Apothecary

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Ancestors in British India often followed the professions 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.

Overview

Definition

There are two apparent contradictions that researchers will face straight away. According to usual definitions, apothecary is an old fashioned word for a pharmacist, while surgeons perform surgery. In this context however, they are used for the same job at different times and in fact Apothecaries in the earlier period and Assistant Surgeons in the later were required to do both and much more besides.

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. The Wellcome Library, London has the article "European Pharmacies in Colonial India" by Harkishan Singh in the Pharmceutical Historian, Vol. 31, no. 4 (Dec. 2001). Details about these Apothecaries may be sought in the Commercial sections of Directories such as 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 the Madras Presidency. 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. This London Gazette article sets out the requirements for Assistant-Surgeons in the service of the East India Company in March 1856.

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.

British Library definition

The India Office Family History Search, in its Dictionary gives the following description of Apothecary:

"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 Stewards, Assistant Apothecaries and Assistant Stewards, together with those in training for these roles called Hospital or Medical Apprentices. The first four positions were of Warrant Officer rank (see Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science 1863 v. 7), 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.

The link just quoted is a Google Books link, as are most of the links which follow.

The Early Years

Training

In Bengal, a formal scheme to train apothecaries commenced following a General Order dated June 15, 1812 by the Governor General (reported in the Calcutta Gazette dated Thursday, July 2, 1812 (Vol LVII, No 1479) 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 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.”

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 soldiers. 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 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 in 1812, and a little later in Bombay.

This Google Books link, (published 1838), is about the Madras Medical School, established 1835. Private Students, or persons not in the Public Service, were admitted from August 1838 as the next link, (published 1842) shows.

Medical College training for Hospital Apprentices was introduced in 1847 in Bengal following the system that had previously been successfully introduced in Madras.

General Order 200 dated 15 June 1847 is about Apprenticeships in the Bengal Subordinate Medical Department. It sets out that candidates would sit an examination to become an apprentice. Those successful would serve for two years as an apprentice in the Hospital of a European Regiment or General Hospital. They then may be selected by the Medical Board for a studentship in the Medical College. They would then attend a two year course of study comprising Anatomy, Dissection, Materia Medica, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, the practice of Medicine and Surgery and more especially clinical instruction in connection with the last two branches. At the end of the two years they were to undergo an examination. If successful they were to be drafted to European Regiments or to the General Hospital, there to wait their turn for promotion as Assistant Apothecaries or Assistant Stewards. Promotion to Apothecary was also to be by examination.

This Order is in a book called General Report on Public Instruction in the Lower Provinces of the Bengal Presidency for 1847-1848, Appendix E, no. XI, page clxvi.

However, when the Mutiny occurred (1857), the classes at the Medical College for Hospital Apprentices were broken up. Due to the shortage of medical personnel, and the demand for them in the regiments, this situation continued for over ten years [in Bengal]. A decision was made in July 1868 to recommence classes for the Hospital Apprentices at the Medical Schools. Full article, page 158 Indian Medical Gazette, July 1868

The Bombay Medical Board issued new Rules for training Medical Apprentices dated 2nd April 1851. They were similar to Bengal, but with three years of Medical College prior to becoming an Assistant Apothecary with progression to Steward, then Apothecary. Pages 235 to 246 Report of the Board of Education, Bombay January 1,1850 to April 30, 1851 (Published 1851). Full article

It is interesting to note that from 1869 until the founding of the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore, apprentice Apothecaries were also recruited from schools in that region and trained in the Madras Medical College. Full details are given in The Founding of the Medical School in Singapore in 1905 by YK Lee.

Promotion

Published in 1841, page 5 of Medical Advice to the Indian Stranger by John McCosh stated, in respect of the situation in Bengal, “They enter the service as hospital-apprentices, on the pay of 33 rupees a month; after ten years service they are promoted either to assistant-apothecaries or assistant-stewards, on an allowance of 70 rupees; and, after about nine years in that grade, they are promoted to apothecaries with the pay of 140 rupees a month, or stewards with the pay of 120 rupees. To every European regiment, whether Royal or Company's, there is an apothecary and a steward attached, with each his assistant.” Full article

In earlier years the assistant apothecaries were promoted much more quickly. William Hannah was promoted from Assistant Apothecary to Apothecary in December 1824 (The Oriental Herald and Colonial Review Volume V, April to June 1825, page 530) when he was about 22 years old, and there is an 1818 reference to Apprentice Henry Anderson who was appointed directly from Apprentice to Apothecary (Asiatic Journal Vol VI June-December 1818).

