John Alexander Sinton, MD FRS VC (1884-1956).

Brigadier John Sinton is the only individual in history to have been both awarded the Victoria Cross and also elected to the Royal Society. He qualified at Belfast and afterwards joined the Indian Medical Service (IMS). Serving before and during the Great War (1914-18), he was first posted to the North-West Frontier province, and afterwards as a captain in the Indian Expeditionary force in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). It was there in 1916 that, shot in both arms during an engagement and under heavy gunfire, he remained steadfastly at his post; for this bravery he received the Victoria Cross. Following the war he carried out major researches into malaria in India, and became Director of the Malaria Survey of India Both there and shortly afterwards, Sinton published about 200 papers on various aspects of malaria and leishmaniasis. In England, he later worked at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Ministry of Health's laboratory at Horton, Epsom. In 1946, he was elected to the Royal Society for his researches into malaria and kala-azar, and following retirement he underwent another distinguished career in Northern Ireland.

The Hospital for Tropical Diseases at Endsleigh Gardens, Euston--1920-1939.

From 1920 until 1939, London's Hospital for Tropical Diseases sponsored by the Seamen's Hospital Society was located at Endsleigh Gardens, Euston. Unfortunately, written records of that era were destroyed in air raids on Greenwich in 1940 and 1941. Oral reminiscences documented in this paper help remedy this loss.

Neil Hamilton Fairley KBE FRCP FRS (1891-1966): an outstanding tropical physician in the twentieth century.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, British physicians led the way in tropical medicine research. Several years later scientific advances had slowed, and Fairley's numerous contributions were thus most welcome. Neil Hamilton Fairley was born of Scottish parents at Victoria, Australia. After qualification at Melbourne, he joined the Australian Army Medical Service (AAMS) and after several minor research projects, made valuable contributions to the understanding of tropical sprue at Bombay (now Mumbai), India. However, Fairley's major researches were carried out during World War II (1939-45). Together with J S K Boyd he demonstrated the great value of sulphaguanidine in bacillary dysentery. Working in northern Australia and the south-Pacific region, he both contributed to elucidation of the Plasmodium vivax life-cycle, and more importantly demonstrated the value of alternative anti-malarial compounds to quinine (which was not readily available). Back in London after the war, Fairley briefly occupied the Wellcome Chair of Tropical Medicine, strongly supported London's clinical tropical medicine, and was subsequently knighted in 1950.

Thomas Spencer Wells, Bt FRCS (1818-97) and his contributions to naval medicine.

Sir Thomas Spencer Wells (1818-97) is best remembered both as a gynaecological surgeon, who introduced ovariectomy, and as the one who introduced the surgical forceps named after him. Far less is known of his career in the Royal Navy (RN) as an assistant surgeon and then a surgeon, and his contributions to naval medicine. Wells enlisted for the RN at the age of 23 years and for most of his naval career (1841-56) he served at the Naval Hospital, Malta (1841-48). However, from 1851 to 1853 he was surgeon and sanitary officer on the sloop, HMS Modeste. Most of Wells' contributions to the health of sailors were of a preventive nature, especially involving ventilation, in RN ships. He was also an enthusiast for quarantine and vaccination.

Committee for the Relief of Distressed Seamen: correspondence from the Admiralty in 1818-19.

The Seamen's Hospital Society, which was to become a great Victorian charity, with the object of caring for both the physical and spiritual health of seafarers (most merchant seamen) in the Port of London, was founded at a meeting on 8 March 1821. However, it is not widely known that it had a temporary predecessor--The Committee for the Relief of Distressed (Destitute) Seamen. Ready cooperation was received from the Admiralty in most of its affairs, but "disposal" of many of these "redundant" mariners proved to be a somewhat difficult matter.

Leonard Rogers KCSI FRCP FRS (1868-1962) and the founding of the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine.

Sir Leonard Rogers made enormous research contributions to 'medicine in the tropics', especially in Bengal where the spectrum of disease was already well delineated. He also did much to enhance the formal discipline of tropical medicine. But perhaps his most lasting memorial lies in the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine--that occupied a decade of politicking and stress--which survives to this day and is a timely reminder of a past era in India. It is not widely appreciated, however, that the original impetus for this institution came not from Rogers but from a young medical practitioner, Alfred McCabe-Dallas, attached to an Assam tea plantation.

History of Tropical Medicine William Ernest Cooke, FRCSI (1879-1967) and his Asian tour of 1929-1930.

Dr. W.E. Cooke was not one of the most distinguished of tropical physicians, but the specialty was heavily dependent on his likes. After several junior appointments, he was Superintendent of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He carried out an extensive tour of Asia in 1929-1930 and kept careful daily notes throughout this period, giving a valuable insight into the challenges faced by the pioneering tropical physicians and surgeons from European countries.

The practice of euthanasia at the highest level of society: the Lords Dawson (1864-1945) and Horder (1871-1955).

