Doctor

See also, details of some individual Doctors and Surgeons.

A doctor may also be known as a Surgeon or (prior to 1873) an Assistant Surgeon. The term Medical Officer is also used. Most of this article refers to surgeons who were employed by the Bengal, Madras, Bombay or Indian Medical Service/Departments. However some surgeons in British Army regiments were part of the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army.

For Assistant Surgeons from 1894, refer Apothecary

On 3 April 1943, the Indian Medical Service was amalgamated into the Indian Army Medical Corps, along with the Indian Medical Department, and the Indian Hospital & Nursing Corps

This article contains many links to historical online books.

Records

Online records

• The following records are available on the pay website findmypast (as at June 2014) as the collection British India Office Assistant Surgeons, a section of the British India Office Collection. These records are located in the category Education & work/Professions.
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/358, 360-364, 366-396 Assistant-Surgeons’ Papers, 1804-1854
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/397-408 Papers of Assistant-Surgeons selected by the Board of Examiners,, 1855-1881
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/409 Annual list of Assistant-Surgeons appointed giving Presidency, nominating Director and date of appointment, with separate lists of rank, 1787-1791
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/410 Annual lists of Assistant-Surgeons appointed giving Presidency, nominating Director, date of appointment and ship, 1791-1814
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/411 Annual lists of rank of Assistant-Surgeons, Madras Bengal and Bombay, 1794-1814
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/412 Register of candidates for Assistant-Surgeon posts giving address, dates of application and examination, result, and date of returning diplomas. 1865-1877
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/413-418 Papers of Surgeons selected by the Board of Examiners, 1882-1894
  • IOR/L/MIL/9/419 Papers of candidates selected for the Indian Medical Service, 1895-1896
• findmypast, pay website, also contains the database Britain, Physicians and Surgeons, 1830-1923. Based on data from Calendar of The Royal College of Surgeons in England 1865 to 1923, and Members of The Royal College of Physicians 1830 to 1918, in addition to online books, which are available online (for free), see below. Note these are databases in respect of Specialist doctors.
• Ancestry, a pay website, in the category Schools, Directories & Church Histories has the following databases:
  • "UK, Roll of the Indian Medical Service, 1615 -1930". (Released October 2016). This database consists of Index records and page images from the book of the same name by D.G. Crawford, see below under Lists of medical officers.
  • "UK & Ireland, Medical Directories, 1845-1942" (Released October 2016). These appear to be commercial publications. “Medical Directories list most practising and retired doctors in Britain and its colonies”. The main publication included is The Medical Directory (1870- 1942) and earlier publications The London Medical Directory (1845-1846), The London and Provincial Medical Directory (1847-1869) The Medical Directory for Ireland (1852-1860), The Medical Directory for Scotland (1852-1860). Broken ranges.

  As an example of the contents The Medical Directory for 1924 80th Annual Issue has sections “Abroad”, and “Naval, Military and Indian Services”, see Contents page, digital page 43. "Practitions Resident Abroad registered under the Medical Acts of Great Britain and Ireland" digital page 1714/original page 1601. "Registered Practitionrs Resident Abroad. Local List. Digital page 1896/original page 1783 Grouped according to Continent/Country. To access these links you must be signed into Ancestry.

Available on Archive.org: The medical directory for Ireland 1852, 1856, 1858; 1859, in including [Regulations and conditions relating to] "Her Majesty's Indian Forces" page 270. The London & provincial medical directory for 1861, including "A List of registered Non-Residents"

• Also available on Ancestry "UK Medical Registers, 1859-1959". "This database contains annually published books listing all of the names of [UK] doctors who were licensed to practise in the United Kingdom and abroad from 1859-1959. Also included are foreign doctors who qualified in Britain. Although these books were published annually, registers have only been digitised on 4 year intervals".

• The British Medical Journal is available online from 1840 and is a source of information, particularly the obituaries. It probably has more relevance for English, rather than Scottish doctors. However, it is now only available to those who have a personal or institutional subscription. Search the archives directly or access BMJ and other online journals through PubMed Central (PMC is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature). Some editions are available online at Archive.org (refer below)
• Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College Of Physicians. Search by Name. Obituaries of past Fellows [Specialist Physicians]. Royal College of Physicians, London. Based on twelve publications, the first four being:

The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London, comprising biographical sketches of all the eminent physicians whose names are recorded in the Annals .. by William Munk

Volume I 1518 to 1700; Volume II 1701 to 1800; Volume III 1801 to 1825. All 2nd edition, revised and enlarged 1878 Archive.org

Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of London 1826-1925 compiled by G H Brown 1955 Archive.org. Catalogued as Volume 4 of the above series. Contains references to Indian service.

