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Apothecary

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Ancestors in British India often followed the profession of '''Apothecary''' (title changed in 1894 to '''Assistant Surgeon''') and it is hoped that this article will help you to track yours down and learn more about how they lived and worked.
 
==Quick definition==
In today’s terms, the position of an Apothecary in one of the East India Company Armies was some where between that of a senior nurse and a doctor. However, as apothecaries had surgical training, a junior doctor is probably the best description. The title changed in 1894. Assistant Surgeons in the Indian Army were recognised as fully qualified medical men and were registered as medical practitioners under the Medical Act.
 
==FIBIS resources==
*"Tracing an Honorary Assistant Surgeon" by Lawrie Butler [[FIBIS Journals|''FIBIS Journal'']] Number 25 (Spring 2011) pages 22-24
*"Gallantry Awards to the Indian Medical Department during the Great War of 1914 – 1918" by Allan Stanistreet ''FIBIS Journal'' Number 32 (Autumn 2014) pages 34-36. For details of how to access this article, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
*"Assistant Apothecary Charles Maitland versus East India Company Justice" by Charles Maitland ''FIBIS Journal'' Number 33 (Spring 2015) pages 36-42. For details of how to access this article, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
==Overview==
====Military or Civilian?====
The second problem concerns whether they are Military or Civilian and the answer to this is almost always the former, although they could be posted as Civil Surgeons to hospitals and even jails. This article is about those Apothecaries who worked for the Government as part of the Military establishment. However, there were some Apothecaries who worked in a private capacity, for example as a Chemist and Druggist.<ref> The [http://library.wellcome.ac.uk Wellcome Library], London has See the article "European Pharmacies in Colonial India" by Harkishan Singh , pages 58-67 in the ''Pharmceutical Pharmaceutical Historian'', Vol. 31, no. 4 (Dec. 2001)under External links above.</ref> Details about these Apothecaries may be sought in the Commercial sections of [[Directories]] such as [http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poyntz/India/directories.html Thackers].
====Crawford’s Roll of the Indian Medical Service====
A further frequently asked question is why an Assistant Surgeon ancestor does not appear in ''Crawford’s Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1614-1930''. Apothecaries as members of the [[Indian Subordinate Medical Department]], rather than the superior [[Indian Medical Service]], generally are not listed in Crawford, except for some reason, those in entries relating to the [[Madras Presidency]]in the very early years, probably prior to the establishment of the Subordinate Medical Department. It should be noted that IMS used the title Assistant Surgeon for its lower ranks until 1873 and that the ISMD used the same title after 1894. Therefore if your Assistant Surgeon appears with that title before 1873, he should be in the IMS and will not be an Apothecary.
Medical personnel appointed to the IMS will almost always have been educated in the UK, even if they were born in India. They always held higher medical ranking. [http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/21858/pages/976 This A London Gazette article] set announcement sets out the requirements for Assistant-Surgeons in the service of the [[East India Company]] in March 1856.<ref> [http://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21858/page/976 ''The London Gazette'' 7 March 1856] Issue: 21858 Page: 976</ref>
Conversely, however brilliant, the Indian born and educated men were trained in India and provided service in the ISMD, on lower pay scales. Some did rise in seniority, but would always be 'inferior' to their colleagues in the IMS. As the years went by, this perceived inferiority became an issue to be addressed. There are examples of men in the ISMD trained elsewhere, although these were in the minority. For example, The London Gazette Oct 17, 1919 lists under ''To be Senior Asst Surgeon with rank of Lieutenant: 1st class Asst Surgeons, 10th Feb 1919, Frederick William Mathews, L.R.C.P and S.I., L.M (Dub)'' ie Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (LRCSI), coupled with a Licence in Midwifery.
:"The title given to the various grades of warrant officer in the Indian Military Subordinate Medical Service. The rank of Apothecary was abolished in the Subordinate Medical Service in 1894 and replaced by that of Assistant Surgeon. Apothecaries in the Indian Army undertook general medical duties - by the early 19th century the word was used in the more general sense of medical practitioner as well as in its original meaning of pharmacist."
The word 'Service' is not quite accurate in the definition above and should be replaced by 'Department'. Surgeons trained in Great Britain, held covenanted positions in the Medical Departments of the Presidencies and later in the Indian Medical Service and were of officer rank in the Army. The European establishment of the Subordinate Medical Departments of the [[presidencies]] (with abbreviations such as Sub Medical Dept, Sub-Med Dept, S-Med Dept, SMD.) and of the later Indian Subordinate Medical Department (ISMD) consisted of the uncovenanted positions of Apothecaries and [[Steward (Medical)|Stewards]], Assistant Apothecaries and Assistant Stewards, together with those in training for these roles called [[Hospital or Medical Apprentice]]s. The first four positions were of [[Warrant Officer]] rank,<ref>See [http://books.google.com/books?id=LBq1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA255 ''Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science'' 1863 v. 7] (Google Books)</ref> but this rank did not apply to Hospital or Medical Apprentices. The members of the SMD were almost always locally born and recruited, although there were the odd exceptions. One Assistant Surgeon was born in Ireland, the son of a soldier in the British Army, and came to India as a child when his father's regiment was deployed there.
