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67-607: Army Medical Department may refer to: The Army Medical Department of the British Army, forerunner to the Royal Army Medical Corps Army Medical Department (United States) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Army Medical Department . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

134-631: A Captain of Invalids (an ex-Army officer responsible for the 'day to day welfare, management and administration' of the pensioners under his charge). There is also a Secretary who traditionally was responsible for paying the Army pensions, but today they look after the annual budget, staff, buildings and grounds. Further senior staff include the Physician & Surgeon, the Matron, the Quartermaster,

201-783: A bugler. It was founded officially in 1898, with official permission for the band being given by the Duke of Connaught , first Colonel-in Chief of the RAMC. In 1902, the band had reached a stature to where it could take part in the Coronation Procession of King Edward VII . On 1 January 1939, the RAMC Band was taken over by the Army Council and was officially recognised as a state sponsored band. In 1962, Derek Waterhouse became

268-584: A fine painting of the Resurrection in the half dome of the apse, painted by Sebastiano Ricci and his nephew Marco (who assisted with the painting at the Royal Hospital) and dates from the end of Queen Anne's reign. The chapel was consecrated in August 1691, and services were formerly held twice daily. Nowadays services are confined to Sunday mornings and special military occasions. The Great Hall

335-567: A hostel rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. The site for the Royal Hospital was an area of Chelsea, London which held an incomplete building " Chelsey College ", a theological college James I founded in 1609. The precursor to the foundation was the establishment in 1677 of pensions for "Reformed Officers (i.e. officers of disbanded regiments) and maimed soldiers". The main inspirational force behind

402-411: A regimental level. At the time a regiment of 1,044 men would have a medical staff of one surgeon and two assistants (with an additional assistant being appointed if the regiment was stationed abroad, so as to allow the senior assistant to remain at home with the companies appointed to the depot ). The regimental basis of appointment for MOs continued until 1873, when a coordinated army medical service

469-405: A state-of-the-art care home. In 2002, the sovereign's mace was presented to the hospital – up until then, the hospital had had no colours or distinctive device – the mace is now carried at all the ceremonial events at the hospital. The mace was designed by Charles Webb and Aubrey Bowden and was made by Master Goldsmith Norman Bassant. The bowl of the mace is decorated with acorns and

536-624: A stretch), and less recognition in honours and awards. They did not have their own identity as did the Army Service Corps, whose officers did have military rank. A number of complaints were published, and the British Medical Journal campaigned loudly. For over two years from 27 July 1887 there were no recruits to the Army Medical Department. A parliamentary committee reported in 1890, highlighting

603-608: A tri-service body, with the hospital facilities of Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy combined. The main hospital facility is now the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham , a joint military- National Health Service centre. The majority of injured service personnel were treated in Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham prior to the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital's opening. There

670-529: Is a legend that Nell Gwynne , Charles II's mistress, suggested red coats for the Chelsea Pensioners because she remembered the pensioners of Coningsby Hospital in Hereford (her reputed birth town) wore coats of the same colour. The Royal Hospital Founder's Day takes place close to 29 May each year – the birthday of Charles II of England, and the date of his restoration as King in 1660. It

737-505: Is a state-of-the-art care home that offers nursing and a GP surgery. The Matron is in charge of the infirmary and has a team including nurses, therapists and care staff. The MTI has a gym and a hydrotherapy pool for use by In-Pensioners. It has a range of activities pensioners can join, from pottery classes to poetry recitals. The infirmary received the Quality Hallmark Award at Beacon Status (the highest level possible) from

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804-676: Is also known as Oak Apple Day , as it commemorates the escape of the future King following his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, when he hid in the Royal Oak to avoid capture by Parliamentary forces. On Founder's Day, in-pensioners of the Royal Hospital are reviewed by a member of the British Royal Family . The 7' 6" (229 cm) statue of King Charles II which stands in the central court (the Figure Court) of

