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98-786: On the 26 February 1887 W. R. Kynsey (who later became Sir William Kynsey ), the Principal Medical Officer of Ceylon arranged a meeting with fifteen other doctors, at the Colonial Medical Library on Maradana Road, Colombo, with a view to organising a branch of the British Medical Association in Ceylon. The proposal was formally agreed by the British Medical Association in April 1887. The inaugural meeting of

196-751: 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

294-645: A decree was issued to the Lord High Admiral that: all the Kinges shippes should be harborowed in Jillyngham Water – saving only those that be at Portsmouth Even prior to this, there is evidence of certain shore facilities being established in the vicinity for the benefit of the King's ships at anchor: there are isolated references from as early as 1509 to the hiring of a storehouse nearby and from 1547 this becomes

392-515: A fishing (though in looks only) village with its multi-coloured houses and a modern energy-efficient concept. Many homes have views of the River Medway. A primary school (St. Mary's C of E) and a medical centre provide facilities for the residents and there are attractive walks around the Island. Chatham Dockyard has become a popular location for filming, due to its varied and interesting areas such as

490-539: A fixed item in the Treasurer's annual accounts. (At around the same time a victualling store was also established, in nearby Rochester , to provide the ships and their crews with food.) The storehouse would have furnished ships with such necessary consumables as rope, pulleys, sailcloth and timber. Careening took place on the river, according to a Privy Council instruction of 1550; for more specialised repairs and maintenance, however, ships would have had to travel to one of

588-400: A fourth Basin of 57 acres (230,000 m ), together with additional large docks of up to 800 ft (240 m), to cover the remaining land on St Mary's Island; but these were soon superseded by plans to build an entirely new dockyard at Rosyth . Nevertheless, Light cruisers and other smaller vessels continued to be built at Chatham during the first half of the 20th century. Also with

686-588: A further ship was launched. In the interwar years, eight S-class submarines as well as X1 were built at Chatham but this was a period of decline. Production ramped up during World War II with HMS's Umpire , Una , Splendid , Sportsman , Shalimar , Tradewind , Trenchant , Turpin , Thermopylae and Acheron being constructed. In February 1958 it was announced in Parliament that Sheerness Dockyard would close in 1960, with Nore Command (and its Chatham-based Commander-in-Chief) to be abolished

784-495: A huge building programme at Chatham. Between 1862 and 1865, the size of the yard quadrupled and provided specialist facilities for steam-powered ships with metal hulls. Three basins were constructed along St. Mary's creek, from west to east: No.1 Basin (of 28 acres (110,000 m )), No.2 Basin (20 acres (81,000 m )) and No.3 Basin (21 acres (85,000 m )). Along the southern edge of No.1 Basin four new dry docks were built (Nos.5–8), each 420 ft (130 m) long. Initially

882-419: A meeting with Christian IV of Denmark . In the early 17th century the government resolved to invest in a new specialised facility for refitting and repairing warships. By 1611 Chatham had been chosen as its location (in preference to Deptford, which at the time was the nation's principal naval shipbuilding yard; this led to speculation that Deptford was going to be sold off). The decision established Chatham as

980-446: A mixed-use development (incorporating offices, an education facility, apartments, town houses and a food store ( Asda ), as well as landscaped public areas). The development is called "Chatham Waters". In 2019 Peel announced that Chatham Docks would close in 2025 with the loss of 800 jobs. The remaining 350 acres (1.4 km ) were transferred to the government's urban regeneration agency (later English Partnerships ). Under its remit,

1078-404: A network of pipes installed across the whole dockyard site for firefighting purposes). Another novel application of steam power was embarked on in 1817, with the building of a 'Lead and Paint Mill', in which a single beam engine powered a rolling mill and a series of devices for grinding pigment and mixing paint; the plant was operational from 1819. It was not until 1837, however, that steam power