==The Early Years==
===Training===
In [[Bengal (Presidency)|Bengal]], a formal scheme to train apothecaries commenced following a [[General Order of the Governor General in Council, June 15th 1812|General Order dated June 15, 1812]] by the [[Governor General]] which “approved a Plan submitted to him by the Medical Board, for the instruction of Boys from the Upper and Lower Orphan Schools and Free School, to serve as Compounders and [[Dresser|Dressers]], and ultimately as Apothecaries and Sub Assistant Surgeons in the Medical Department of this Presidency...The Medical Board shall select 24 Boys of 14 or 15 years of age, from the above Institutions, in the choice of whom the Governors of these schools are enjoined to afford every possible assistance.”<ref>The order as copied here was reported in the ''Calcutta Gazette'' dated Thursday, July 2, 1812 (Vol LVII, No 1479)</ref>
The Upper Orphan School was the Military Orphan School for Officers’ Children and the Lower Orphan School was the Military Orphan School for the children of Warrant Officers and [[soldier]]s. Not all the children were [[orphans]]. The Free School was for children of non military fathers. The background of the boys from the Lower Orphan School was approximately 25% European and 75% Eurasian (or East Indian or from 1911 [[Anglo Indian]]), with a European soldier father and Indian or Eurasian mother. The percentage of Eurasians in the Upper Orphan School was higher, as orphans with European parents were returned to England, provided they had family there who could care for them.
Subordinate Medical Departments were also established in [[Madras (Presidency)|Madras]] in 1812, and a little later in [[Bombay (Presidency)|Bombay]].
 
Regulations in place in Madras in 1833 are detailed in this [http://www.archive.org/stream/codeofregulation00madr#page/96/mode/2up link].<ref>[http://www.archive.org/stream/codeofregulation00madr#page/96/mode/2up "Regulations relative to Subordinate Medical Servants"], page 97, ''Code of regulations for the Medical Department of the Presidency of Fort St. George'' 1833 Archive.org</ref>
The ''Madras journal of literature and science'' detailed the Madras Medical School (established 1835) in an [http://books.google.com/books?id=2vsEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA265 1838 article]. Private Students, or persons not in the Public Service, were admitted from August 1838.<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=OG8FAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA49 ''Report on the medical topography and statistics of the Presidency Division of the Madras army''], Thorpe, 1842</ref>
===Extra Assistant Apothecary===
A few cases have been heard of where appointments have been made to the rank of Extra Assistant Apothecary, in the Bengal SMD. These appear to have been made following the [[Indian Mutiny]] when demands for trained personnel would have been great.  In one case the Extra Assistant Apothecary appears to have been , David Harris was working prior to the appointment in a private capacity civil employment in Howrah (1855) and Calcutta (1856) as an apothecary, perhaps as a chemist and druggist. His training and birth details are unknown. He unfortunately appears in C-i-C General Orders 22 Nov 1857, "directing Extra Assistant Apothecary Harris, recently entertained, to proceed by rail to Raneegunge and do duty in the hospital there" . Other orders are dated: *20 January 1858 - Extra Assistant Apothecary D Harris and Extra Assistant Steward J Fegredo, during duty in the depot hospital at Raneegunge to join a detachment of HM 54th Foot proceeding to Sasseram.*26 March 1858 - when another was directed to relieve him as Sasseram and he was sent to Benares depot hospital.*7 April 1858 - to do duty at the Rajghaut Hospital (outskirts of Benares).This was the last record of David Harris and it is assumed he died soon after.  In another case, the Extra Assistant Apothecary was born and trained in Britain. Thomas Baron appears in the list of Extra Assistant Apothecaries in the 1861 edition of the New Calcutta Directory, the only known list, as appointed 29 April 1858. Born in Manchester in January 1837, the son of a Chemist and Druggist, he appears in the England 1851 census as a scholar aged 14. In 1858 he would have been 21. Family word of mouth says he went to India as some sort of a Medical Officer. Possibly he had been apprenticed to his father. Interestingly, he subsequently appears in the lists of Hospital Apprentices with appointment date 10 October 1861, indicating that at least in his case, his appointment in 1858 had not been permanent. (He then appears to have sat all the required examinations before receiving an appointment as an Assistant Apothecary).
The ''London Lancet'' refered to the grievances of the Hospital Apprentices “to see a number of strangers admitted into the service with the rank of assistant apothecary, who never served as apprentice in it, in preference to the apprentices, of whom it is said that upwards of forty passed members await promotion. Undoubtedly, in periods of emergency, rules may be transgressed when necessary to secure the efficiency of the service, and it may be desirable, at a particular moment, to secure the aid of skilled civilians to whom adequate rank and pay must at once be offered ...”<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=oA8CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA354 ''London Lancet, Volume 2 1859''], (Google Books) page 354</ref>
:The stewards and their assistants are charged with all the details relating to the food, clothing, and similar interior economy of military hospitals. Both classes aid the surgeon in the preparation of official reports and statements."