However, it seems the situation did change and that promotion became much slower. When William Hannah became an apothecary in December 1824, ten were appointed assistant apothecaries. Of these, three became apothecaries in January 1834, almost exactly nine years later. (One became a steward in September 1826, one was on the invalid pension from December 1833. The others were probably dead. Dates are from the 1838 Bengal Directory.) So it does seem that if an apothecary was appointed from 1834 onwards he would probably be aged in his thirties at date of appointment which may help to indicate a date of birth (if not otherwise known).

Duties

The following 1855 description of the duties of apothecaries and stewards, and training, is in an article called "The Medical Services of the British Army" in The British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review or Quarterly Journal of Practical Medicine and Surgery, Vol XV, January-April 1855. The article starts on page 411, but the relevant pages are 444-447.

“An invaluable appendage of the Indian army is the subordinate medical department attached to it. This, in Bengal, consists of the European establishment, and of a special class of subordinate agency for the native army, and for duty in civil hospitals appropriated to natives.
The European establishment consists of apothecaries, assistant-apothecaries, apprentices, stewards, and assistant-stewards. The apothecaries are charged with the preparation and administration of medicines, the care of wounds, accidents, and injuries, during the intervals of the visits of the surgeons, the admission of patients, and, in fact, are the general assistants of the medical officers in the performance of their professional duties in the field, in garrison, and in all the circumstances in which the troops are employed. It would be impossible to exaggerate the usefulness and importance of this excellent class of public servants. As a body, they are a credit to the service, and are of more real use, from their careful professional training, than any body of nurses could possibly be, to the sick and wounded.
They are usually the sons of soldiers, educated in the regimental schools, or in the Military Orphan School. They are admitted to the service after examination by special committees of medical officers—a concours upon a small scale—and after doing duty in regimental hospitals for two years, are (if in Bengal) transferred to the medical college in Calcutta tor two additional years of training. There they are under strict military control; are instructed in anatomy, materia medica, medicine, and surgery; are carefully trained in hospital duties as clinical clerks; and, after undergoing a tolerably strict examination—in somе particulars more severe than that of the College of Surgeons of England—are reported qualified. If they fail, are idle and insubordinate, and otherwise misconduct themselves, they are removed from the army, and forfeit all the advantages of their previous service.
In the recent Burmese campaign, and in the late Punjaub war, they were found most efficient field-assistants; and we are able, from personal knowledge, to state that some of them are more efficient members of the profession, and generally better informed, than some assistant-surgeons with whom we have come in contact, armed with degrees and diplomas from British schools of old and great pretensions. (Note: Remember that at this date assistant surgeon was an IMS title).
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." Full article

Change of Duties
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.

Further reading

  • The 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 Wellcome Library, London has the article "Apothecaries and Hospital Assistants in Colonial India" by Harkishan Singh in the Pharmaceutical Historian Vol. 32, no. 1 (Mar. 2002)

Individuals

  • Arthur Fitzgibbon

The Victoria Cross; an official chronicle of the deeds of personal valour achieved in presence of the enemy during the Crimean and Baltic campaigns, the Indian mutinies, and the Persia, China, and New Zealand wars (1865) and also page 154, "Awarded Victorian Cross August 13, 1861. Indian Medical Establishment—Hospital Apprentice Arthur Fitzgibbon."

Medals of the British army, and how they were won By Thomas Carter Published by Groombridge, 1861, states:

"The youngest VC recipient is generally regarded as Hospital Apprentice Arthur Fitzgibbon (15 years and 3 months), Indian Medical Establishment."

The following information, collected from various sources, some of which give conflicting personal details, include his citation in The London Gazette (issue 22538 dated 13 Aug 1861, published 13 Aug 1861) for the action in the 3rd China War of 1860. He was in the Bengal SMD.