871-661: Is surmounted by the St Edward's Crown. In March 2009, the first women in the hospital's 317-year history were admitted as In-Pensioners. Winifred Phillips and Dorothy Hughes were the first. Winifred Phillips trained as a nurse and later joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1948 before enlisting in the Women's Royal Army Corps in 1949 while serving in Egypt . After 22 years of service she retired with

938-484: The Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War . During that time he had introduced significant changes in the organisation of the army's medical services, placing them on a far more formal footing: together with George Guthrie , he instituted the use of dedicated ambulance wagons to transport the wounded, and set up a series of temporary hospitals (formed of prefabricated huts brought over from Britain) to aid

1005-543: The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . King Charles II founded the Royal Hospital as a retreat for veterans in 1682. The initiative is said to have come from Nell Gwyn according to Peter Cunningham's "The Story of Nell Gwyn" [1851]. The tradition was perpetuated when her portrait was used as a sign for a public house in Grosvenor Row (a thoroughfare which disappeared in the 19th century). The provision of

1072-637: The Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Prior to this, from as early as the 13th century there are records of surgeons and physicians being appointed by the English army to attend in times of war; but this was the first time a career was provided for a Medical Officer (MO), both in peacetime and in war. For much of the next two hundred years, army medical provision was mostly arranged on a regimental basis, with each battalion arranging its own hospital facilities and medical supplies. An element of oversight

1139-760: The Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps to form one unified corps, the Royal Army Medical Service , on 15 November 2024. The corps established a network of home-country military hospitals for military casualties during the First World War . The hospitals were managed by Territorial Force personnel and were headquartered as follows: London Command Eastern Command Northern Command Western Command Southern Command Scottish Command The military medical services are now

1206-686: The Royal Victoria Military Hospital, Netley . When the hospital was demolished in 1966, the VC, known as "The Netley VC", was retrieved and is now on display in the Army Medical Services Museum. RAMC officer careers: RAMC soldier trades: Within the military, Medical officers could occupy a number of roles that were dependent on experience, rank and location. Within military documentation, numerous abbreviations were used to identify these roles, of which

1273-701: The Sultanate of Singora by the Siamese in 1680, taken from the Siamese by the Burmese in the Burmese–Siamese war of 1765–1767 and transported to Burma . In the third Anglo-Burmese War (1885–1887) the cannon was taken by the British and shipped back to England. The hospital maintains a 'military-based culture which puts a premium on comradeship'. The in-pensioners are formed into four companies, each headed by

1340-545: The Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856 there have been 27 Victoria Crosses and two bars awarded to army medical personnel. A bar, indicating a subsequent award of a second Victoria Cross, has only ever been awarded three times, two of them to medical officers. Twenty-three of these Victoria Crosses are on display in the Army Medical Services Museum . The corps also has one recipient of both

1407-404: The "richest commoner in the three kingdoms ", donated £13,000 towards the new hospital (equivalent to £2,606,000 in 2023). The Royal Hospital opened its doors to the Chelsea Pensioners in 1692 for "the relief and succour" of veterans. Some of the first soldiers admitted included those injured at the Battle of Sedgemoor . Wren expanded his original design to add two additional quadrangles to

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1474-1138: The Army Medical School. In 1884 the medical officers of the Army Medical Department were brought together with the quartermasters who provided their supplies to form the Army Medical Staff , which was given command of the Medical Staff Corps (which consisted entirely of other ranks ). Nevertheless, there was much unhappiness in the Army Medical Service in the following years as medical officers did not have military rank but "advantages corresponding to relative military rank" (such as choice of quarters, rates of lodging money, servants, fuel and light, allowances on account of injuries received in action, and pensions and allowances to widows and families). They had inferior pay in India, excessive amounts of Indian and colonial service (being required to serve in India six years at