'''Change of Duties'''<br> There is a British Library catalogue entry '''IOR/F/4/661/18358 Mar 1821''' which appears to be in respect of Bengal: Appointment of J.T. Hodgson as [[Veterinary Surgeon ]] to the Governor General's Body Guard - he is to select and train eight Assistant Apothecaries as Veterinary Surgeons for the Light Cavalry Regiments.<br>''The New Annual Bengal Directory and Calcutta Kalendar'', available to read online on the [[Online books#Digital Library of India| Digital Library of India]] website, for the year 1823 has a listing on page 76 of the Army List, computer page 221, of "Assistant Apothecaries, Veterinary Students" at Ballygunge, Calcutta . For the year 1824 three of these students are shown as Sub -Assistant Veterinary Surgeons.<br>An advice from Fort William dated April 12, 1827 advised that following the decision to appoint regularly educated Veterinary Surgeons, Sub -assistant Veterinary Surgeons were to be given the choice of taking their discharge, or of entering the subordinate branch of the medical staff.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=PYcEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR111 ''Naval and Military Magazine Volume 3''], 1828, page cxi of "Naval and Military Miscellany"</ref> ===Uniforms===*This [http://books.google.com/books?id=d22WUEmG49IC&pg=PA46-IA5 link]<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=d22WUEmG49IC&pg=PA46-IA5 ''Poor relations: the making of a Eurasian community in British India, 1773-1833''], page 46, image 5, by Christopher Hawes 1996 Google Books</ref> shows a drawing of an Apothecary, First Class, c 1840 * [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6iQoAAAAYAAJ&q=%22plain+silver+lace+embroidered+button+hole%22#v=%22plain%20silver%20lace%20embroidered%20button%20hole%22&f=false Description from Bengal and Agra Gazetteer 1841]
===Further reading===
*The [http://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/ Cambridge (UK) Centre of South Asian Studies], in its Archive Collection, has the Winn Papers which contain information about James Winn who joined the East India Company in the Bengal Establishment in 1842, aged 13. He served as an apothecary at various stations including [[Lahore]], [[Multan]], [[Dinapore]], [[Dum Dum]], [[Allahabad]], [[Calcutta]], [[Chunar]]. He was invalided out of the service at [[Meerut]] in July 1884. (WINN 1/1 Testimonials, statements of service, etc in connection with James Winn's work as an apothecary in the service of the Bengal Establishment, 1842-1884, 45 items)
*The [http://library.wellcome.ac.uk Wellcome Library], London has See the article "Apothecaries and Hospital Assistants in Colonial India" by Harkishan Singh in the ''Pharmaceutical Historian'' Vol. 32, no. 1 (Mar. 2002)under [[Apothecary#External links|External links]] below.
==The Situation by the 1870s==
They were also allowed a Field Allowance of Rs 30 per mensem (month) when marching or in the field. Also a staff or employed allowance when senior with, or in subordinate medical charge of, the hospital of a British Regiment or detachment of British Troops, or a Battery of Artillery, or a Depot or Sanitarium or when attached to a General Hospital or Medical Store Depot. Hospital Assistants were in a different stream, serving in Native Regiments and Hospitals.
The book is ''A Code of Medical and Sanitary Regulations for the Guidance of Medical Officers serving in the Madras Presidency'' (2 Volumes) by William Robert Cornish (1870). The above references are in [http://books.google.com/books?id=WhUDAAAAQAAJ &pg=PP5 Volume 1], which contains the above references and [http://books.google.com/books?id=NhcDAAAAQAAJ Volume 2]. Both these books are snippet view only. Some readers may be able to access them using a proxy server. (An author was originally able to access these books, but now cannot.)Google Books
Gary Bateman has advised that “Civil Apothecary was an intermediate class between Civil Assistant Surgeon and Civil Hospital Assistant. It was only in the Madras Presidency and started in 1875 but was abolished in 1884. There were five grades, Rs 50, 75, 100, 125, & 150 with an additional Rs50 charge allowance.”
Madras 1863. Promotion of three Senior Apothecaries to Honorary Assistant Surgeons, without, however, any additional allowance by virtue of the honorary rank. This is contrasted unfavourably with the situation in Bengal, where Apothecaries had been promoted to the rank and position of Commissioned Officers. [http://books.google.com/books?id=2xm1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA465 Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science 1863 Volume 6, page 465]
 
In November 1870 “It is notified that at the age of fifty-five an officer of the Subordinate Medical Department shall be required to produce a medical certificate of his fitness for further service. This certificate shall, in accordance with a rule laid down for commissioned medical officers, extend to a further period of service of three years, at the expiration of which service retirement shall be compulsory in all cases".<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=iGFDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1039#v=snippet&q=%22Subordinate%20medical%20department%22&f=false Allen’s Indian Mail, July-December 1870, page 1039] Google Books</ref>
 
===Uniforms===
*This [http://books.google.com/books?id=NhcDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA183 link] <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=NhcDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA183 Dress Regulations: Apothecaries and Assistant Apothecaries, and Hospital Apprentices] from ''A code of medical and sanitary regulations for the guidance of Medical Officers serving in the Madras Presidency, Volume 2''. page 183 by William Robert Cornish 1870 Google Books</ref> describes the uniform for Apothecaries, Assistant Apothecaries and Hospital Apprentices c 1870.