• List of Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh: from the year 1581 to 31st December 1873 1874 Archive.org. Fellows of this body are Specialist Surgeons. This book is the basis for the findmypast database "Scotland, Fellows Of The Royal College Of Surgeons Of Edinburgh 1581-1873"

British Library

The British Library information page, now archived, 'Indian Medical Service' lists records available in the BL.

There are also “detailed records of service of surgeons and assistant-surgeons, compiled at East India House” to 1858. Bengal Service Army Lists - Medical IOR/L/MIL/10/70-74 c 1765-1858 and LDS microfilm catalogue entry; Madras Service Army Lists - Medical IOR/L/MIL/11/70-72 c 1760-1858 and LDS microfilm catalogue entry; Bombay Service Army Lists - Medical IOR/L/MIL/12/85-87 1763-1858 and LDS microfilm catalogue entry. It is not known to what extent these records are included in Crawford’s book Roll of the Indian Medical Service, refer below.

Records are available on the pay website findmypast (as at June 2014) as the collection British India Office Assistant Surgeons, a section of the British India Office Collection. Refer Online records above.

A pdf document, now archived, by the Wellcome Library lists records in the British Library relating to medicine and health, including manuscripts.

Science and the Changing Environment in India 1780-1920: A Guide to Sources in the India Office Records by Richard Axelby and Savithri Preetha Nair 2009. The guide is arranged in eleven chapters including one in respect of health and disease including medical education. Refer Research guides reading list for more details of this book.

Online histories

Three histories, the first quite short, of the Indian Medical Service, which also contain some biographical details are:

• Indian Medical Service Past and Present by Surgeon General W B Beatson (Late Deputy Surgeon General, Lahore Division) 1902. Reprinted from the Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review October 1902. Archive.org
• A History of the Indian Medical Service, 1600-1913 (two volumes) by D. G. Crawford 1914. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org. There are also additional files available on Archive.org.
• Surgeons Twoe and a Barber. Being some account of the life and work of the Indian Medical Service, 1600-1947 by Lieut.-Colonel Donald McDonald 1950. Archive.org. Digital text quality is poor in places, particularly left located pages in the two page viewing option. 2nd file, better quality print Archive.org Books to Borrow/Lending Library. More details about the book are contained in these reviews: Review 1 and Review 2

Lists of medical officers

Two particularly useful books, listing service histories etc, are:

• An Alphabetical List of the Medical Officers of the Indian Army 1764-1838 by Edward Dodwell and James S. Miles (1839). Google Books. When viewing the alphabetical list, ensure that the viewing mode is two pages side by side, and if necessary click on the relevant icon.
• Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1615-1930 by D.G. Crawford 1930. Review in FIBIS Military Reading List. Available with sample pages only Preview Google Books Volume One: 1615-1799, Volume Two 1800-1930.
  • Ancestry, a pay website, has a database consisting of this book "UK, Roll of the Indian Medical Service, 1615 -1930" consisting of index records and images from the book.
  • The book is also available as a FamilySearch digitised microfilm, catalogue entry, viewable at a FS family history centre, or FS affiliate library, see FamilySearch Centres.

This book includes chapters relating to Bengal (pages 1-243), Madras (pages 244-390), Bombay (pages 391-496), General List 1897-1930 (pages 497-601), Eastern Factories 1605-1775 (pages 602-604); Sumatra or West Coast 1696-1825 (pages 605-617); St. Helena 1684-1831 (pages 618-622); China 1763-1834 (pages 623-624); Prince of Wales Island (page 625); Appendices from page 629. If you are browsing the book through Ancestry, there are errata pages at the beginning of the digital file, before "Contents", pages xv-xvi, digital images 67-68.