ARTHUR FITZGIBBON
Hospital Apprentice, Indian Medical Establishment; attached 67th Regiment
Born: 13 May 1845, Gujarat, India Died: 7 March 1883, Delhi, India
Citation: For having behaved with great coolness and courage at the capture of the North Taku Fort [near Tientsin, China], on the 21st of August, 1860. On the morning of that day he accompanied a wing of the 67th Regiment, when it took up a position within 500 yards of the Fort. Having quitted cover, he proceeded, under a very heavy fire, to attend to a Dhoolie-bearer, whose wound he had been directed to bind up; and, while the Regiment was advancing under the Enemy's fire, he ran across the open to attend to another wounded man, in doing which he was himself severely wounded.
The Wellcome Library (London) has some documents, including his baptism in 1845 at Almorah (NW India) under the name Andrew Fitzgibbon.
  • Subordinate Medical Department staff mentioned, killed or wounded during the Indian Mutiny

The following names are from the books Bulletins and Other State Intelligence part 2, July-December for 1857 and Bulletins and other State Intelligence for the Year 1858 in Four Parts, first published in the London Gazette (published in 1859 and 1860):

- 3rd Brigade, Bengal Horse Artillery. Officiating Apothecary R. W. Beale, severe contusion on 8th instant.
- Her Majesty's 23rd Fusiliers. Hospital Apprentice R. Pereira, severe contusion
- Mr. T. Corbet, Sub. Medical Department, Delhi.
- 1st Troop Horse Artillery. Assistant Apothecary W. Conway, wounded dangerously, ball through head
  • Benares, June 1857 Killed, One apothecary, Her Majesty’s 10th, murdered by 37th [N.I.] men (Vol 2,1857, report commences page 1616, death listed page 1620)
  • Benares 4 June 1857 HM 10th Regiment of Foot: Killed: Hospital Apprentice Edwin Courtenay Jackson, gunshot wounds, head, hip, and thigh; killed while proceeding with hospital supplies to the scene of action (Vol 2,1857, p1622).
No. 2. General Orders by the Governor-General of India in Council (Fort William December 5, 1857) (No 1,543.) (report commences page 119, mention page 123) THE Governor-General in Council has received from Brigadier Inglis, of Her Majesty s 32nd Regiment, lately commanding the garrison in Lucknow, the subjoined report of the defence of the Residency in that city, from the first- threatened attack upon it on the 29th of June to the arrival of the force under Major-General Sir J. Outram, G.C.B., and the lamented Major- General Sir H. Havelock, K.C.B on the 25th of September.
"The medical officers of the garrison are well entitled to the cordial thanks of the Government of India. The attention, skill, and energy, evinced by...., and of Mr. Apothecary Thompson, are spoken of in high terms by Brigadier Inglis."
No. 3. Brigadier Inglis, Commanding Garrison of Lucknow. to the Secretary to the Government, Military Department, Calcutta. (Lucknow. September 26, 1857) (report commences page 127, mention page 144)
"I beg particularly to call the attention of the Government, of India to the untiring industry, the extreme devotion, and the great skill which have been evinced by Surgeons ....and by Mr. Apothecary Thompson—in the discharge of their onerous and most important duties."
- Assistant-Apothecary J. C. Ellis
- Hospital Apprentice John Volkers.
  • Senior Assistant Apothecary, John Barnes, attached to the garrison hospital of Cannamore {Madras Presidency] was found guilty of having embezzled stores in 1832 and was sentenced to be dismissed from the service of the Honourable East India Company. The Commander in Chief considered the sentence insufficient “as the value of the drugs stolen may frequently exceed the value of the situation lost.” London Medical and Surgical Journal Volume 4 1834 page 284
  • Assistant Apothecary Burgess murders Assistant Apothecary O’Brien in 1840 at Kamptee (Madras Presidency) and is sentenced to be hanged, but his sentence is commuted into “Transportation beyond the seas” (Asiatic journal 1841, page 234). Note at least some convicts were sent to Australia.
  • This link gives the names of several hospital apprentices who were dismissed, together with some appointed in Bengal 1839

The Situation by the 1870s

The following information is from a book published in 1870 and relates to Madras. However, it would be expected that conditions would be much the same throughout India. By this time the course at Medical College (at least in Madras and Bombay) had been extended to three years, but there was still a two year period before college, when there were examinations every six months.

Pupils and Apprentices of East Indian or European parentage were prevented from marrying until they had passed through Medical College (Page 85)

The examination for promotion from Assistant Apothecary to Apothecary consisted of Anatomy, Surgery, Materia Medica, Pharmacy, Practice of Medicine, Midwifery and Vaccination (page 99)

One tenth of the number of Apothecaries were to be Senior Apothecaries (page 86)

A salary scale is set out on page 126. In addition, the members of the Subordinate Medical Department received free quarters and at least the Hospital Apprentices received food.