==The Later Period==
:“In India they are recognised as fully qualified medical men and are registered as medical practitioners under the Medical Act. Like the IMD, RE and other Departments of the Indian Army, the IMD is recruited “over strength”, the surplus officers being used by various Provincial Governments in civil capacities and are recognised, as are the IMS Civil Surgeons, as the war reserve of the Army, and the army has first call on their services.”
An example of an Assistant Surgeon with a distinguished military career is Major Hector Alfred Richardson (1875 – 1957).. Born in [[Ellichpur]], he worked at the J.J. Hospital in [[Bombay (City)|Bombay]] in the 1890s for a couple of years, presumably having trained in the adjacent Grant Medical College, and then joined the Indian Medical Department, Army Service, and was shipped out to the Boer War in South Africa, Ladysmith Relief in the 1898/99. Returning to India, his subsequent postings included: 1904 [[Meerut]]; 1906 [[Deolali]]; 1908 [[Calcutta]]; 1911 [[Agra]] Cantt.; 1912 [[Bhusaval]]; 1914-1919 [[Lahore]]; 1923 [[Jhansi]]; 1929 Meerut & [[Ajmer]]; 1931 - 1938 Jhansi; 1941 - 1942 [[Mhow]]; 1946 Jhansi.
Thus we can see that ISMD employees, could, with application, rise to the rank of Major, but in many cases there was growing dissatisfaction with pay and status. See the following entries on Civil Surgeons, who, it seems, led demanding and frustrating lives although the pay was better than in the Military and the range of professional duties greater.
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=oLkTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA272 "Civil Surgeons in India] ''The Indian Medical Gazette'' 1868 Volume 3, page 272] 1868. Google Books *[http://books.google.com/books?id=Yz-zE8waQukC&pg=PA168 ''History of Medicine in India, page 168'' ] by Chittabrata Palit2005. Preview Google Books*[https://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10973/21456/GIPE-015938.pdf "Growth of the Civil Side of the Indian Medical Service -Since 1885"]. Report written 1 October 1912 by C. P. Lukis, page 168 Surgeon General, Director- General, Indian Medical Service. Pages 17-20 of the pdf are in respect of the ISMD. Dspace website of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (Limited viewGIPE)], Pune
===Tracing a Surgeon===
====Thacker's====
[[''Thacker's]] Bengal Directory'', published from 1864, was in 1885 renamed ''Thacker's Indian Directory '' and covered the whole of British India. Volumes for most years are available in the Asian and African Studies Reading Room at the [[British Library]] and the 1895 edition is available to purchase as a CD. It is a useful source for tracing Assistant Surgeons of both Military and Civil persuasions. For online editions see '''[[Directories online]]''', under the headings [[Directories online#Bengal Directory|Bengal Directory]], and [[Directories online#Thacker's Indian Directory|Thacker's Indian Directory]].
Thus one can find, for example, Assistant Surgeon Patrick McCarthy in Thacker’s:
*1892-5 - Assistant Surgeon, doing duty at the hospital at Bareilly, North West Provinces
*1903 - Assistant Civil Surgeon and Superintendent of Jail, Lower Chindwin, Burma
 
For a limited number of years, a Thacker's ''Medical Directory'' was published.
*''Thacker's Medical Directory of India, Burma and Ceylon'', published 1913-1915. The 1914 edition is at the British Library UIN: BLL01000948664 - enquire if there are additional volumes as it is classified as a Journal, perhaps implying more than one edition. 1913 and 1915 editions appear to be available at Oxford and Cambridge University Libraries, and the National Library of Scotland.
:National Archives of India pay service "Digitise on Demand" includes ''Thacker's Medical Directory'' [https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2400020 1914] (Identifier PR_000002709792) and [https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2326441 1915] (Identifier PR_000002614707) abhilekh-patal.in
*''Thacker's Indian Medical Directory'', published 1922-1924. Also referred to as editions 4-6. Available at Oxford University Library and the National Library of Scotland, but this title is not listed in the British Library catalogue.
:There appear to have been at least two further editions, including 1931, 8th edition. A [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5185740/?page=1 review] which indicates the contents (530 pages). The 1931 edition is available at the Royal Society of Medicine [https://www.rsm.ac.uk/the-library Library], London, ([http://rsm.sirsidynix.net.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=yPqEJXxHQ0/0/X/60/502/X Catalogue]) which also holds the 1923 edition.
 
For other Medical Directories from 1908, and 1924, see [[Doctor#Lists of medical officers| Doctor - Lists of medical officers - Other lists]].
