South African War Diaries

In  1900, Frederick Smith was serving as a veterinary officer in the South African War.  The entries in his official war diary for August of that year show that the focus of his attention at that time was on finding a new site for the veterinary hospital which he had responsibility for.

The hospital was full to capacity with horses suffering from glanders and sore back.   On 13 August, Smith notes in his diary that in the previous week they had admitted 666 horses and mules of which 6 had died, 150 had been destroyed and 64 had been sent for duty.  When added to the existing animals in the hospital this gave a total of  1011.

There were also some staffing difficulties to contend with, speaking of one of the hospital staff he writes:

 “Clarke did not know a single case in the place, says he cannot remember them!  I have given him one more chance.” [16 August]

However, in true British style, the main thing that was concerning Smith seems to have been the weather as it “rained the whole day” and “rained all night.” This was causing problems for the animals “the horses are over their fetlocks in clay.  Walking can only be done by painfully putting each foot alternately in progression”.  There was also an ever present  threat of the imminent flooding of the hospital if the river rose much more.

On 30 August Smith took his Commanding Officer to see the two places he had identified as possible new locations for the hospital but these were ruled out because of “military considerations … the defences of the town are to be … contracted” which would have left them exposed to attack.

The CO identified another site which Smith didn’t like at all “owing to the difficulty of watering, the banks being nearly vertical & quite 50 feet above the river.”  Fortunately the CO later changed his mind and rejected the site because it would have taken too long to prepare.

Smith's sketch of the new hospital

Smith’s sketch of the new hospital

Finally on 1 September a new site was suggested on the north bank of the river.   This met with Smith’s approval as it was surrounded by the river giving “complete protection in the event of an attack”, it had “sandy ground” and the low banks of the river “allowed water to be pumped up easily.”   He rapidly planned the hospital drawing a sketch of what it would look like.  It was to “have six kraals each holding 100 horses, and lines for another 400… the kraals will be well built, mangers will be supplied.”

Work started on 2nd September when Smith writes “Tomorrow and the whole of next week will be occupied getting the place right.”   I hope it was compeleted before the weather got any worse!

These official war diaries, which cover the period 1899-1902,  form a small part of the Frederick Smith Collection which also  includes notes relating to his research and publications, reprints of his published articles, handwritten notes for his autobiography, photographs and notes relating to the Army Veterinary Service and letters written between 1877-1929.

A library accessible to every member

We have always been fortunate to receive regular donations of books and historical material that enhance our Collection. It is not uncommon for the donor of the work to tell us something about the material – how they have used it or why they are gifting it to us. These personal stories add real interest and help us to bring the material to life.

I have recently come across an example of this in our archives in a series of letters from George Fleming (1833-1901). Fleming was RCVS President in 1880-84 and 1886 and was responsible for, and funded the costs of, the 1881 Veterinary Surgeons Act.

On 10th March 1900 he writes:

“Dear Mr President,

Fleming's Letter 10th March 1900

Fleming’s Letter 10th March 1900

I have not forgotten, nor am I ever likely to forget the generous manner in which the members of the veterinary profession acknowledged the feeble services I was permitted to render them some years ago; and I would now like to give evidence of my recollection of their beneficence in asking … [if the RCVS] …would further favour me by accepting, as a gift, my professional library”.

Fleming says that the library comprises at least 600 items, in several languages, with many of them been rare.  The only stipulation of the gift is “that the volumes are to be accessible to every member who desires to refer to them”.

In the next six months, he wrote to the President on three further occasions and appears anxious that the books are transferred to the RCVS sooner rather than later to “ensure their reception during my lifetime”.

In the final letter to the RCVS, dated 24 August 1900, Fleming records that 821 books have just been collected by the shippers and apologises that they “are very dusty” blaming “workmen in the house”. Finally he suggests that a “man should be employed to arrange and catalogue them”.

Catalogue of the Fleming Library

Catalogue of the Fleming Library

George Fleming died on 13 April 1901 so I am not sure if he knew that a catalogue was made of his library.  We still have it, and together with his books and the journals he had previously donated, it takes pride of place in our Historical Collection.

If you have any material that you think we might be interested in get in touch and tell us your story.

Jean-Pierre Megnin – skilled illustrator and pioneering forensic entomologist

The beautiful botanical illustration which you may have seen in an earlier post is  the work of Jean-Pierre Megnin.

It forms part of a collection of material by Megnin, which includes books, manuscripts, drawings and engravings, which the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons acquired in the 1980s.

Jean-Pierre Megnin (1828-1905) graduated from Alfort Veterinary School in 1853 and served in the French army from 1860 until his retirement in 1885. Retiring from the army he founded the journal L’Eleveur (The Breeder).

Throughout his life Megnin wrote articles and books on a wide variety of subjects (his main interests were parasitology and skin conditions in domesticated animals) illustrating most of them himself.  There are many examples of his skilled draughtsmanship in our collections.