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1176-416: A new dry dock and wharf with storehouses, all enclosed within a brick perimeter wall. The growing importance of the dockyard was illustrated with the addition soon afterwards of a mast pond, and the granting of additional land on which a second (double) dry dock was constructed, along with a sail loft , a ropery and residences for the dockyard officers: all of which were completed by 1624. Peter Pett , of

1274-419: A purpose-built 'steam factory' was planned, but following the closure of Woolwich Dockyard in 1869 a number of slip covers were removed from that site and re-erected at the head of the new dry docks to serve as factories for building and fitting engines and for boilermaking . No.1 Basin was officially opened in 1871, with HMS Invincible being brought into No.5 Dock for repairs, with great ceremony. Work on

1372-411: 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

1470-421: A single shipbuilding slip for much of the 17th century (a second slip, dating from the same period, had fallen out of use; it was replaced in the 1730s). Also in 1686 a 'Great Long Store-house' was built, alongside the ropery on what is now Anchor Wharf; and two new mast ponds were constructed, in what was then the northernmost part of the yard, in 1697 and 1702. One of the disadvantages of Chatham (and also of

1568-573: A site for a new dockyard, and building work began; but in 1667 the still-incomplete Sheerness Dockyard was captured by the Dutch Navy and used as the base for an attack on the English fleet at anchor in the Medway itself. Sheerness remained operational as a royal dockyard until 1959, but it was never considered a major shore establishment and in several respects it operated as a subsidiary yard to Chatham. By

1666-596: 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

1764-588: 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

1862-564: Is indexed in BIOSIS Previews , EMBASE , CABI and Index Medicus . The SLMA has the following Committees: The Annual International Congress has been held uninterrupted since it was first started in 1937 to mark the 50th anniversary of the association. Royal Army Medical Corps#Military abbreviations applicable to the Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps ( RAMC ) was a specialist corps in

1960-725: Is the Ceylon Medical Journal , the first issue of which was published in August 1887. In 1904 the name was changed to the Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association and in 1952 it was renamed back to the Ceylon Medical Journal . At 121 years, it is the oldest surviving English medical journal in Asia and Australasia, and is the leading scientific journal in Sri Lanka. The journal

2058-826: 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 the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Prior to this, from as early as

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2156-524: The Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association occurred on 17 December that year, with Dr P. D. Anthoniz elected as the association's first President. When the association was initially established it had a membership of sixty five doctors and within eleven years (1898) this had increased to 113. In 1951 the name of the association was changed to the Ceylon Medical Association . For

2254-477: 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

2352-635: The Navy Board explored options for developing a shore facility with direct access from the open water of the Thames Estuary . The escalating Anglo-Dutch wars forced their hand, however: several temporary buildings were hastily erected in Sheerness , at the mouth of the Medway, to enable ships to re-arm, re-victual and (if necessary) be repaired as quickly as possible. In 1665, the Navy Board approved Sheerness as

2450-599: 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

2548-658: 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

2646-526: 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

2744-520: The family of shipwrights whose history is closely connected to the Chatham dockyard, became commissioner in 1649. In 1686 two new dry docks were built, in addition to the old single and double dry docks; all four were rebuilt and expanded at various points in subsequent centuries (the double dock having been converted into a single dock in 1703). Although the yard focused mainly on refitting and repairs, some shipbuilding continued to take place. It made do with

2842-448: 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

2940-459: The 20th century came the submarine. The first submarine to be built at a royal dockyard was HMS  C17 , launched from the covered No.7 Slip in 1908 and then fitted out in No.2 Dock; five more of the same class followed, C18 , C19 , C20 , C33 and C34 . During World War I , twelve submarines were built here, but when hostilities ceased, uncompleted boats were scrapped and five years passed before

3038-1099: 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

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3136-669: 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

3234-594: 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;

3332-674: The Georgian dockyard is now managed as the Chatham Historic Dockyard visitor attraction by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. Joseph Farington (1747–1821) was commissioned by the Navy Board to paint a panoramic view of Chatham Dockyard (as part of a project to create a visual record of all six home yards) in 1785. The painting, now in the National Maritime Museum , provides a detailed illustration of