====Indian Army Lists====
Another invaluable source is the Indian Army Lists, like Thacker’s, available at the British Library. This B.L. webpage [https://web.archive.org/web/20151028004710/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/occupations/indianmedicalservice/indianmedical.html Indian Medical Service] , now archived, advises that members of the Subordinate Medical Department are recorded in the published army lists, L/MIL/17/2-4, Bengal from 1819, Madras from 1829, Bombay from 1832. (The catalogue entries are: [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlmil_8-2_2&cid=1-1-1#1-1-1 Bengal Army IOR/L/MIL/17/2 ] 1791-1903 [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlmil_8-2_2&cid=1-1-2#1-1-2 Madras Army IOR/L/MIL/17/3] 1787-1904 [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlmil_8-2_2&cid=1-1-3#1-1-3 Bombay Army IOR/L/MIL/17/4] 1794-1913). From 1889 to 1947, all members of the Subordinate Medical Department with the rank of warrant officer or above are recorded in the published Indian Army List in the Reading Room (Ref:OIR355.33). However, according to this an India List post,<ref name=BPA>Bailey, Peter. [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20210406055707/https://archivermlarchives.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIAlistindexes/emails?listname=india&thread=1662618 Army Lists-Question] ''Rootsweb India Mailing List'' 20 January 2010-01, archived. </1263998480 post] ref> the L/MIL/17 Army Lists in the early years may '''not ''' routinely include lists of Apothecaries. Quoting from Baxter’s Guide (Biographical Sources in the India Office Records), the post also advises that "Dates of Birth of Apothecaries are given in the lists from Oct. 1884".
Names may be searched from the '''Many Indian Army and Civil Service List 1873 in Find My Past’s Lists are now available online - See [http://www.findmypast.com/migration.jsp Migration] category. It is not stated whether original data is available or whether this is a transcription. A transcript of the [http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=5758 January 1912Indian Army List online] edition is available online via Ancestry.com The LDS(Mormon) Library catalogue has the following [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=578082 entry] for India Office Army Lists 1886-1940 available on fiche. Note that it is not known whether the LDS Lists are exactly the same as the Lists at the British Library Reading Room.'''
Here again are some sample extracts:
====Service Histories====
Once the whereabouts of your ancestor in a given year has been established, a useful next step is the IOR /V/12 Service Historiesat the British Library, ([http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.The necessary volumes can be found using [[The National Archives|Access to Archivesdo?vid=IAMS_VU2 Search the catalogue]]. Look at or [http://wwwdiscovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2abrowse/r/records.aspx?cat=059h/56e0e03f-6565-iorv_5&cid=142aa-1#1ba09-1 b9bb7b324eaf TNA Discovery catalogue entry for IOR/V/12] ), and to chose one or more relevant volumes. There are an alarming 434 volumes of Service Histories, and as well as whole sequences of volumes for the 3 Presidencies, there are more sequences for India, Assam, Bihar & Orissa, United Provinces, Punjab, North West Frontier, Central Provinces, Burma and Hyderabad! The earliest date from 1879 and the latest 1948, though dates for particular regions vary. The later you can get in your Assistant Surgeon’s career the better, as the information appears to be cumulative. The documents themselves are held at the British Library. '''Note: It is possible, but not confirmed, that some of these volumes are the same as similarly titled volumes available online. See [[Directories online#India List and India Office List| Directories online - India List and India Office List]]'''.
In addition to the postings, the Service Histories also contain other details relating to leave and training.
:Henzada - CS – 6 Apr 1912
:On deputation to Calcutta for Royal Commission from 7 Jan 1914
 
[[Image:Assistant Surgeon G E Ferguson IMD.jpg |thumb|right|200px| Assistant Surgeon G E Ferguson, Mesopotamia 1917]]
Interestingly, by the time these records appear in 1921, this Assistant Surgeon is listed as IMD and not ISMD. The word “subordinate” was finally dropped in 1919 – this was the year it no longer appeared in The London Gazette. The deputation to Calcutta in 1914 was in pursuit of this aim, amongst others.
Thelma Cramb (nee Ferguson) has advised “As "As the daughter of an Assistant Surgeon I know how often they were transferred from one station to another - I was born in [[Dagshai]] (Simla Hills) in 1928 - my sister b. 1926 in [[Kasauli]] - another in 1924 in [[Bareilly]] - and another in 1922 in Chowbutia ([[Naini Tal]] I think !!) Happy days spent in [[Poona]] with other I.M.D. families.”"<br>In the first part of this [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/1950s/1219-locksley01.html article]<ref>[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/1950s/1219-locksley01.html A Veteran Recollects: Memoirs of an IAF Technical Signal Officer] by Wg Cdr Locksley Percival Fegredo. bharat-rakshak.com</ref>, the author, born 1926, the son of an Assistant Surgeon, recalls his childhood.
==Assistant Surgeons and Superintendents of Jails==
The employment of Assistant Surgeons as Jail Superintendents seems curious, but was the usual practice.
Reports on Jails, Hospitals, Public Health Departments and much more can be found in the '''IOR/V/24''' series. As with the Service Histories they are searchable via [[The National Archives|Access to National ArchivesDiscovery]] site and available to view at the British Library.
See [[Superintendent of Jails]] for some details of daily life.
==The End of the IMD==
The Indian Medical Department effectively ended as a separate entity on April 3rd 1943 when it was amalgamated with the Indian Medical Service and the Indian Hospital and Nursing Corps, to form the Indian Army Medical Corps. In this form, it still exists today.