Other online lists:

• Lists of surgeons, and prior to 1894, Assistant Surgeons may be found in the East-India Register and Directory, published 1803-1860. The East-India Register was superseded by what was initially called The Indian Army and Civil Service List. Later these were separated, and the India Army List is the volume which contains the surgeons. Many of the East India Register and Directory are available online, together with some editions of The Indian Army and Civil Service List and other directories such as the Bengal Directory, and may be found on Directories online, which also mentions some earlier publications available on subscription websites. For details of these books and some earlier publications, in libraries or on microfilm or fiche, refer Directories reading list
• "List of Principal Medical Officers" in Madras from 1651-1800 (Google Books)
• Surgeons at Fort St George, Madras 1850-52.
• The Lancet (vol 1, 1858) lists the Medical Officers of the Bengal Medical Service who died during the Mutiny (Google Books)
• Madras Quarterly Journal Of Medical Science contains a medical directory for the Madras Presidency,commencing page i of the Appendix at the end of each volume.
  • Madras at 1 October 1860, Madras at 1 April 1861, Madras at 1 October 1861, Madras at 1 April 1862, Madras at 1 April 1863
• Army Surgeons in the Afghan War and on the March to Kandahar from Garen Ewing’s website The Second Anglo Afghan War 1878-1880
• Medical women in India page 104 Englishwoman’s Year Book and Directory 1899 Archive.org. There is also a list for China.

Medical women in India page 114 Englishwoman’s Year Book and Directory 1900 Archive.org. There is also a list for China.

• For some women doctors mentioned in annual reports of the "National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India", part of The Countess of Dufferin’s Fund, see Historical books online below.
• List of Qualified Medical Practitioners, Military and Civil Assistant Surgeons, Hospital Assistants, etc., serving or practising in Bengal Catalogued 1904 Archive.org, Granth Sanjeevani Collection. A Government publication, which does not contain Surgeons in military employment, apart from a few on temporary military duty.
• "God’s Acre in North-West India" by Colonel R. H. Firth Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1914. A record of the names, the careers, and details as to the graves of, or monuments to, all the medical officers buried or memorialized in the Punjab, the North-west Frontier Province, and Kashmir. Part 1 Volume 23:3 320-333 and Part 2 Volume 23:4 415-439
• Indian Army Officers 1939-1945

Other lists:

• The Medical Directory of India, Burma and Ceylon ... Compiled by the editorial staff of the Practical Medicine, published at Delhi. Available at the British Library 1908 UIN: BLL01000948662; 1910 UIN: BLL01000948663. Classified as a Journal, so perhaps there are further editions. 1910 edition is also available at the Wellcome Library, London. Elsewhere it is stated the title includes Including Native States, Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States & British East Africa Protectorate".
• 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. Also referred to as editions 1-3.

National Archives of India pay service "Digitise on Demand" includes Thacker's Medical Directory 1914 (Identifier PR_000002709792) and 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 review which indicates the contents (530 pages). The 1931 edition is available at the Royal Society of Medicine Library, London, (Catalogue) which also holds the 1923 edition. In addition this Library holds a book catalogued as

Medical Directory of India, Burma and Ceylon 1924 with "General Note: Including Indian States, Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States & Africa Protectorates".

Royal Army Medical Corps and the earlier British Army Medical Services

The Royal Army Medical Corps was established by Royal Warrant on 23rd June 1898. Prior to this there had been two distinct organisations within the Army Medical Services, the Medical Staff (i.e. the officers), and the Medical Staff Corps , which were combined to form the RAMC.

For British Army medical personnel, the previously named Army Medical Services Museum's FAQs now archived page, advises that the AMSM has some details for officers who held a regular commission with the Army Medical Department and the RAMC until 1960. The museum has a small booklet available with useful advice for researching relatives who served with the AMS. Note: there has been a change of name to The Museum of Military Medicine. Also refer British Army for personnel records.

The British Library has the India Office Records: British Army in India: British Medical Officers serving in India IOR/L/MIL/15/20 1872-1912.

The book Commissioned officers in the medical services of the British Army, 1660-1960 is available online, see below.

Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps is now available online from 1903, refer below. "Since its early days the Journal also published “Corps News” which gave details of personal occurences of members of the RAMC including the promotion and postings of officers, honours and awards, qualifications gained by senior NCOs of the Corps, casualties whilst on campaign and obituaries of serving officers" Note the "Corps News" appears to be at the back of each monthly edition, and may not be indexed.

