commanding troops there to sanction the granting of a site for a fried-fish business; that, when an application for a site was made by a local resident, Mr. Beaver, it was refused on the grounds that there was no demand for such a business, and that thereupon a petition in favour was presented, signed by over 500 people of the neighbourhood, but that the application was refused again, no reason being as signed; and if he will inquire into the matter with a view to inducing the General Officer Commanding to reconsider his decision, and if there are valid reasons for maintaining the decision already given they may be made public?
I am making enquiries, and will let the hon. and gallant Member know the result as soon as possible
.......................................................ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS (MESOPOTAMIA).
HC Deb 02 March 1920 vol 126 c235 235
asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the grave discontent among the Special Reserve and Territorial Force officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps in Mesopotamia owing to the fact that they cannot get leave, some having spent two, or even three, hot seasons in Mesopotamia without leave; and, especially in view of the prospect of having to spend another hot season there, will he take steps to give relief to these men?
Many of these officers, in common with those of the Regular Royal Army Medical Corps and the Indian Medical Service, have leave due to them. This is a matter for the local military authorities, but I would remind my hon. and learned Friend that the granting of leave must necessarily interfere with the release of officers eligible for demobilisation. Regular officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps are being sent out as they become available to replace officers of the Special Reserve and Territorial Force whose demobilisation has been applied for.
May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is not also a fact that the Coalition is going through a hot season?
Below is an article from Wikipedia about Sir William Cheyne.
; "WATSON CHEYNE DISSECTOR 18CM")
| Sir William Cheyne, Bt | |
|---|---|
 Sir William as an older man | |
| Born | 14 December 1852 Hobart, Tasmania |
| Died | 19 April 1932 |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Fields | bacteriology |
Cheyne was born at sea off Hobart, Tasmania. He came from a humble background. His father, Andrew Cheyne, was a captain in the mercantile marine from Ollaberry, Shetland. His mother Eliza, the daughter of the Rev. William Watson, died in 1856, leaving Willam Cheyne to be brought up by his grandfather, the Rev. William Watson, and latterly by his aunt and uncle-in-law,[2] in Fetlar. In 1864 he was sent to attend Aberdeen Grammar School until 1868, when he went to King's College, Aberdeen, studying Greek, Latin, English, and Mathematics. By 1870 his uncle and aunt had desired him to be trained for the church, but as his father, his own inclination was for the sea. With the idea that if he became a doctor he could join the navy, he entered the University of Edinburgh where to study medicine in May 1871.[3] He received degrees in surgery and medicine from there in 1875.
Cheyne became the house surgeon to Joseph Lister, the British founder of antiseptic medicine, in 1876. Bacteriology had been much researched in France and Germany in the 1870s and 80s, but little work was done in the field in Britain. Lister was one of the few pioneers of its study in Britain. In 1877, the two took positions at King's College Hospital, where Cheyne served as an assistant surgeon, and later as surgeon from 1880 to 1917 and also as a professor of surgery from 1891 to 1917. He was a devoted follower of Lister and his antiseptic surgical methods. Cheyne was greatly inspired by the work of German bacteriologist Robert Koch, and had his work Untersuchungen über die Aetiologie der Wundinfenktionskrankheiten (1878) translated for the New Sydenham Society in 1880, which greatly enhanced the acceptance of bacteriology in Britain.[3] He had a work published in 1882, Antiseptic Surgery: Its Principles, Practice, History and Results, and later in 1885 a book, Lister and His Achievements. The work he did in his early career on bacteria and preventative medicine was highly influenced by Koch, and in Spring 1886, Cheyne visited Koch's laboratory in Berlin and studied his methods.[4] He undertook many trials on giving doses of tuberculin. He reported his findings to the RMCS in April 1891. He found that giving repeated doses improves the conditions of patients, but rarely acts as a cure. His paper was recognized as the first important contribution to the topic in Britain.[5] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1894.
Cheyne served as a consulting surgeon for the British military in South Africa from 1900 to 1901. In 1910 he was made the Honorary Surgeon-in-Ordinary to King George V. With the outbreak of world War I he became a consulting surgeon to the Royal Navy in 1914, and in 1915 was for a short time the temporary surgeon general, RN. He was later made Surgeon Rear-Admiral and KCMG.[3] From 1914 to 1916, he served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and in 1924 he was awarded the inaugural Lister Medal for his contributions to surgical science.[3] The following year, he delivered the first Lister Memorial Lecture.[6]
He was made a baronet in 1908, and having retired from active practice, he was elected in 1917 as a Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities[7] and for the Combined Scottish Universities in 1918, holding the seat until he stepped down at the 1922 general election.[8] He was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland in 1919. Cheyne left London for good in 1922 and retired to Fetlar and resigned his position as lord lieutenant in 1930. He died in 1932 at Fetlar after a prolonged illness.[3]
[edit] Works
- Antiseptic Surgery: Its Principles, Practice, History and Results (1882)
- Lister and His Achievements (1885)
- Manual of the Antiseptic Treatment of Wounds (1885)
- Manual of Surgical Treatment, 7 vol. (1899–1903; with F. Burghard)
[edit] Notes
- ^ b., W. (1932). "Sir William Watson Cheyne, Baronet. 1852-1932". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1: 26. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1932.0007.
- ^ "Sir William Watson Cheyne" watson-cheyne.com/swintro.htm. Retrieved 1 May 2008
- ^ a b c d e W. B (December 1932). "Sir William Watson Cheyne, Baronet. 1852-1932". Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1 (1): 26–30. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1932.0007.
- ^ "Cheyne, Sir William Watson, 1st Baronet." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006.
- ^ Hunting, Penelope (1 January 2002). The History of the Royal Society of Medicine. RSM Press. p. 150. ISBN 1-85315-497-0.
- ^ Lister and his Achievement, Sir William Watson Cheyne, 1925
- ^ Historical list of MPs: E (part 1)
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
[edit] External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir William Cheyne
- Biography in Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online, from the Royal College of Surgeons of England
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Christopher Nicholson Johnston | Member of Parliament for Edinburgh & St Andrews Universities 1917 – 1918 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Combined Scottish Universities 1918 – 1922 With: Dugald Cowan Sir Henry Craik | Succeeded by Dugald Cowan Sir Henry Craik Sir George Berry |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Malcolm Alfred Laing | Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland 1919–1930 | Succeeded by Alfred Baikie |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet(of Leagarth) 1908–1932 | Succeeded by Joseph Lister Cheyne |
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