==Listings of Apothecaries==
===FIBIS resources===
*The FIBIS database has a listing listings of **[http://searchfibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=490 Madras Apothecaries Fund 1829] This indicates the man's rank, marital status and number of children**[http://fibis.org/frontisourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_dataset&id=615&s_id=794 Apothecaries Serving in Bengal 1862], which contains Apothecaries, Assistant Apothecaries, Stewards and also Veterinary Surgeons and Riding Masters.*"Assistant Surgeon RLW Beveridge, Indian Medical Department" by Allan Stanistreet ''FIBIS Journal Number 29 (Spring 2013)'' pages 28-29. He was appointed Sub-Conductor (Warrant Officer Class One) and Assistant Surgeon 4th Grade in the Indian Subordinate Medical Department on 18 April 1910. See [[FIBIS Journals]] for details of how to access this article
===Other sources===
Refer to the sections [[Apothecary#Thacker's|Thackers's]] and [[Apothecary#Indian Army Lists|Indian Army Lists]] above
 
There is a [[British Library]] Catalogue [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_15&cid=1-1-90-15&kw=IOR/F/4/1338/53155#1-1-90-15 entry] '''IOR/F/4/1338/53155 Jan 1829-Oct 1831''': Institution of a fund for the families of Medical Warrant Officers in the Madras Presidency (includes a list of Medical Warrant Officers ie Apothecaries, Second Apothecaries and Assistant Apothecaries, dated 9 Nov 1829, with notes on marital status, number of children etc. pp 35-45).
Some Directories contain lists of Apothecaries and Stewards, Assistant Apothecaries and Assistant Stewards, which contain details as to when they obtained their grading and where they were currently serving. The list, in a section headed Subordinate Medical Department is usually found at the end of the Military List, following a Medical Department List. Occasionally the apothecaries are found in lists where the heading is Warrant Officers. In a few volumes Hospital Apprentices are also included, or Passed Medical Apprentices in Madras. Even if there is no specific list, the apothecary’s name may appear in the ''Alphabetical List of Residents'', particularly for the [[Mofussil]].
Preceding the Apothecaries listings there are listings of the Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons in the Medical Department which will be of relevance if your ancestor was an Assistant Surgeon up until 1873.
Currently The known online Lists (May 2010December 2013) there are only eight known lists online: *Bengal**[http://books.google.com/books?id=O94NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA245 1838 ''Bengal Directory''], page 245**[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044088755111?urlappend=%3Bseq=440 1849 ''Scott and Co.'The s Bengal and Agra Directory and Half Yearly Register for the year 1843'' is available to read online ], page 396 **[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=DPY2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA222 1859 ''The Quarterly Army List of Her Majesty's British and Indian Forces on the Bengal Establishment corrected to 5 July 1859''], page 222 **The Fibiwiki page [[Online books#Digital Library Directories online]] has a number of Lists of India|Apothecaries which may be viewed online in publications originally from the Digital Library of India]] websiteand now available as mirror versions on The Internet Archive (Archive. Note some pages appear to be missing. The contents page is computer page 8, Apothecaries etc computer page 295org).Those noted include:*::''Bengal Directory and Annual Register'' and ''The Bengal and Agra Directory and Annual Register '' for 1848most of the years 1823-1851 and 1855. '' is available The Quarterly Bengal Army List Corrected to read online on the [[Online books#Digital Library of India|Digital Library of India]] website30 June 1878'' has a List. The contents page is computer page 8, Apothecaries etc computer page 190Other volumes may also include Lists. *Madras: ''Madras Quarterly Journal Of Medical Science'' (search within these volumes for ”warrant officers” or more generally for “medical warrant officers”):**[http://books.google.com/books?id=ahe1AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PR17 Madras at 1 October 1860] (Page 17 of appendix at end of book)**[http://books.google.com/books?id=0he1AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PR17 Madras at 1 April 1861] (Page 17 of appendix)**[http://books.google.com/books?id=ahi1AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PR17 Madras at 1 October 1861] (Page 17 of appendix)**[http://books.google.com/books?id=Dhm1AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PR16 Madras at 1 April 1862] (page 16 of appendix)**[http://books.google.com/books?id=2xm1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PR20-IA9 Madras at 1 April 1863] (Page 19 of appendix)*Bombay**[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Jt0X3wfBbZgC&pg=PA60 1842 ''The Bombay Calendar and Almanac'' ] , page 60 Google Books**The page [[Directories online]] has a number of Lists of Apothecaries originally from the Digital Library of India, and now available as mirror versions on the Internet Archive (Archive.org) Those noted include::''The Bombay Commercial Calender And General Directory'', ''The Bombay Almanack and Book of Direction'' and ''The Bombay Almanack and Directory'' for the years 1845,1860-1861, 1863. Other volumes may also include Lists.*Officers of the Indian Subordinate Medical Department from the British Army Lists, from [[Military periodicals online#New Army List|Military periodicals online-New Army List]]{|cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" border="1"||||[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21914grea#page/324/mode/2up October-December 1913], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21914grea#page/884/mode/2up/ Retired]|-|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistapr1914grea#page/1178/mode/2up January-March 1914], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistapr1914grea#page/1740/mode/2up/ Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjul1914grea#page/1178/mode/2up/ April-June 1914], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjul1914grea#page/1746/mode/2up/ Retired]||[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21915grea#page/332/mode/2up October-December 1914], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21915grea#page/910/mode/2up Retired]|-|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistapr1915grea#page/1370/mode/2up January-March 1915], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistapr1915grea#page/1948/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjul1915grea#page/1460/mode/2up April-June 1915], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjul1915grea#page/2056/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctvol21915grea#page/864/mode/2up July-September 1915], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctvol31915grea#page/522/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21916grea#page/476/mode/2up October-December 