First World War

• The National Archives’ Service Records for the First World War: women and medical personnel advises:

Many doctors were granted temporary commissions in the RAMC. Unfortunately, as the RAMC (Temp) officers only served for the duration of the war, their service records were destroyed after 1920. Those for RAMC officers who received permanent commissions between 1871 and 1922, accessible via the index in WO 338/23, are listed in WO 339

The catalogue entry for WO 339 advises it includes records of British reserve officers who were commissioned into the Indian Army.

Note doctors who were young during the First World War may have also served in the Second World War and possibly there may be a service file at the UK Ministry of Defence. For details see British Army - Army personnel serving after January 1921.

• Doctors including those in the Territorial Force are listed in Monthly Army Lists which have been digitised by the National Library of Scotland in the database '1914-1940 - Monthly army lists'.

As an example, for March 1917, the Listing for the Royal Army Medical Corps commences digital page 1251, including Territorial Force digital page 1303 and continues to digital page 1327. Note. Medical Officers attached to Regiments will appear in the regimental listing, following Quarter-Masters, as an example digital page 1001 March 1917.

• RAMC in the Great War: Researching the RAMC
• Royal Army Medical Corps in the First World War The Long, Long Trail longlongtrail.co.uk
• The British Library holds the book Doctors in the Great War by Ian Whitehead 1999 UIN: BLL01007821332 and a 2013 reprint edition UIN: BLL01016495645 . Sample pages including Contents and Scope Google Books. Does not include any listing of names.

Historical books online

• Roll of Commissioned Officers in the Medical Service of the British Army, who served on full pay within the period between the accession of George II and the formation of the Royal Army Medical Corps, 20 June 1727 to 23 June 1898, with an introduction showing the historical evolution of the Corps by William Johnston 1917 Archive.org. Missing one introductory page, which is available in a 2nd digital file, page vii Archive.org.

Commissioned officers in the medical services of the British Army, 1660-1960 2 Volumes, Vol.1: 1660-1727 by A. Peterkin; 1727-1898 by William Johnston; Vol. 2 1898-1960 by R. Drew. Volume 2 may be selected left hand side of the book reader. There is an index at the back of each volume. Scroll down the digital file. Note that there has been a change in book readers, and currently (2021/04/21) it was necessary to change browsers to Chrome, (as Safari could not access the file). Left click on an individual page to reach a page which has size and rotation symbols. Close this page to return to main file. Wellcome Collection.

Excluded are the great majority of the Surgeons' Mates (Assistant Surgeons) who served during the eighteenth century, who were warrant officers, serving with warrants given by the Colonel commanding their regiments, and not commissioned officers, serving with warrants conferred by the King.

• The Story of Our Services under the Crown: a Historical Sketch of the Army Medical Staff by Surgeon-Major Albert A. Gore 1879 Archive.org
• On the Organization and Duties of the Bearer Company of the Medical Corps in War by Surgeon Major G J H Evatt, Army Medical Staff. London 1886 Archive.org
  • "Native Auxiliary Ambulance Transport" page 105.
• Uniform details: A.M.S.C. [Army Medical Staff Corps] India Gouache drawing c1900. Brown Digital Repository, Brown University Library.
• Royal Army Medical Corps Muniments Collection Wellcome Library contains many digital items, some of which relate to India. For some digital items from this collection, see Doctors and Surgeons.
• With the Royal Army Medical Corps (R. A. M. C.) at the Front by E Charles Vivian 1914 Archive.org. Includes chapters on Composition and Duties, Training etc.
• Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps. An Archive from 1903. The "Corps News" may not be not indexed, but appears as a separate section at the back of each monthly edition. Note: the content of the Archive is searchable. Pdf files to access, by article. From 2020 the title changed to BMJ Military Health.

Archive.org:

Vol XI 1908: July, Index; Vol XII 1909 Jan., Index; Vol XV 1910 July, Index; Vol. XVI 1911 Jan., Index; Vol. XVII 1911, July, Index.