3430-620: 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

3528-545: The Navy". After the abolition of the post of Commander-in-Chief, The Nore , Chatham's Admiral Superintendent took on the additional role of local Flag Officer (with local command responsibilities) and the title Flag Officer, Medway . Included: On 5 September 1971 all Flag Officers of the Royal Navy holding positions of Admiral Superintendents at Royal Dockyards were redesignated as Port Admirals . While they retained command over

3626-549: 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

3724-657: The Thames-side yards) was their relative inaccessibility for ships at sea (including those anchored in The Nore ). Therefore, rather than risk being constrained by wind, tide and draught on a journey upriver, ships would seek as often as possible to do running repairs and maintenance while at anchor, and would only travel to the dockyard when necessary. Thus deliveries of victuals, ordnance and other supplies were made by small boats, sailing regularly between Chatham and The Nore. Seeking to alleviate this less-than-satisfactory situation,

3822-584: 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

3920-745: 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

4018-584: The adjacent Naval Barracks) was announced in Parliament in June 1981 and scheduled to take place in 1984. Redundancy notices were served, but then abruptly withdrawn following the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands ; the dockyard was heavily involved in preparing ships for the South Atlantic, and in repairing damaged vessels on their return. Nonetheless, the dockyard closed, as planned, on 31 March 1984. At

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4116-491: The appointment of Robert Seppings as Master Shipwright in 1804, iron began to be introduced into the structure of ships being built at Chatham; the following year work began on a new, much larger smithery , commissioned by Samuel Bentham , designed by Edward Holl and fitted out by John Rennie . Among other things, the use of iron in ship construction enabled larger vessels to be built, and between 1836 and 1851 Chatham gained five new covered slipways, much larger in scale than

4214-614: 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

4312-510: The cobbled streets, church and over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Productions that have chosen to film at Chatham Dockyard include: Les Misérables , Call the Midwife , Mr Selfridge , Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows , Oliver Twist , The World Is Not Enough and Grantchester . The Victorian Steam Yard was built around three large Basins ( wet docks ), constructed between 1865 and 1885 along

4410-527: 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

4508-424: The country's premier naval industrial complex; nevertheless, concerns were already being raised over its river being prone to silting. The decision required the dockyard to move from its original location, which was too constricted, to a new (adjacent) site to the north. (The old site was in due course transferred to the Ordnance Board , who established the gun wharf there.) By 1619, the new dockyard consisted of

4606-405: The dockyard and its defences to become a World Heritage Site . The easternmost basin (Basin No.3) was handed over to the Medway Ports authority and is now a commercial port (Chatham Docks). It includes Papersafe UK and Nordic Recycling Ltd. In 2013 Peel Ports , which owns and runs Chatham Docks, announced that it was set to convert a 26-acre (0.11 km ) portion of the commercial port into

4704-427: 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

4802-426: The earlier timber docks, which were drained using gravity, this new dock (No.3 Dock) was pumped dry using a Boulton & Watt steam engine. After completion of the new dock in 1821, reconstruction of the other docks in stone followed (with the exception of the northernmost, which was converted into a slipway); they were likewise emptied using steam power, provided by the same engine and pumps (which were also linked to

4900-481: The early 1830s, each designed by a different leading shipwright. HMS Bee , launched at Chatham in 1842, was an experimental vessel fitted with both paddles and a propeller , each of which could be driven independently from the same engine for comparison. Following the success of such early trials with screw propulsion , several older sailing ships were taken into dry dock and retro-fitted with propellers, beginning with HMS Horatio . Another hint of changes to come

4998-615: The early 20th century) two-thirds of the dockyard lay in Gillingham, one-third in Chatham. It came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation , relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional defences. Over 414 years Chatham Royal Dockyard provided more than 500 ships for the Royal Navy , and was at the forefront of shipbuilding , industrial and architectural technology. At its height, it employed over 10,000 skilled artisans and covered 400 acres (1.6 km ). Chatham dockyard closed in 1984, and 84 acres (34 ha) of