The intimate involvement of Lord Dawson of Penn in the terminal illness of King George V in 1936 was highlighted 50 years later when his personal papers were released for perusal in the public arena. A popular jingle of the time relating to Dawson was recalled in a leading article in The Times newspaper in 1986. Knowing that a similar rhyme was in circulation involving Lord Horder of Ashford, I wrote to his son in order to verify exactly what this was; his reply is reproduced in this article.

Richard Dobson Kt MRCS FRS (1773-1847) and the inferior status of naval medicine in the early nineteenth century: end of the fleet physicians.

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century assistant-surgeons in the Navy possessed an inferior status compared with their equivalents in the Army, despite protestations from the Physician of the Navy, Sir William Burnett FRS; lack of promotion was a major complaint. By abolishing the title physician in the Navy, Sir Richard Dobson, FRS, surgeon to Greenwich Hospital, did much to rectify this injustice. Instead of only two promotions in 26 years, 26 medical officers were, as a result of his exertions, advanced to the rank above that of Surgeon in two years.

Transfer of hospitals and "additional premises" to the state: questionable morality in the implementation of the National Health Service Act (1946).

The National Health Service Act of 1946, pioneered by Aneurin Bevan, came into being on the "appointed day", 5 July 1948. Hospitals with their "additional premises" throughout Britain were "seized" by the state and incorporated into this vast socialist enterprise. While the majority of the population welcomed this new initiative in the creation of a welfare state, associated with medical care from cradle to grave, not all (especially members of various Hospital Boards of Management) were so enthusiastic. The hospitals for "incurables" (long stay patients) were unhappy and lost a vast proportion of their income owing to a great deal of procrastination; but most of them ultimately managed to escape nationalisation after a prolonged period of negotiation, by a claim that they were "homes" rather than "hospitals". The confiscation of property which had been built as a result of voluntary subscription was another huge and highly contentious matter, which has been highlighted in recent years. The future of the Seamen's Hospital Society's properties represents a good example of this.

Andrew Halliday, Kt FRCPE (1781-1839): service in the Napoleonic Wars and West Indies, and first physician to the Seamen's Hospital Society.

Sir Andrew Halliday (1781-1839) was domestic physician to HRH the Duke of Clarence (1765-1837) (who was later to become King William IV). He also served in the Napoleonic Wars-in Portugal, Spain and Waterloo-as well as in the West Indies, and became the first physician to the Seamen's Hospital Society. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Halliday was also a prolific author, many of his publications being on lunatic asylums in Great Britain and Ireland.

Caring for "incurables": the 150th anniversary of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, Putney.

The Royal Hospital for Incurables (RHI), now known as the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability and situated on West Hill, Putney, was founded by Andrew Reed DD exactly 150 years ago. The RHI was thus the pioneer in modern times of long stay institutions for the sick and dying. It became one of the great Victorian charities, and remained independent of the National Health Service, which was introduced in 1948. Originally the long stay patients suffered from a multiplicity of diseases; in recent years chronic neurological disease has dominated the scenario. This institution has also become a major centre for genetic and trauma-associated neurological damage, and rehabilitation.

Scurvy in the British Mercantile Marine in the 19th century, and the contribution of the Seamen's Hospital Society.

When long voyages in sailing vessels were commonplace, scurvy was a major health hazard in mariners of all nations. The observations of James Lind (1716-94) and others indicated that citrus fruits had both a preventive and curative role in this disease. In the light of this work, by 1800 the disease had been virtually eliminated from Britain's Royal Navy. However, it continued in the merchant navies of all nations until the latter half of the 19th century. In 1867, the Merchant Shipping Amendment Act was passed by the British Parliament largely as a result of a concerted effort by the Seamen's Hospital Society (SHS), one of whose physicians, Harry Leach (1836-79) was the major proselytiser for improved conditions in the merchant service. Examination of the SHS records before and after this event demonstrate a marked reduction in the prevalence of scurvy in the Port of London. Although other factors-such as the introduction of steam ships, which resulted in faster voyages-were clearly important, the compulsory administration of genuine lime juice under supervision in the merchant service seems to have exerted a significant effect.

Dr D G James FRCP and the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine.

Dr D G James recently retired as Vice President of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. The following article is based on a speech given at a dinner at the Athenaeum Club on 10 October 2002 to thank Dr James for his contributions to the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine over 50 years.

The medical career of Robert Seymour Bridges, FRCP (1844-1930): physician and Poet Laureate.

Robert Bridges OM is the only medical graduate (he was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1900) to have held the office of Poet Laureate. Educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and St Bartholomew's Hospital he practised as a casualty physician at his teaching hospital (where he made a series of highly critical remarks of the Victorian medical establishment) and subsequently as a full physician to the Great (later Royal) Northern Hospital. He was also a physician to the Hospital for Sick Children. It had for long been his intention to retire from the medical profession at the early age of 40! In 1913, Bridges was appointed Poet Laureate by King George V, and following a disappointingly sparse output of "official" work, published his greatest literary contribution-The Testament of Beauty-on his 85th birthday.