Volume 25, Jul –Dec 1915 Volume 25 Index	1 (Jul) Corps News	2 (Aug) Corp News	3 (Sep) Corps News		5 (Nov) Corps News
Volume 30, Jan—Jun 1918 Volume 30 Index		2 (Feb) Corps News	3 (Mar) Corps News	4 (Apr) Corps News	5 (May) Corps News	6 (Jun) Corps News
Volume 31, Jul-Dec 1918 Volume 31 Index	1 (Jul) Corps News	2 (Aug) Corps News	3 (Sep) Corps News	4 (Oct) Corps News		6 (Dec) Corps News

Historical background

• “Early History of the Indian Medical Service”. British Medical Journal 7 February 1914, pages 317-319 Also includes names of doctors present at a medical dinner at Calcutta in 1914
• "Some old Bengal Records" by Colonel R. H. Firth, Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1915;24:2 pages 111-117
• The Wellcome Library, London has both books and archival material about the history of medicine.
• "Surgeons In India, Past and Present" "Past" and "Present,1854" The Calcutta Review v. 22 Published 1854 pages 217 and 242
• “European medicine in India from the sixteenth century” (pdf), a transcribed lecture from University College London (2004), now an archived webpage.
• "Medicine amidst War and Commerce in Eighteenth-Century Madras" by Pratik Chakrabarti, Bulletin of the History of Medicine 2006 Spring; 80(1): 1–38
• "The truth behind the legend: European doctors in pre-colonial India" by Rajesh Kochhar Journal of Biosciences 1999 Sep.; 24(3): 259-68. Alternative version.
• "Tropical medicine in nineteenth-century India" by Mark Harrison The British Journal for the History of Science [BJHS], 1992, 25 Issue 3, 299-318.
• "The Directors of Medical Services in India" by Major J. B. Neal, Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1951;97:6 471-491. They had the chief responsibility for British Military Medicine in India from 1857 to 1947.

Also see Public health

Working conditions and duties

• "East-India Medical Establishment" page 243 The Regimental Companion: Containing the Pay, Allowances and Relative Duties of Every Officer in the British Service, Volume 3 by Charles James 7th edition, considerably enlarged 1811 Google Books
• Pension situation in Bengal in 1827. Letter in Oriental Herald, Volume 14, 1827 Google Books
• 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.
• Code of Regulations for the Medical Department of the Presidency of Fort St. George 1833 Archive.org
• Code of Regulations for the Medical Department of the Bengal Establishment by James Hutchinson, Secretary to the Medical Board 1838. Google Books
• Medical Advice to the Indian Stranger by John McCosh M.D. (1841). This book details the author's photographic work and Army career. He retired in 1856. Also refer Photographer. Google Books
• Handbook for Medical Officers of H.M. Service in India by Charles Alexander Gordon M.D. published 1851 (written 1846). Hints on the Duties of Medical Officers. Google Books
• Code of Regulations for the Medical Department of the Presidency of Bombay 1849 Google Books
• "Echoes of the Past: The Army Medical Service in India, 1840–53" by Lieutenant-Colonel G. A. Kempthorne Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps 1931 Part 1 Volume 56:3 p 220-228 Part 2 Volume 56:4 p 299-310
• Annual Report of the Medical College of Bengal: Twelfth year 1846-47, Thirteenth year 1847-48, Fourteenth year 1848-49, Fifteenth year 1849-50, Sixteenth year 1850-51, Seventeenth year 1851-52. Archive.org
• Salaries of Indian Medical Officers in Calcutta c 1860, page 324 Medical Times and Gazette, Volume 1 1860 (published London) Google Books
• A code of medical and sanitary regulations for the guidance of Medical Officers serving in the Madras Presidency Volume 1, Volume 2 by William Robert Cornish 1870 Google Books
• "The Medical Service of the British Army", with a section on India (page 435), The British and Foreign Medico-chirurgical Review Or Quarterly Journal of Practical Medicine and Surgery (1855) Google Books
• A manual of medical jurisprudence for Bengal and the North-Western Provinces by Norman Chevers MD 1856 Google Books
• Remarks on the uses of some of the bazaar medicines and common medical plants of India, 2nd edition 1874 by Edward John Waring MD , 3rd edition 1875, 4th edition 1883, (1860 edition in English and Tamil) Archive.org
• For more books on Indian medicinal plants and drugs see Scientific books online - Botany in British India
• Medical women for India by Frances Elizabeth Hoggan MD 1882. Archive.org. Reprinted from The Contemporary Review, August, 1882, and from The Journal of the National Indian Association, October, 1882
• Report and evidence taken by the Committee appointed to enquire into the pay, status, and conditions of service of the medical officers of the army : with evidence concerning the Indian Service and some of the more important appendices. April 1890 Archive.org
• The Burma Medical Manual : containing rules for the management of charitable hospitals and dispensaries and for the guidance of medical officers under the Government of Burma ; issued under authority 1898 Archive.org
• Medical Jurisprudence for India: with illustrative cases by I B Lyon, revised and brought up to date by L A Waddell, Lieutenant-Colonel, Indian Medical Service. 3rd edition 1904 Archive.org