1541-643: The Army had just two ambulance wagons, both of which were left behind in Bulgaria, and it relied for stretcher bearers on the Hospital Conveyance Corps (which was made up of pensioners and others deemed too infirm to fight). Two base hospitals were set up in Scutari , more than 300 miles from the front. Within weeks of arriving, more than half the British force had been incapacitated by disease (mainly typhus , dysentery and cholera ); and in

1608-592: The Chaplain and the Adjutant. A Board of Commissioners has governed the Royal Hospital since 1702. The ex-officio chairman of the board is HM Paymaster General (whose predecessor Sir Stephen Fox was instrumental in founding the hospital in the seventeenth century). The purpose of the Board is 'to guide the development of The Royal Hospital, ensuring the care and well-being of the residents who live there and safeguarding

1675-619: The Director-General grew, and from 1833 he was given sole charge of the department. That same year the (hitherto separate) Irish Medical Board was merged into the department, as was the Ordnance Medical Department twenty years later. The Crimean War , however, would lay bare the inadequacies of the Army Medical Department (and many others). In 1854 there were only 163 surgeons on the Department's books;

1742-636: The Isle of Wight, where soldiers invalided home from service overseas were initially sent). In 1810 the offices of Surgeon-general and Physician-general were abolished and a new Army Medical Department was established, overseen by a board chaired by a Director-General of the Medical Department. James McGrigor served in this role from 1815 to 1851: McGrigor, who has been called the Father of Army Medicine, had served as principal medical officer under

1809-749: The National Gold Standards Framework Centre in End of Life Care in 2015. The annual Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses is based on a 300-year-old tradition which began in 1692, when the Royal Hospital Chelsea asked a local cheesemonger to provide in-pensioners with cheese to get them through the festive period. The Dairy Council is now in its 56th year of organising a special ceremony at the hospital, where donations from cheesemongers from across

1876-566: The RAMC and the Army itself were, decided that a radical reform was needed. Chief among them was Alfred Fripp , who had been chosen by the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital Committee to order all the necessary materials and medical personnel, and oversee the setting-up of a private hospital at Deelfontein to cater, initially, for 520 'sick and wounded.' The contrast between the smooth working of the IYH at Deelfontein with

1943-545: The Royal Hospital and Ranelagh Gardens as they appeared in 1742. Daily walking tours of the site and museum, led by Chelsea pensioners themselves, can be booked in advance. The South Grounds of the Royal Hospital are also used for large-scale public events including the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show , held by the Royal Horticultural Society . The show has been held in the grounds since 1913, and attracts around 165,000 visitors. In September 2022,

2010-602: The United Kingdom and established clinics and hospitals in countries where there were British troops. Major-General Sir William Macpherson of the RAMC wrote the official Medical History of the War (HMSO 1922). Before the Second World War , RAMC recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) tall, and could enlist up to 30 years of age. They initially enlisted for seven years with

2077-783: The Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross . One officer was awarded the George Cross in the Second World War. A young member of the corps, Private Michelle Norris , became the first woman to be awarded the Military Cross following her actions in Iraq on 11 June 2006. One VC is in existence that is not counted in any official records. In 1856, Queen Victoria laid a Victoria Cross beneath the foundation stone of

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2144-464: The ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II in 1682, it is a 66-acre (27 ha) site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea, London . It is an independent charity and relies partly upon donations to cover day-to-day running costs to provide care and accommodation for veterans. Residents are known as Chelsea Pensioners . The gardens of the Royal Hospital are Grade II listed on

2211-684: The chaos of the RAMC hospitals, where an enteric epidemic had overwhelmed the staff, led to questions in Parliament, mainly by William Burdett-Coutts . In July 1901 the first meeting of the Committee of Reform took place, with all the aforementioned civilian experts, plus Sir Edwin Cooper Perry , making up half the number; the rest were Army men, and included Alfred Keogh , whom the new Secretary of State for War, St John Brodrick , later Earl of Midleton , appointed Chairman of this committee and