1915], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21916grea#page/1100/mode/2up Retired]|-|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistaprvol31916grea#page/2/mode/2up January-March 1916], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistaprvol31916grea#page/650/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulvol21916grea#page/974/mode/2up April-June 1916], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulvol31916grea#page/594/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctvol31916grea#page/54/mode/2up July-September 1916], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctvol31916grea#page/740/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol21917grea#page/988/mode/2up October-December 1916], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol31917grea#page/668/mode/2up Retired]|-|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistaprvol31917grea#page/16/mode/2up January-March 1917], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistaprvol31917grea#page/728/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulvol21917grea#page/n1207/mode/2up April- June 1917], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulvol31917grea#page/720/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctvol31917grea#page/56/mode/2up July-September 1917], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctvol31917grea#page/818/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanpart121919grea#page/826/mode/2up October-December 1917], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanpart121919grea#page/1616/mode/2up Retired]|-|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistaprvol31918grea#page/100/mode/2up January-March 1918], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistaprvol31918grea#page/936/mode/2up/ Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulvol31918grea#page/104/mode/2up/ April-June 1918], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulvol31918grea#page/994/mode/2up/ Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctpart121918grea#page/1090/mode/2up July-September 1918], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctpart121918grea#page/1944/mode/2up Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol31919grea#page/974/mode/2up October-December 1918], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanvol41919grea#page/885/mode/2up/ Retired]|-||[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulpart121919grea#page/1920/mode/2up/ April-June 1919], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjulpart131919grea#page/2555/mode/2up/ Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctpart121919grea#page/1942/mode/2up July-September 1919], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistoctpart131919grea#page/852/mode/2up/ Retired]|[http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanpart131920grea#page/166/mode/2up/ October-December 1919], [http://archive.org/stream/armylistjanpart131920grea#page/976/mode/2up/ Retired]|-|} 
For Bengal, the following have also been noted to contain lists. There may well be others.
*''Thacker’s Bengal Directory'' 1864-1868. These volumes include Hospital Apprentices.
Ian Poyntz's [http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poyntz/India/directories.html website] has information on the holdings of Directories in many libraries around the world, including the British Library. If you have access to any of these volumes you may find additional lists of Apothecaries, or entries in the alphabetical list of residents, entries under the Mofussil Listing, or entries in the births, marriages or deaths sections. Quoting from Baxter’s Guide, this an India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2010-01/1263998480 post] advises that "Lists of Apothecaries appear in Directories: Bengal, from 1815; Madras from 1862; Bombay, from 1832."<ref name=BPA/>
You can also try searching in [[Directories online|Directories]] and [[Newspapers and journals online| Journals]] available online for additional lists of apothecaries which may be available in the future, and also for birth, marriage and death entries, and entries relating to postings and promotion.
In addition The British Library’s [http://www.london-gazettesearcharchives.cobl.uk/ The London Gazetteprimo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=1&fromLogin=true&dstmp=1338597841596&vid=IAMS_VU2&fromLogin=true Search our Catalogue Archives and Manuscripts] may yield results, eg the following reference was found "Hannah, W., apothecary, application of widow for increased pension complied with. 1856-1857" (See [[British Library]] is for details of how to obtain a good source copy of information for promotionsthis type of record).
Crawford’s ''Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1614-1930'' lists Apothecaries in the Madras Presidency although not the other Presidencies. The book is available as a [[LDS]] microfilm, with this library catalogue In addition [httphttps://www.familysearchthegazette.orgco.uk/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframesetThe London Gazette] is a good source of information for promotions.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=287926&disp=Roll++of++This source is more relevant for the++Indian++Medical++Service%&columns=*,0,0 entry]later periods.
There are mentions Crawford’s ''Roll of students (Hospital Apprentices) the Indian Medical Service 1614-1930'' lists a few entries relating to the [[Madras Presidency]] in the Annual Report very early years, probably prior to the establishment of the Madras Subordinate Medical College for Department but none from the following years: other Presidencies. Index records and page images are available on Ancestry (Google Bookspay website)*[http://books.google.com/books?id=oo8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1 1855-56], in the database [httphttps://bookssearch.googleancestry.com/books?id=oo8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA49 1856-57], [http:/search/booksdb.google.com/booksaspx?iddbid=248IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP5 1859-1860]61103 UK, [http://books.google.com/books?id=248IAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA1 1860-61]Roll of the Indian Medical Service, [http://books.google.com/books?id=248IAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA21615 -PA9 1861-18621930], [http://books.google.com/books?id=oia1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA398 1864-1865], Also available as a digitised microfilm on [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eokIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover 1866-67], [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=gokIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover 1867-68FamilySearch], [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=jokIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover 1868-69], [httphttps://www.archivefamilysearch.org/streamsearch/medicalcollege00unkngoog#pagecatalog/n4/mode/1up 1871287926 catalogue entry], viewable at a family history centre or FamilySearch affiliate library -72for details see [[FamilySearch Centres] Archive,org].