7th edition 1921 by L A Waddell, Lt.-Colonel IMS (Retd). Archive.org

• Around the world via India : a medical tour by Nicholas Senn 1905. Contains chapters on India and Ceylon, including hospitals. Archive.org
• Army Regulations, India. Volume VI Medical. Corrected up to 1st April 1906 by Government of India Military Department. Archive.org
• A Hand-book for Officers of the Indian Medical Service in Military Employ by Captain H Boulton IMS, Medical Officer 31st Punjabis. 1909. Archive.org.
• The Indian Medical Service : being a synopsis of the rules and regulations regarding pay, promotion, pension, leave, examination, etc., in the Indian Medical Service, both military and civil by Major B G Seton IMS and Major J Gould IMS. 1912 Archive.org
• Fifty Thousand Miles on a Hospital Ship by “The Padre” [Charles Steel Wallis] 1917 Archive.org. The hospital ship that Padre Wallis joined in 1915 was most likely the 'Goorkha'. She was then an Indian Hospital Ship staffed by doctors from the Indian Medical Service, although subsequently became a British Hospital Ship.
• Their Footprints Remain: Biomedical Beginnings across the Indo-Tibetan Frontier (pdf) by Alex McKay International Institute for Asian Studies 2007 Contents page 6(of the pdf) Notes page 250 Bibliography page 286 Index page 304, part of the Digital Academic Repository van de Universiteit van Amsterdam.
  • page 43, has a section in the introduction called "The Indian Medical Service and the Subordinate Medical Service". Chapter 1 (page 56) is called "Missionary Medicine and the Rise of Kalimpong"
• The Medical Profession in India by Major-General Sir Patrick Hehir [1923] Archive.org
• I’d Live it Again by Lieut.-Col E J O’Meara, Indian Medical Service (rtd) 1935 Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India. The author is catalogued as Meara. An autobiography. He joined the IMS in 1898.
• Indian Medical Service: A Handbook by Major A. N. Chopra 1939 Archive.org version, mirror from Digital Library of India.

Medical Journals

• Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta Volume 1, 1825, Vol 2, 1826, Vol 3, 1827, Vol 4, 1829, Vol 5, 1831, Vol 6, 1833 Archive.org; Vol 7 1835 Google Books; Vol 8, 1836, Part I Archive.org. The title then changed to Quarterly Journal of Calcutta Medical and Physical Society which appears to have been published 1837-1838 (six quarterly volumes), in 1842, with the final volume in 1845, again under the title of Transactions... Vol 9, Part I, 1845 Archive.org.
• Madras Quarterly Medical Journal 1839 to 1844 - many interesting articles by Madras surgeons including medical reports on various regiments. Google Books

Volume 1 1839,Volume 2 1840,Volume 3 1841, Volume 4 1842,Volume 5 1843,Volume 6 1844

• Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science Google Books

Volume 1 1860, Volume 2 1861, Volume 3 1861, Volume 4 1862, Volume 5 1862, Volume 6 1863,Volume 7 1863, Volume 8 1865, Volume 9 1866, Volume 10 1866, Volume 11 1867, Volume 12 1868, Index to Volumes 1-12, pages 409-470 of Volume 12

• The Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science Google Books

Volume 2 July-December 1870, Index, Volume 3, January-June 1871 Index, Volume 4, July-December 1871 Index, Google Books. 1872, Index to Volume V Hathi Trust

• Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society of Bombay Volume I, 1838, No II 1839 (2 volumes in 1), No III, 1840, No IV 1841, No V 1842, (3 volumes in 1), No VI, 1843, No VII 1844, No VIII 1845-1846 (3 volumes in 1), No IX 1847-1848, No X 1849-1850, Index Nos I-X, No I New Series 1851-1852, No II New Series 1853-1854 (2 volumes in 1), No III New Series 1855-1856, No IV New Series 1857-1858 (2 volumes in 1), No V New Series 1859, No VI New Series 1860,(2 volumes in 1) No VII New Series 1861, No VIII New Series 1862 (2 volumes in 1) No IX New Series 1869, No X New Series 1870 Google Books
• "East India and China Stations" Annals of military and naval surgery and tropical medicine and hygiene: Volume 1 for the year 1863 1864 Google Books. (There were no further editions published).
• The Indian Medical Gazette Volume 3, 1868 Google Books, Volume 4, 1869, Archive.org; Volume 8, 1873,Index Volume 10, 1875, Volume 11, 1876 HathiTrust, Volume 39, 1904 Archive.org. Further HathiTrust editions for those in areas such as North America.

US National Library of Medicine Collection 1866-1955, missing three editions.

• The following Journals are available on Archive.org, mirrors of files from the Digital Library of India.
  • Indian Annals of Medical Science Volume 12 1867
  • The Calcutta Journal of Medicine , in an incomplete series ranging from Volume 8, 1876 to Volume 36, 1917
  • The Indian Medical Record. A broken range from Volume 6, 1894 to Volume 20, 1901 (currently four volumes).
• Scientific Memoirs by Medical Officers of the Army of India. Broken range of volumes from 1884 to 1897. Archive.org

Scientific Memoirs by Officers of the Medical and Sanitary Departments of the Government of India. Broken range of editions from New Series Volume 1 1902 to New Series Volume 60 1913. Archive.org

• A broken range of editions of the British Medical Journal 1862-1923 is available at Archive.org including the First World War years

1914:1 1914:2	1915:1 1915:2	1916:1 1916:2	1917:1 1917:2	1918:1 1918:2
1919:1 1919:2	1920:1 1920:2	1921:1 1921:2	1922:1 1922:2	1923:1 1923:2

• Medical Thought and Practice in Colonial India: A Study of the Indian Medical Gazette (1866-1947) by Savitri Das Sinha 2011 PhD Thesis Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi includes
  • "Chapter II Early Medical Journals in India (1825-1866)"

Appointment

• Rules for appointment in 1848 from The Oriental Interpreter and Treasury of East India Knowledge: A Companion to "The Hand-book of British India by Joachim Hayward Stocqueler (1848) page 297 (Google Books)
• Entrance requirements c 1872, page 172, Index Scholasticus: Sons and daughters. A guide to parents in the choice of educational institutions, preparatory to professional or other occupation of their children by R. Kemp Philp 1872 (Archive.org)
• Regulations for appointment to the Indian Medical Service in 1905 in the India Office List (Google Books)

For appointment procedures, refer to the Individuals section Doctors and Surgeons and George Aldred.

Field hospitals

William Lewis M'Gregor, a surgeon himself, writing in his The history of the Sikhs (Vol 1, 1846), describes the work of a regimental surgeon during the 1st Sikh War and calls for field hospitals to be used in future conflicts. "The Loodianah Field Hospital, With Remarks On The State of The Army Medical Department in India" by John Murray, M.D., Field Surgeon, page 158, Medical Times (published in 1849) is an account of a Field Hospital after battle in 1846, including medical details, with the slightly wounded carried out on elephants. "Field Arrangements in India" from Army Hygiene by Charles Alexander Gordon M.D. (1866) describes the Logistics of a Field Hospital, including details of the number of camels required.

Civil Surgeons

Civil Surgeons, it seems, led demanding and frustrating lives although the pay was better than in the Military and the range of professional duties greater.

• "Civil Surgeons in India The Indian Medical Gazette Volume 3, page 272 1868. Google Books
• History of Medicine in India, page 168 by Chittabrata Palit 2005. Preview Google Books
• "Growth of the Civil Side of the Indian Medical Service -Since 1885". Report written 1 October 1912 by C. P. Lukis, Surgeon General, Director- General, Indian Medical Service. Link to a pdf download, DSpace website of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), Pune.

Assistant Surgeons, and sometimes Surgeons, in civil employment were often Superintendent of Jails.