2278-538: The colours, and a further five years with the reserve, or three years and nine years. They trained for six months at the RAMC Depot, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham , before proceeding to specialist trade training. The RAMC Depot moved from Church Crookham to Keogh Barracks in Mytchett in 1964. The Secretary of State for Defence John Healey announced on 15 October 2024, that it would amalgamate with

2345-605: The country are presented to the residents. A Chelsea pensioner cuts the ceremonial cheese with a sword and the cheese is distributed among the pensioners around the Christmas period. Another annual tradition at the Royal Hospital is the Christmas Cake Ceremony, which commenced in 1949. It is a symbol of the enduring friendship between the UK and Australia and takes the form of a Christmas cake being presented to

2412-457: The crowne". For this purpose he appointed as "Receiver General and Treasurer of the moneys raised for the erection and maintenance of the hospital" Nicholas Johnson (d.1682), Fox's brother-in-law and successor as Paymaster of the Forces. The office of "Receiver or Paymaster and Treasurer" was held by all subsequent Paymaster of the Forces until the latter office was abolished in 1836. Fox himself,

2479-621: The doctors' injustices. There was no response from the Secretary of State for War . The British Medical Association , the Royal College of Physicians and others redoubled their protests. Eventually, by authority of a royal warrant dated 25 June 1898, officers and soldiers providing medical services were incorporated into a new body known by its present name, the Royal Army Medical Corps ; its first Colonel-in-Chief

2546-486: The east and west of the central court; these were known respectively as the "Light Horse Court" and the "College Court". Due to mismanagement by Lord Ranelagh , the Hospital Treasurer, the building was not completed until 1692. Sir John Soane , who was clerk of works in the early part of the 19th century, designed and constructed a new infirmary building which was located to the west of the main building on

2613-542: The end of the century the Board had been disestablished, and most of the General Hospitals were closed or repurposed not long afterwards. By 1807 the only General Hospitals in operation were York Hospital (which was close to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea , where invalided soldiers were routinely sent for pension assessment) and the hospital at Parkhurst (which was attached to the army's Invalid Depôt on

2680-422: The evacuation of wounded soldiers from the front line. After the end of the Peninsular War Fort Pitt in Chatham became the de facto headquarters of the Army Medical Department (the Invalid Depôt having relocated to Chatham from the Isle of Wight). A General Military Hospital was established on the site, which took on many of the functions (and most of the patients) of the old York Hospital. The influence of

2747-406: The fireplace is by William Emmett. The room was completed between 1685 and 1688. It was fully roofed in 1685 days before Charles II died. Within the State Apartments is also an Ante-Chamber. Both the Council Chamber and Ante-Chamber can be hired for private functions and weddings. The Margaret Thatcher Infirmary houses around 100 Chelsea Pensioners. Opened in 2009 by Charles, Prince of Wales it

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2814-421: The first official drum major to be appointed to the band. It was disbanded in 1984, being one of the first to go in the as a result of the restructuring of the Army. It is today retained in the Army Medical Services Band. Royal Hospital, Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army . Founded as an almshouse —

2881-449: The following are among the most common. Since 1903, the corps had published an academic journal titled the Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps ( JRAMC ). Its stated aim was to "publish high quality research, reviews and case reports, as well as other invited articles, which pertain to the practice of military medicine in its broadest sense". Submissions were accepted from serving members of all ranks, as well as academics from outside

2948-441: The foundation of the hospital was Sir Stephen Fox (1627–1716), Paymaster of the Forces and a trusted and able royal administrator of the King, and in 1681 Fox and the king initiated plans for a permanent hospital for disabled soldiers. Letters patent were issued on 22 December 1681 notifying the king's intention of building "an hospital for the relief of such land soldiers as are, or shall be, old, lame, or infirm in ye service of