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5096-411: 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

5194-422: 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

5292-433: The expansion project in mind, in 1853). In 1897 a naval barracks was built on the site of the prison to provide crew accommodation for ships anchored in The Nore ; for the next sixty years it served as the headquarters of Nore Command, whose Commander-in-Chief was accommodated in the adjacent Admiralty House. In 1897 a new, even longer dry dock was opened on the north side of No.1 Basin: at its opening, this (No.9 Dock)

5390-421: The final vessel was Okanagan built for the Royal Canadian Navy and launched on 17 September 1966. In 1968, a nuclear submarine refitting complex was built between Nos 6 and 7 dry docks, complete with refuelling cranes and health physics building. In spite of this in June 1981, it was announced to Parliament that the dockyard would be run down and closed in 1984. The closure of Chatham Dockyard (along with

5488-457: The finest curves of her lines wherever it is possible for men to twist. Twelve hundred hammerers, measurers, caulkers, armourers, forgers, smiths, shipwrights; twelve hundred dingers, clashers, dongers, rattlers, clinkers, bangers, bangers, bangers! Chatham's establishment as a naval dockyard was precipitated by the use of the Medway as a safe anchorage by the ships of what became (under King Henry VIII ) England's permanent Royal Navy . In 1550,

5586-455: The first 73 years the association's business was conducted at the Colonial Library, followed by another four years from the Consultants' Lounge of the Colombo General Hospital before it found its current permanent accommodation, "Wijerama House", when Dr E. M. Wijerama in 1964, gifted his residence, on McCarthy Road, for the use by the association. The donation resulted in McCarthy Road being renamed Wijerama Mawatha. "Wijerama House" also houses

5684-487: 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. Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent . Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham ; at its most extensive (in

5782-449: 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

5880-407: The following year. At the same time, it was made clear that at Chatham "the dockyard will be retained; but the barracks and other naval establishments will be closed". (In the event, the barracks were reprieved and repurposed rather than being closed at this stage.) The final boats constructed in Chatham were Oberon -class submarines – Ocelot was the last vessel built for the Royal Navy , and

5978-412: 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

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6076-485: The late 17th century a number of prestigious new buildings were erected (including the officers' residences, the clocktower storehouse and the main gatehouse), several of which are still in place. At the same time, the nearby village of Brompton began to be developed to provide housing for the dockyard's growing workforce. From the very start of the 18th century, however, Chatham began to be superseded in both size and importance, first by Portsmouth , then Plymouth , when

6174-452: The line of St Mary's Creek (separating St Mary's Island from the mainland). It was envisaged that Basin No 1 would serve as a "repair basin", No 2 as the "factory basin" and No 3 as the " fitting-out " basin; a newly launched ship could therefore enter via the west lock, have any defects remedied in the first basin, have her steam engines and heavy machinery installed in the second, and then be finished, and loaded with coal and provisions, in

6272-404: The main naval enemy became France, and the Western approaches the chief theatre of operations. In addition, the Medway had begun to silt up, making navigation more difficult (especially as the Navy's ships were getting larger). As a result, it was acknowledged by 1771 that Chatham had no future as a front-line fleet base; nevertheless, following a visit by the Admiralty Board in 1773, the decision

6370-518: The masts were raised, sails bent, anchors and cables on board, in that time . Charles Dickens (1812–1870), who had grown up in Chatham, returned in later life and described in 1861 the novel sight (and sounds) of a ship being built for the first time of iron (rather than wood): Twelve hundred men are working at her now; twelve hundred men working on stages over her sides, over her bows, over her sterns, under her keel, between her decks, down in her hold, within her and without, crawling and creeping into

6468-439: 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

6566-445: 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

6664-431: The offices of the Sri Lanka Medical Council, the Lionel Memorial Auditorium and offices of numerous other medical and related associations. In 1972 Ceylon's name was changed to Sri Lanka and the association's name was changed to the Sri Lanka Medical Association . Membership of the Association is open to Sri Lankan medical practitioners of all grades, from all branches of medicine in Sri Lanka. The association's journal