Per month the rates in rupees were:
When in College: First year 20, second year 25, third year 30
Passed Hospital Apprentice: 50
Assistant Apothecary: Under 5 yrs service 75, over 5 yrs service 100
Apothecary: Under 5yrs service 150, over 5yrs service 200
Senior Apothecary: 400

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 by William Robert Cornish (1870). Volume 1, which contains the above references and 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.)

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.”

Some apothecaries working in hospitals also had some private patients, as this article (Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science 1863 v7) details.

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. Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science 1863 Volume 6, page 465

The Later Period

Major Hector Alfred Richardson

Towards the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, Apothecaries and Assistant Surgeons continued to perform their duties but increasingly it seems that they were “in Civil Employ”.

However, the essentially military status of Assistant Surgeons is made clear in a document dated 28/2/1931 by Lt Col HAJ Gidney, IMS retired.

This appears in 'Collection 116/50 Improvements in pay and prospects of military assistant surgeons of Indian Subordinate Medical Department, including removal of the word "Subordinate". IOR/L/MIL/7/5321 1914-1934', which is discussed in more detail under The Question of Status.

Gidney writes:

“The IMD, previously known as the Apothecary class and until recently called the ISMD has been in existence for about 100 years and, although mainly recruited from the Anglo Indian and Domiciled European community, it includes many non-domiciled Europeans..... It has a record of military service in all parts of the Empire with a high percentage of military honours gained on almost every battlefield. Its members are recruited in precisely the same manner as every other British soldier: they take the same oath and are primarily intended for exclusive duty in the British army and are attached to British Military Hospitals: they undergo a five years' course of medical training at the Medical Colleges of Madras and Calcutta and attain a high professional standard. About 80 of a cadre of 600 possess a British medical qualification.
“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 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.

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.

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

Indian Army Lists

Another invaluable source is the Indian Army Lists, like Thacker’s, available at the British Library. This B.L. webpage Indian Medical Service 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. 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).
The January 1912 edition is available online via Ancestry.com
The LDS(Mormon) Library catalogue has the following 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:

  • July 1888 – Listed under Subordinate Medical Department, Sub Assistant Apothecaries - McCarthy P. Date of present rank 1 Mar 88.
  • Apr 1901 - Asst surgeon 2nd class Ranking as Conductor, McCarthy, Patrick (105) = Qualification Burmese Lower Standard) B (for Bengal) DoB 19 Feb 1868, d of warrant rank 1 Mar 88, d of present rank 1 Mar 00. At Monywa.
  • Oct 1910 - Medical Warrant Officer, Indian Subordinate Medical Department, Assistant Surgeon First Class ranking as Conductor. Date of Warrant Rank 1/3/1888, date of present rank 1/3/07, Civil and Jail, Hensada (Assistant Surgeons seconded for Civil Employ)
  • Oct 1918 - Senior Asst Surgeon with honorary rank of Major, Date of 1st command 26 Dec 10, date of present rank 25/12/1917. Civil and Jail Akyab.

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 Histories. The necessary volumes can be found using Access to Archives. Look at IOR/V/12 and 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.

In addition to the postings, the Service Histories also contain other details relating to leave and training.

Hence the following extracts from Histories of Service in Burma - Medical Department IOR/V/12/406 for 1921 relating to Patrick McCarthy:

Sandoway – Civil Surgeon - 28 Oct 1899
Leave on medical certificate in India from 15th and out of India for 5 months and 11 days from 17 August 1900, the date of being struck off duty being 15 Aug 1900.
Henzada - CS – 26 May 1909
On deputation to Kasauli for training in Clinical Bacteriology and Technique from 25 Feb to 30 Mar 1912
Henzada - CS – 6 Apr 1912
On deputation to Calcutta for Royal Commission from 7 Jan 1914

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 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.”

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 Access to Archives site and available to view at the British Library.

See Superintendent of Jails for some details of daily life.

Records - The Question of Status

Collection 116/48

Collection 116/48 Issue of new Royal Warrant for promotion of assistant surgeons and sub-assistant surgeons. IOR/L/MIL/7/5319 1910-1933

This is a bundle of documents relating to honorary commissions, and includes the following Royal Warrant:

“As of 1911, Senior Assistant Surgeons may be given the honorary rank of Lieutenant, Captain and Major. Promotion to the grade of Senior Assistant Surgeons with honorary rank of Major shall not ordinarily be made until after 15 years service in the Commissioned grade. Senior Assistant Surgeons shall enjoy the precedence and other advantages attaching to their honorary military rank.” Given at our court at Balmoral this 26th day of September 1911.