3015-401: The hall was then used for recreational purposes. It was here that the Duke of Wellington lay in state in 1852 and the table on which his coffin rested is just inside the entrance. The hall reverted to its original use as a dining hall in 1955. The heavily moulded ceiling displaying James II 's cypher is by John Grove, the wainscoting is by William Cleere and the fine lime-wood carving over

3082-456: The hospital from the Australian Returned and Services League, with each Australian state taking it in turns year by year. Again, a pensioner at the Royal Hospital cuts the cake with a sword. The on-site museum details the history and life of the Royal Hospital and its In-Pensioners, together with displays of artefacts, documents, medals, cap badges and uniforms. Recent additions include the Sovereign's mace and Parade Chair. A large diorama depicts

3149-413: The hospital served as the meeting point for foreign heads of state, leaders, and ambassadors to gather ahead of Queen Elizabeth 's funeral . From there, the dignitaries traveled to Westminster Abbey by coach. Prominently displayed in the grounds next to the flagpole is an inscribed cannon from Singora bearing the seal of Sultan Sulaiman Shah. The cannon was made in Singora around 1623, captured from

3216-411: The hospital was cast in copper alloy by Grinling Gibbons ; it was originally gilded but was bronzed in 1787. In 2002, the statue was regilded to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. The hospital's chapel was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and is a fine and rare example of Wren's pure ecclesiastical work: it rises 42 feet (13 m) high and was completed in 1687. The chapel contains

3283-434: The hospital, and in the surrounding area, pensioners are encouraged to wear a blue uniform (known fondly as "blues"). If they travel farther from the Royal Hospital they should wear the distinctive scarlet coats instead of the blue uniform. The scarlet coats are also worn for ceremonial occasions, accompanied by tricorne hats. (At other times a peaked shako is worn.) In uniform, the pensioners wear their medal ribbons and

3350-412: The improvement of sanitary conditions in Army barracks and hospitals; it recommended (among other things) the establishment of an Army Medical School, which was set up in 1860 at Fort Pitt Hospital before moving in 1863 to the new Royal Victoria Military Hospital at Netley outside Southampton. Netley functioned as a general hospital, but much of the army's medical work continued to be carried out at

3417-441: The insignia of rank they reached while serving in the military. They may also wear other insignia they earned during their service and many pensioners now wear parachute jump wings and even SAS jump wings. Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to impersonate a Chelsea pensioner; the myth probably dates from a ruling, repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008 , regarding the fraud of taking an unearned pension. There

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3484-428: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Army_Medical_Department&oldid=732963820 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps ( RAMC )

3551-439: The military. Initially a monthly publication, in 2015 it was being published quarterly by BMJ on behalf of the RAMC Association. The Museum of Military Medicine is based at Keogh Barracks in Mytchett in Surrey. From 1898 to 1984, the RAMC maintained a staff band in its ranks. The earliest record of music in the RAMC was in the 1880s when a Corporal of the Medical Staff Corps was sent to Kneller Hall to be trained as

3618-445: The naval ports of Chatham , Deal , Plymouth and Gosport ( Portsmouth ), and one (known as York Hospital) in Chelsea . These hospitals received large numbers of sick and injured soldiers from the French Revolutionary Wars (so much so that by 1799 additional General Military Hospitals were set up in Yarmouth , Harwich and Colchester Barracks ); the Board, however, was criticised, for both high expenditure and poor management. By

3685-485: The rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 . Dorothy Hughes had joined the British Army in 1941 aged 18, later working as part of 450 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery in the London Division. In 1945 the Battery was deployed near Dover to defend against V1 flying bomb attacks. She retired with the rank of Sergeant . Chelsea Pensioners are entitled to come and go from the Royal Hospital as they please, and are permitted to wear civilian clothing wherever they travel. However, within

3752-412: The senior RAMC officer seconded to the IYH in Deelfontein who acquiesced in all Fripp's surprising innovations, and Alfred Keogh , whom Fripp recommended to Brodrick as an RAMC man well-regarded when Registrar of No.3 General Hospital in Cape Town . Its main base was for long the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital at Millbank, London (now closed). It set up a network of military general hospitals around