6762-423: The ones they replaced. (The covering of Chatham's slipways and dry docks, to protect the woodwork of ships as they were built or repaired, had begun with No.2 Slip and No.1 Dock in 1817). In 1811, Marc Brunel recommended the installation of steam-powered sawmills in the royal dockyards, to replace the manual labour of the saw pits . Money was only made available for one such installation, however, and Chatham (as

6860-407: The other docks and basins followed, with No.3 Basin finally being completed in 1883. Two years later the project was largely complete, with facilities provided alongside for gun mounting and mast rigging, as well as a victualling depot and a coaling area. Much of the excavation and building work had been done by convict labour (a convict prison having been built to the north of the dockyard, with

6958-408: The principal building yard at this time) was chosen as its location. Land was purchased to the northeast for its construction, and the new saw mill began operation in 1814. The following year, John Rennie was engaged to build an entirely new dry dock (following his own recommendations) which was the first in the dockyard to be built entirely of stone; it was built on the site of the old smithery. Unlike

7056-459: The purpose-built royal dockyards (the nearest being those on the Thames : Deptford and Woolwich ). 1567 is generally seen as the date of Chatham's establishment as a Royal Naval Dockyard. In the years that followed the ground was prepared, accommodation was secured and in 1570 a mast pond was installed. The following year a forge was built for anchor-making. At around the same time a large house

7154-530: The river. When Achilles , for example, had been completed and floated out of dry dock, she spent almost a year moored in Gillingham Reach, where not only her engines, boilers, funnels and a 2.5-long-ton (2.54 t) propeller were fitted, but also masts, sails, rigging, guns, coal, food, ammunition and furnishings were either loaded or installed. It was partly to address this problem that the Admiralty undertook

7252-592: 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

7350-401: The shore for its defence. Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 1731), visiting the yard in 1705, also spoke of its achievements with an almost incredulous enthusiasm: So great is the order and application there, that a first-rate vessel of war of 106 guns, ordered to be commissioned by Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was ready in three days. At the time the order was given the vessel was entirely unrigged; yet

7448-593: The six were under 150 ft (46 m) in length and suitable only for building smaller warships. The docks varied from 160 ft (49 m) to 186 ft (57 m) in length. The officers and men employed in the yard had also increased, and by 1798 they numbered 1,664, including 49 officers and clerks and 624 shipwrights . Additionally required were the blockmakers, caulkers, pitch-heaters, blacksmiths , joiners and carpenters , sail makers, riggers , and ropemakers (274), as well as bricklayers , labourers and others. Building works at Chatham did not compare with

7546-429: The smithery in 1845, containing rolling machinery and furnaces for reprocessing iron. Holl's smithery was itself enlarged with the addition of a foundry in the 1850s, and its courtyard was roofed over for a steam hammer shop in 1865. By 1861, No.1 Dock had been filled in and a machine shop constructed in its place for heating, bending and planing armour plate for HMS Achilles which was being built alongside. For

7644-509: 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

7742-534: 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 ,

7840-522: The substantial expansions underway at Portsmouth and Plymouth at this time; but the southern part of the yard was significantly redeveloped, with construction of two new storehouses on Anchor Wharf and a major reconfiguration of the ropery. Among the vessels built in this Dockyard which still exist are HMS  Victory (launched in 1765 and now preserved at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard ) and HMS  Unicorn (a Leda -class frigate ), launched in 1824 and now preserved afloat at Dundee ). Following

7938-515: The third before leaving via the east locks. The Commissioner of Chatham Dockyard held a seat and a vote on the Navy Board in London. The Commissioners were: In 1832 the post of commissioner was replaced by the post of superintendent, who was invested with the same power and authority as the former commissioners, "except in matters requiring an Act of Parliament to be submitted by the Commissioner of