Non-medical duties

Some surgeons were engaged in work which today would be regarded as scientific or senior administrative roles. Most of the botanists in the earlier years were surgeons, see botanists and naturalists for more information. WCB Eatwell MD was ‘First Asst. and Opium Examiner. Board of Customs, Salt and Opium’. He was the author of “Report no.1: On the Poppy Cultivation, and the Benares Opium Agency” from Selections from the Records of the Government of Bengal (1851) Google Books.

“Doctors as Civil and Political Officers” by Lieut-Col D G Crawford I.M.S from The Indian Medical Gazette, Volume 39, 1904, page 1.

External links

• Medical History of British India - National Library of Scotland
• Button: Indian Medical Service , from the time of George V (1910-) or George VI (1936-). indiannumismatics.com
• "Indian Medical Services Named Wolseley" [Helmet] by Peter Suciu April 2019 militarysunhelmets.com . With photographs, showing the IMS flash. The helmet belonged to Clifford Llewellyn Ash c late 1930s-WW2.
• "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
• Photograph: Hospital Shwebo [Burma] with Different Descriptions of Ambulances, 1887 – 1897 by Felice Beato. Wall Street Journal, now an archived webpage. This photograph was included in an exhibition at the J Paul Getty Museum
• "The Journal of Patrick Sinclair Laing Assistant Surgeon, 86th Regiment, 1842-1848" by H B Eaton. Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Vol. 62, No. 250 (Summer 1984), pp. 74-89. Register and read online for free. jstor.org. The diary extracts commence October 1844.

Online draft of this article Wellcome Library RAMC/1582, catalogued as "Draft of "The journal of Patrick Sinclair Laing, assistant surgeon, 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot, 1842 to 1847, in India"". Note, the draft is longer, and has information from 1842.

Patrick Sinclair Laing was a member of the British Army Medical Services.

• "German-Speaking Medical Exile to British India 1933-1945" by Margit Franz. Website of Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien. From the book Helmut Konrad, Stefan Benedik (eds.), Mapping Contemporary History II. Exemplary fields of research in 25 years of Contemporary History Studies at Graz University/Exemplarische Forschungsfelder aus 25 Jahren Zeitgeschichte an der Universität Graz. [Limited selection from] pages 61- 86 Google Books.

These doctors were mainly Jewish. Between the years 1933 and 1938, there were three waves of forced emigration to British India. The first started in the year 1933 with German doctors. A second wave started with Jewish refugees coming from Italy. The Austrian exodus after the German occupation in March 1938 formed the third wave of medical refugees coming to British India, at which point Czech and Hungarian Jewish medical refugees started joining the population of refugees.

Margit Franz is the author of Gateway India. German-speaking Exile to India between British colonial rule, Maharajas and Gandhi. There is an interview with Dr. Margit Franz in a 2017 article "From the Reich to the Raj" (jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com).

Historical books online

• A voyage to India : containing reflections on a voyage to Madras and Bengal, in 1821, in the ship Lonach : instructions for the preservation of health in Indian climates and hints to surgeons and owners of private trading-ships by James Wallach, Surgeon of the Lonach. 1824 Archive.org
• Notes on the Wounded from the Mutiny in India : with a Description of the Preparations of Gunshot Injuries contained in the Museum of Fort Pitt by George Williamson 1859 Archive.org.

"Transportation of Sick and Wounded" page 240 Military Surgery by George Williamson 1863 Archive.org. Includes details of conveyances used in India.

• Annual Report for the National Association for Supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India for the year... [part of The Countess of Dufferin’s Fund]

1891 including "Lady doctors" page 52; 1909; 1918 including "Members of the Women’s Medical Service for India" (digital page 747). All Archive.org

• [Catalogued as] Indian Medical Service Report 1912 Archive.org
• A Dictionary of Medical Science by Robley Dunglison. Varying titles over time. Most editions contain the wording "Carefully revised and greatly enlarged" (or similar).

1833, 2nd edition, 1839, 3rd edition, 1842, 4th edition, 1844, 5th edition 1845, 6th edition, 1846, 7th edition 1848, 1857, 1860, 1866, 1868, 1874, 21st edition 1893, 23rd edition 1903 All Archive.org.

There are a few additional editions on Archive.org, currently all were published in the 1850s.