3819-419: The site of the current National Army Museum and was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War . It was replaced by a modern infirmary which was located to the east of the main building and opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1961. The 1960s infirmary was demolished to make way for the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary which was designed by Sir Quinlan Terry and was completed in 2008, providing

3886-447: The space of seven months some 10,000 British servicemen out of a total of 28,000 had died. In June 1855 a Medical Staff Corps was established (in place of the Hospital Conveyance Corps, which had by then been merged into the Land Transport Corps ). It was formed of nine companies, overseen by a single officer, and had its headquarters at Fort Pitt. The Medical Staff Corps was set up to provide orderlies and stretcher bearers (later it

3953-477: The subsequent Advisory Committee. Neither would have met so soon—if at all—but for Fripp's concern to limit unnecessary suffering, and for his ten years' friendship with the new King, Edward VII . Fripp showed him his plans for reform and the King made sure that they were not shelved by his government. Part of his plan was to move the Netley Hospital and Medical School to a Thames-side site at Millbank , London. Cooper Perry , Fripp's colleague from Guy's Hospital ,

4020-522: Was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught . The RAMC began to develop during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The Corps itself lost 743 officers and 6130 soldiers in the war. However, far more of them, and thousands more of the sick and wounded whom they treated, would have died if it had not been for the civilian doctors working in South Africa as volunteers—such as Sir Frederick Treves , Sir George Makins , Sir Howard Henry Tooth and Professor Alexander Ogston —who, having seen how unprepared to deal with epidemics

4087-426: Was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps to form the Royal Army Medical Service . Medical services in the British armed services date from the formation of the Standing Regular Army after

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4154-409: Was also designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was originally intended as a dining hall, furnished with 16 long tables, one for each original Long Ward. It contains a large mural painting from around 1690, which depicts Charles II of England on horseback being crowned by the winged figure of Victory, with the Royal Hospital Buildings behind. Just before 1800 the pensioners started dining in the wards and

4221-406: Was instrumental in making this happen, as well as using his formidable talents as an organizer in other services for the Reform Committee. Fripp and Cooper Perry were knighted for their services to the RAMC Committee of Reform in 1903. During the First World War , the corps reached its apogee both in size and experience. The two people in charge of the RAMC in the Great War were Arthur Sloggett ,

4288-620: Was press coverage critical of the standard of care during the surge of UK military commitments in the years following the second invasion of Iraq, but it was later reported that the care provided to injured troops had significantly improved. Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth , Derriford Hospital in Plymouth , James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and Frimley Park Hospital (near Aldershot Garrison ) also have military hospital units attached to them but they do not treat operational casualties. The RAMC had its own distinctive insignia: Colonels-in-Chief have been: Since

4355-444: Was provided by the appointment of three officials: a Surgeon-general , a Physician-general and an Apothecary-general . In 1793 an Army Medical Board was formed (consisting of the Surgeon-general, Physician-general and Inspector of Regimental Infirmaries), which promoted a more centralised approach drawing on concurrent civilian healthcare practices. The Board set up five General (as opposed to regimental) Military Hospitals: four in

4422-439: Was renamed the Army Hospital Corps, but reverted to its original title in 1884). The officers known as purveyors, who were responsible for medical provisioning, were formed into a separate Purveyors' Department by a Royal Warrant of 1861; nine years later it was merged into the Control Department, and later became part of the Army Service Corps . In 1857, in response to the Crimean debacle, a Royal Commission had been appointed for

4489-410: Was set up. To join, a doctor needed to be qualified, single, and aged at least 21, and then undergo a further examination in physiology, surgery, medicine, zoology, botany and physical geography including meteorology, and also to satisfy various other requirements (including having dissected the whole body at least once and having attended 12 midwifery cases); the results were published in three classes by

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