8036-477: The time being, however, marine steam engines were not manufactured on site but were ordered from Thames -based private contractors (along with other associated equipment). In 1860 the dockyard's policing was also transferred to the new No.4 Division of the Metropolitan Police , which remained in that role until 1932. A significant disadvantage for Chatham was that fitting out had always taken place on

8134-552: The time of its closure the dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km ). Thereafter this was divided into three sections: 80 acres (0.32 km ), the 18th century core of the site, was transferred to a charity called the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust . The Georgian site is now a visitor attraction under the care of the Trust: Chatham Historic Dockyard . The Trust is preparing an application for

8232-493: The westernmost (No.1) Basin was turned into a marina , part of the former factory area to the south was transformed into an entertainment and retail complex ('Chatham Maritime') and the former Barracks (HMS Pembroke ) became Universities at Medway . St Mary's Island , a 150-acre (0.61 km ), largely undeveloped area to the north of the three basins, was transformed into a residential community for some 1,500 homes. It has several themed areas with traditional maritime buildings,

8330-480: The world and was designed for building battleships . (The older slipways, by contrast, were proving much too small and they were mostly filled in around this time, their covered areas being put to alternative uses.) The first battleship to be built on the new No.8 Slip was HMS Africa , launched in 1905; however it also proved to be the last, as it was announced (controversially) that Chatham Dockyard would be unable to accommodate Dreadnoughts . Proposals were made for

8428-446: The yard as it was in the Age of Sail ; many of the buildings and structures illustrated survive: William Camden (1551–1623) described Chatham dockyard as ...stored for the finest fleet the sun ever beheld, and ready at a minute’s warning, built lately by our most gracious sovereign Elizabeth at great expense for the security of her subjects and the terror of her enemies, with a fort on

8526-627: 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

8624-469: Was developed to include sawpits , workshops , storehouses and a wharf with a treadmill crane (completed in 1580). Most significantly, Chatham's first dry dock was opened in 1581 (for repairing naval galleys ). The first ship to be built at the dockyard, a 10-gun pinnace named HMS Merlin (or Merlyon ), was launched in 1579. The dockyard received its first royal visit, from Elizabeth I , in 1573; later, in 1606, James I used Chatham dockyard for

8722-400: Was first introduced into the ropery, and the smithery received its first engine (for blowing the forges and powering tilt hammers ) in 1841. At the same time, moves were being made towards the application of steam power to ship propulsion. The first steam-powered ship to be laid down at Chatham was HMS Phoenix , one of four paddle steamers built concurrently across the royal dockyards in

8820-574: 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 ,

8918-567: Was leased (the Hill House) for administrative purposes including meetings of the Council of Marine Causes . (Hill House would serve as the dockyard's Pay Office for the next 180 years; the Royal Marine Barracks were later built on its site). The renowned Tudor shipwright Mathew Baker was appointed to Chatham in 1572 (though he was primarily based at Deptford). Under his supervision the site

9016-777: 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

9114-502: 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

9212-672: 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

9310-403: Was seen in the launch of HMS Aetna , the first armour-plated vessel to be built at Chatham, in 1856. All these developments were to come together with the construction of HMS Achilles , in a newly expanded No.2 Dock, between 1860 and 1864: the first true iron-hulled battleship to be launched in a royal dockyard. To meet the new demands of building in iron, metal mills were built alongside

9408-410: 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

9506-445: Was taken to invest further in Chatham, and to develop it as a building yard rather than a refitting base. By this time the establishment, including the gun wharf, stretched one mile (1.6 km) in length, and included an area of in excess of 95 acres (380,000 m ). Alongside the four dry docks it now had a total of six shipbuilding slips (equalling Deptford and outnumbering the other yards in this regard), albeit three of

9604-410: Was the largest in the world at 650 ft (200 m) long by 84 ft (26 m) wide. At around the same time, in the older part of the dockyard, No.7 Slip was extended to accommodate the building of HMS Prince of Wales (launched in 1902), and a new (uncovered) slipway was built a little to the north (No.8 Slip, completed in 1900); at 616 ft (188 m) this was one of the longest slips in

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