Some of the documents relate to LAH Clerke who was promoted on special merit before this warrant went through, being mentioned in the London Gazette 4 Jan 1911. At that time the royal warrant of 1894 still in force, hence proposal for a revision.

Collection 116/52

Collection 116/52 Recognition by General Medical Council of certain Indian degrees, including Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery of University of Madras. IOR/L/MIL/7/5323 1915-1916

This is an interesting collection of documents and correspondence. The hope had been that qualifications such as the LMS (Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery) would be recognised by the General Medical Council, and that at the end of 5 years in the ISMD, Assistant Surgeons would be able to study for further qualifications that would put them on an equal footing with their IMS colleagues. (Click here for a document, Chapter 11 from an unnamed book, which sets out the requirements for a medical qualification from the Indian universities.)

The outcome was to defer the adoption of the system of nomination for admission into the medical colleges for Assistant Surgeon branch of the ISMD. Presumably the decision was not taken at this time as it was the middle of the First World War and there were more pressing matters to hand - during this time many Civil Surgeons served for a time with the Military - but it would seem that the ISMD was put on a more equitable footing shortly thereafter.

It is clear from other documents in this collection that the ISMD had numerous grievances and that they were prepared to voice them:

  • Rates of pay for 1915 are given, not vastly different from those given above for 1870:
4th class Assistant Surgeon ranking as sub conductor 100 rupees per month
3rd class 150 rpm
2nd class ranking as conductor 200 rpm
1st class 250 rpm
Senior Assistant Surgeon with honorary rank of Lieutenant 350 rpm
Senior with honorary rank of Captain or Major 450 rpm
  • A letter dated 1907, says that the ISMD is no longer a desirable field for employment for young men. The pay is poor, particularly in junior grades: this and the 4 year course of professional study makes it difficult to recruit suitable men. There is a need to improve pay and prospects - an Assistant Surgeon has to serve for 19 years before promotion to 1st class. It was proposed to reduce this to 17 years, and introduce more “perks” relating to horse allowance, furlough pay etc.
  • Correspondence with the General Council for Medical Education and Registration in London in which they point out that granting of qualifications is their remit and are entitled to refuse - they refused to acknowledge qualifications of State Medical Faculty of Bengal.
  • In 1914, 18 Military Assistant Surgeons sent memorials to His Majesty’s Secretary of State praying for certain improvements in the pay, status and prospects of the ISMD – among them was Senior Assistant Surgeon AW Truter, who wrote a lengthy letter, including the following:
“Your memorialist submits that the present designation, viz Indian Subordinate Medical Department, casts an undeserved slur on its members inasmuch as no Government Department of similar standing is designated “subordinate”, nor is the word “subordinate” borne by any department of the British or Indian Army... your memorialist would therefore crave your lordships indulgence in this respect and beg for the removal of a word so obnoxious as “subordinate” from his designation”
  • This collection also includes a copy of the entrance exam to the ISMD in 1912. There are sections on English Composition, (eg write an essay on punctuality), Mathematics (including algebra), History and Geography (both Indian and UK based - candidates had to answer some of each.)

Collection 116/50

Collection 116/50 Improvements in pay and prospects of military assistant surgeons of Indian Subordinate Medical Department, including removal of the word "Subordinate". IOR/L/MIL/7/5321 1914-1934

This is another interesting collection that repeatedly underlines the problems of status experienced by the Assistant Surgeons.

The first document, dated 12 Feb 1914 to the Secretary of State India, is a submission for Your Lordship's consideration of a memorial submitted by Military Assistant Surgeons of the Indian Medical Department, praying for improvement of their pay and prospects.

It is proposed that the preliminary course of study be increased from 4 to 5 years, a 6 month probationary period and study leave of 1 month for every year's service.

