Subjects covered are Cantlie's views on the physical degeneration of Londoners, caused in particular by the impure air they are subjected to; first aid to the sick and wounded in war and civilian life, including Cantlie's involvement in the raising, establishment and training [in Aldershot] of the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps and his work with the London V.M.S.C. of which he was Surgeon-Commandant, establishment of similar corps in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Belfast universities, work of the St John Ambulance Association; medical mission to suppress the cholera epidemic in Egypt, 1883, which included Cantlie; annual Christmas entertainment of patients given by the Charing Cross Hospital Student's Club and Mr R Ross Robertson's annual entertainment to the outdoor poor (Bower Cottage), St Pancras, in which Cantlie performed, 1881-1886; social gatherings and annual dinners of the London Morayshire and London Aberdeen University clubs; opening of the College of Medicine for Chinese, Hong Kong, 1887, by Cantlie and Dr Patrick Manson; Cantlie's insistence on the importance of medical examination prior to outdoor sports.