There are mentions of students (Hospital Apprentices) in the Annual Report of the Madras Medical College. The [[British Library]] has reports from 1853 to 1887, missing 1854/1855. However, the 1854/55 report is in Appendix L of the report on Public Instruction in the Madras Presidency for 1854/55. Oxford University Bodleian Library also has a broken range of volumes to 1887. The following years are available online (mainly Google Books):
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=oo8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1 1855-56], [http://books.google.com/books?id=oo8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA49 1856-57], [http://books.google.com/books?id=248IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP5 1859-1860], [http://books.google.com/books?id=248IAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA1 1860-61], [http://books.google.com/books?id=248IAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA9 1861-1862], [http://books.google.com/books?id=oia1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA398 1864-1865], [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=eokIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover 1866-67], [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=gokIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover 1867-68], [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=jokIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover 1868-69], [http://www.archive.org/stream/medicalcollege00unkngoog#page/n4/mode/1up 1871-72] Archive.org, [http://digital.nls.uk/indiapapers/browse/pageturner.cfm?id=74952418 1877-78 to 1886-87] (1 file) National Library of Scotland.
==findmypast==
There are some records, probably limited, in the British India Office Collection on [[findmypast]], in particular in "British India Office Wills & Probate", located in Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records/Wills & probate, and in "British India Office Army & Navy Pensions", located in
Armed forces & conflict/Regimental & service records. Examples in the first category include William Hannah who died in Calcutta (Bengal) 3 November 1855 and in the second category include James Dodd (Madras) who received a pension (in Britain) from 15 March 1831.
==General Orders==
Details about the postings of Apothecaries appear in the Bengal General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief. The British Library reference is:
It is not known whether details of postings also appear in the Madras and Bombay General Orders. However the equivalent British Library references are:
Madras General Orders by the Commander-in -Chief IOR/L/MIL/17/23/412-456 1818-1895 . (Note, currently 2019/03/07 is incorrectly catalogued as IOR/L/MIL/17/2/412-456) There are annual indexes from 1845.Possibly also IOR/L/MIL/17/3/481-489 1896-1904 Madras Command Orders 1896-1904
Bombay General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief IOR/L/MIL/17/4/467-501 1860-1895.
There are annual indexes from 1868. Possibly also IOR/L/MIL/17/4/502-511 Bombay Command and Western Command Orders 1895-1904.
==Other==
This An India List post<ref>Murphy, Sylvia [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20210212221512/https://archivermlarchives.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIAlistindexes/emails?listname=india&thread=1662099 Apothecaries on Bombay Muster Rolls] ''Rootsweb India Mailing List'' 20 February 2010-02, archived.</1266657514 post] ref> advises that two Apothecaries and a Hospital Steward were found on a list of pensioners in the Bombay Muster records for 1857. ==External links==*"European Pharmacies in Colonial India" by Harkishan Singh, pages 58-67 in [https://leopard.tu-braunschweig.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dbbs_derivate_00044324/Pharmaceutical-Historian-2001.pdf ''Pharmaceutical Historian'', Vol. 31, no. 4 (Dec. 2001)]. leopard.tu-braunschweig.de.*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27586218 "Early decades of Madras Medical College: Apothecaries"] by R Raman and A Raman ''Natl Med J India''. 2016 Mar-Apr;29(2):98-102. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov*[http://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/11/the-last-will-and-testament-of-an-indian-wife.html "The last will and testament of an Indian wife"] 02 November 2017. British Library Untold lives blog. Includes mention of William Foy baptized 1805 who became a sub-assistant veterinary surgeon and later an apothecary at the General Hospital in Calcutta. William retired from the Subordinate Medical Service in 1857 and set up as a ‘Practising Physician’ in Calcutta.===Historical books online===*[https://archive.org/details/b22394023/mode/2up ''A code of medical regulations, for the Honorable East India Company's establishment of surgeons, belonging to the Presidency of Prince of Wales' Island, Singapore, and Malacca''] by W E E Conwell, Surgeon on the Madras Establishment 1828 Archive.org. Includes references to Apothecaries.*[https://archive.org/stream/IndianMedicalServiceReport1912/Indian%20Medical%20Service%20report%201912#page/n13/mode/2up "Military Assistant Surgeons, ISMD"] from a report catalogued as ''Indian Medical Service Report 1912'' Archive.org
==Notes==
{{Origin|text=This article was researched and prepared by Maureen Evers and Joss O’Kelly}}
 
[[Category:Occupations]]
[[Category:Military ranks]]
[[Category:Indian Subordinate Medical Department]]
[[Category:Indian Medical Service]]
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