Memo to the President of the Medical Board dated 20 Mar 1914, signed H Charles, states that “The Military Assistant Surgeon, when on Military duty, serves only with British soldiers and it is quite impossible for disciplinary reasons to replace him with an Indian however well qualified. He is absolutely essential to the Station Hospitals of India.” There is concern that the current 4 year course is insufficient and that the General Medical Council does not recognise the resulting qualification. Charles is particularly galled that “the Indian Assistant Surgeon who goes through a five year course despises the Military Assistant Surgeon”, adding: “I taught these men for 20 years and I know their importance.”

These proposals are duly put forward, although a request for an increase in pay is deferred.

Another memo to the Secretary of State in July 1914 asks for the removal of the word 'subordinate'. There is general agreement in principal, but a decision must await the report of the Public Services Commission.

The Gazette of India, Jan 2 1915, implements pay increase, promotion, study leave etc and the 5 year course.

“The standard of preliminary education of candidates for Admission into Medical colleges shall be raised to, or be equivalent to that required by the General Medical Council of Great Britain: and the present course of professional study shall be extended from four to five years.” Also the probationary period is agreed, as is 7 years service before discharge can be claimed.

In 1918 petitioners are still praying that the word 'subordinate' be deleted, and on 10 May 1918 a handwritten military dispatch to the government of India, printed on August 9 1918 states that the writer is “of the opinion that the designation “subordinate” can be abolished at once without prejudging any of the other recommendations of the Public Services Commission and I request that this be done.”

A memo dated 14 Mar 1921 sums up qualifications held by Military Assistant Surgeons at that time:

658 hold diplomas granted after examination held by the Director General of the Indian Medical Service
20 are Licentiates of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Bombay
2 are Licentiates of the State Medical Facility, Bengal
35 are Licentiates of the Board of Examiners Madras
11 hold qualifications registerable in England.

Civil assistant surgeons are usually graduates or licentiates in medicine of the medical colleges in Madras, Calcutta, Bombay, Lahore and Lucknow or Members of the Provincial Medical Faculties.

A document dated 21 Mar 1921 gives the rates of pay from 1920:

1-7 years service 200 rupees per month
8-12 years 275 rpm
13-17 years 350 rpm
18-20 years 400 rpm
21 years and over 450 rpm
Lieutenant 500 rmp
Captain 650 rpm
Major 700 rpm

Further documents continue to highlight the problem of pay. Indeed Gidney’s defence of the IMD on February 28 1931 is written because IMD promotions and pay had been in line with those of other army departments, but recently had fallen behind. Other departments received a pay rise in 1927 while the IMD had to wait until 1929 and these payments were only sanctioned for those in military employ, those in civil employ being overlooked. This is why he was making it clear that however individual members of the IMD might be currently employed, they were still army men.

Other records

The reform of the ISMD is covered in more detail in the following Collections, which, to date, have not been perused by the authors:

Collection 116/8 Senior apothecaries no longer to be styled as warrant officers. IOR/L/MIL/7/5278 1886

Collection 116/13 Royal Warrant for grant of commissions to senior apothecaries. IOR/L/MIL/7/5283 1890

Collection 116/15 Names of senior apothecaries granted commissions under Royal Warrant. IOR/L/MIL/7/5286 1890

Collection 116/22 Apothecary branch: changes in rank and designation of members IOR/L/MIL/7/5293 1893-1894

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 Corps. In this form, it still exists today.

Listings of Apothecaries

There is a British Library Catalogue 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 (May 2009) there are only six known lists online:

Madras Quarterly Journal Of Medical Science (search within these volumes for ”warrant officers” or more generally for “medical warrant officers”):

For Bengal, the following have also been noted to contain lists. There may well be others.

  • Scott and Co Bengal Directory and Register for 1844
  • New Calcutta Directory 1857-1862, but excluding 1860. Hospital Apprentices and “Extra Assistant Apothecaries” are included in 1861.
  • Thacker’s Bengal Directory 1864-1868. These volumes include Hospital Apprentices.

Ian Poyntz's 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.

You can also try searching in Directories 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 London Gazette is a good source of information for promotions.

General Orders

Details about the postings of Apothecaries appear in the Bengal General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief. The British Library reference is: Bengal General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief/General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief India IOR/L/MIL/17/2/269-352 1820-1903. Annual indexes appear 1833-1835, 1837-1838 and from 1850.

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/17/2/412-456 1818-1895 There are annual indexes from 1845.

Bombay General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief IOR/L/MIL/17/4/467-501 1860-1895. There are annual indexes from 1868.


This article was researched and prepared by Maureen Evers and Joss O’Kelly
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