In 1872 and 1873 he produced a set of posters, on topics such as ‘the age of domestic animals’, ‘the unsoundness and defects of the horses’ and  ‘the shoeing of the horse, mule and ox’ which were sold mounted on cloth and folded (as the ones in our collection are) or mounted on a roller.  They were published in the UK as Veterinary Diagrams in tabular form with the text translated in to English (probably by George Fleming) but unfortunately Megnin was never acknowledged as the illustrator.

Illustrations from Veterinary Diagrams in tabular form

Veterinary diagrams: the shoeing of the horse, mule and ox

Other examples of his illustrations  can be found in our books on parasitology.    The Pulex Canis, shown here  drawn in great detail, is from Megnin’s Atlas: iconographie des insectes parasites de l’homme et des animaux domestiques Paris, 1869

Illustration of the Pulex Canis

Illustration of the Pulex Canis

And there is this illustration of a species of feather mite – the Megninia Cubitalis,  which Megnin discovered in 1877, in  Les acariens parasites.  Paris: Gauthier-Villars c1892.

Feather mite

Illustration of a feather mite

Amongst a series of ornithological drawings we have this fearsome looking bird – is it a Capercaillie?

Illustration of a bird believed to be a capercaillie

As well as his illustrations Megnin is also known for his work and papers on forensic entomology.  The most significant of his papers was later published  as La Faune des Cadavres, Application de l’Entomologie à la Médecine légale.

Whilst we don’t have a copy of this we are fortunate to have Megnin’s handwritten notebook titled Memoire sur l’application de l’entomologie a la medecine legale au point de vue des questions de l’identite des cadavers [Account of the application of entomology to legal medicine from the point of view of the question of the identity of cadavers] which is dated 1884.

A 100 years later in  1986 Kenneth Smith dedicated his book A manual of forensic entomology to Megnin and two others (Marcel LeClercq and Pekka Nuorteva) describing them as  ‘Pioneers in the application of entomology in forensic science’  so the work, as well as the illustrations,  of this pioneering Honorary Associate of the RCVS still lives on.

Making history: UK’s first black vet

October is Black History Month so this seems an appropriate time to look at the life and work of Jotello Soga the first black member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Jotello Festiri Soga  (1865-1906) was born in the Transkei, South Africa, the fifth son of the Reverend Tiyo Soga.  Reverend Soga had been educated in Scotland and it followed that all his surviving sons were sent to the Dollar Academy in Fife.  Soga then went to the Dick Veterinary School in Edinburgh to study, graduating in April 1886.  On graduation he become the first black member of the RCVS and also the first South African-born qualified veterinary surgeon.

Soga's entry in the RCVS roll of members

Soga’s entry in the RCVS roll of members

After qualifying he returned to South Africa, and then, in November 1889, he was appointed by Duncan Hutcheon, Chief Veterinary Surgeon of the Cape Colony, as ‘junior veterinary surgeon’ with responsibility for the veterinary services in the Victoria East region.

Here he worked on a programme of inoculation against lung sickness in cattle and developed his interest in bacteriology. Then Rinderpest broke out in 1896, decimating herds across the continent.  The treatment and eradication of this highly infectious disease was to occupy the rest of Soga’s  career with the Colonial  Veterinary Services.  In  1896 he attended the conference that was arranged to discuss how to tackle the outbreak, and then worked in the laboratory set up as a result.  It was at this lab that he met Robert Koch who was visiting to try out his possible cures and serum immunisation method.

For the most part, though, Soga and Hutcheon worked in the field shooting cattle, often working excessively long hours.

In the Cape of Good Hope Board of Agriculture’s Report of the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon and the assistant veterinary surgeons for the year 1897 Soga writes about his experience with rinderpest:

“It was noticeable the peculiar direction the plague took, viz, down the course of the rivers and valleys…the ways in which the plague is carried from place to place are varied and extraordinary…it was supposed that the long leaps…[were] due to birds, but these outbreaks in almost every instance could be traceable to man”

Speaking of the efficacy of the inoculation programme he writes:

“The first inoculation was not always sufficient to render immunity complete, hence it was repeated…on recurrence any cases were generally of an exceptionally mild character.”

This strain of this exhausting work took its toll on both Soga and Hutcheon and they both took sick leave and then eventually resigned.

Soga continued to work as a vet in private practice and to write articles particularly for the Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope.  He co-founded the Cape Colony Veterinary Society in 1905and died aged 41 in 1906.  Soga had married Catherine Watson Chalmers, who came from Edinburgh, they had three daughters Catherine, Doris and Margaret.

Soga appears to have been forgotten by history so much so that Arnold Theiler , who is considered to be the father of veterinary science in South Africa,  named TJ Viljoen as the first South African  veterinarian. In fact Viljoen graduated in 1912 some 26 years after Soga.

