I. In memoriam, Sir Rutherford Alcock, K.C.B., D.C.L. II. Sturges lecture for 1897 / by George Cowell.

  • Cowell, George, 1836-1927.
Date:
[1897]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: I. In memoriam, Sir Rutherford Alcock, K.C.B., D.C.L. II. Sturges lecture for 1897 / by George Cowell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    delivered over by him is signed by Mr. Alcoclc as correct.” On February 10th, 1830, there is a minute of the appoint- ment of a Mr. Blakeney as Mr. Alcoclc’s successor. These entries are interesting as showing that the house surgeoncy 68 years ago was held for twelve months, and that a legal qualification was not required, as is now the case. Mr. Alcoclc did not obtain the membership of the College of Surgeons until 1831. It is believed that subsequently to holding the house surgeoncy at Westminster he was appointed for six months to the house surgeoncy of the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital. It was probably under the influence of Guthrie, who had himself been a distinguished army surgeon, that Alcoclc was led to seek employment and valuable experience in active service, and he obtained an appointment on the medical staff of the Marine Brigade of the British Auxiliary forces, which were enrolled in 1832 for service in the Peninsula to support Maria II. of Portugal against the Miguelists, and later to uphold Isabella II. in Spain against the Carlists, in accordance with the terms of the Quadruple Alliance of 1832-7. In this campaign Alcoclc gained considerable dis- tinction, and for his courage and ability he was appointed aide-de-camp to General Sir de Lacy Evans, and subse- quently received numerous decorations from the English, Spanish, and Poi'tuguese Governments. He retired from the service in 1837 with the rank of Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, but was employed on the two mixed commis- sions which sat in London to settle the claims of the British naval and military auxiliary forces on the Spanish and Portuguese Governments. Whilst at home after this campaign, Alcoclc worked at surgery. He twice obtained the Jacksonian Prize at the College of Surgeons—in 1839 for his dissertation on “ The Nature, Symptoms, and Treatment of Concussion of the Brain, and the other forms of Cerebral Injury from External Violence,” and in 1841 for a remarkable essay on “Injuries of the Thorax and Operations on its Parieties.” In Decem- ber, 1843, he was included in the list of London surgeons on whom the newly created Fellowship of the College of Sur- geons was conferred. There is also in existence the letter