Happily he has been ‘rediscovered’ and  is remembered in the naming of the Jotello F Soga Library  at the University of Pretoria,  and with an annual award from the South African Veterinary Association, the Soga Medal, which is given to veterinary students or veterinarians in “recognition of exceptional community service rendered by a veterinarian or a veterinary student”.

Changing times

The editorial in the issue of The Veterinary Record published 100 years ago today was titled  ‘Some changes in our profession’.  In it the author links the noticeable decline in equine veterinary work to the development of ‘motor traction’ but also notes that:

“new channels of work are opening up to us in compensation…The two chief substitutes are canine and feline practice and preventive medicine.”

The editorial then describes the ‘immense’ expansion of work with dogs and cats in the last thirty years, how almost every practice now treats these animals and how the knowledge of canine and feline  diseases and treatments  has grown.

Looking at the statistics on horse ownership in the decade prior to 1912 we can see just how much impact the growth in motorised transportation had.  In 1904 there was an estimated 145,000 horses in London, many of which were owned by the London General Omnibus Company for use in its fleet of horse drawn buses.  By 1911 the LGOC was selling off horses at a rate of 100 a week and ran its last horse bus in September of that year.

Given that scale of change it was inevitable that veterinary surgeons had to look for other sources of income and the increase in the keeping of dogs, in particular, as companion animals offered one such opportunity.  However the interest in the care of small animals began 50 or so years earlier and  had been increasingly reflected in the literature from the mid 1800s.

Frontispiece from Mayhew's Dogs: their management

Frontispiece from Mayhew’s Dogs: their management

In 1847 Edward Mayhew wrote two articles in The Veterinarian relating to dogs and cats, then in the following year in an article he disclosed that canine work formed the bulk of his practice.  His book Dogs: their management, published in 1854, could perhaps be seen as the start of a new focus for the profession.

Further books followed eg John Woodroffe Hill’s The management and diseases of the dog (1878) and John Henry Steel’s A treatise on the diseases of the dog (1888).  The first specific text on small animal surgery was Frederick Hobday’s Canine and feline surgery (1900).

These changes were also reflected in the subjects of theses submitted for the award of RCVS Fellowship – from 1893-1911 there were 5 theses on small animals topics, between 1912-1931 the number almost trebled.

Moving forward nearly a 100 years statistics in the 2010 RCVS Survey of the veterinary profession show that 72% of the time of veterinary surgeons working in clinical practice is spent working with small animals.

 So the  1912 editorial was correct in its prediction that small animal practice would continue to increase and in its confident assertion that:

“we have become of real use to a section of the community very much larger than the horse-owning one and shall continue to be so.”

My lords, ladies and gentlemen…

Tonight the RCVS President will welcome to the College a group of those who have helped it run smoothly over the last year. Invitees to the President’s Reception include examiners, those involved with the Practice Standards Scheme, members of the House of Lords and House of Commons, presidents of the veterinary and veterinary nursing associations and many others without whom the College could not perform its key functions.

It’s an annual social event that many look forward to, but looking back in the records we find that the first presidential social event happened on the 14 December 1854 (a year after the RCVS acquired its first permanent home) when William Field welcomed over 150 guests to a ‘converzasione’  in 10 Red Lion Square.

The Veterinarian* gives a full account of what appears to have been a grand affair.  The guests were from a wide variety of backgrounds including members of parliament, artists, fellows of the Royal Society, surgeons, physicians … and even a few vets!  Famous names included Sir Edwin Landseer, Michael Faraday, Edwin Lankester, and the Honorable Arthur Kinnaird

Many of the guests brought artefacts with them so that

“on the walls were hung many valuable paintings by Sir E. Landseer,  J. Ward, R.A. and others.”

And the tables were

“covered with microscopes, stereoscopes and photographic drawings.”

There were objects from the museum of the Royal Veterinary College, “including several of unusual occurrence, such as ossification of the brain, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, &c.”  And, in what would appear to be an early precursor of a poster presentation at a conference, “Mr James Turner suspended in the library tablets containing an account of some new ‘pathological facts’ connected with tetanus, as disclosed by the scalpel.”

Statues, ivory carvings and exotic plants from the Royal Botanic Gardens completed the scene.

So what was the point of having all these artefacts and people in one room?  It appears it was to stimulate discussion between the veterinary and medical professions.  The author of the piece gives a clue of its importance to the fledgling RCVS when he writes:

“Such associations cannot fail to promote the best interests of our profession …The free intercourse which…takes place between the members of it and the higher division of medical science…all tend to awaken thought, to stimulate further investigation, and to expand the mind…[and] a more intimate union of the two professions is thus effected.”

The event was so successful that it was repeated three months later… with different objects and different people.

These days the objects on the tables tend to be glasses of wine and canapés, but the opportunity to meet colleagues from across the profession, and from those organisations working closing with it, continues to be important.

*The Veterinarian 1 January 1855 pp 44-47