Spotlight On… (1): Stories from the Craigleith Hospital Chronicle

The Craigleith Hospital Chronicle is a rich resource of articles, poetry, drawings and photographs reflecting the aspirations of those who fought in the First World War. It contains stories on a wide variety of topics and rarely misses an opportunity to add propaganda value.

LHSA has a collection of 13 issues of this military magazine, unfortunately not a complete run. It was produced by the Second Scottish General Hospital, Craigleith during the years of the Great War. Staff and patients submitted articles, stories and poems on many different topics. Many provide a valuable insight into life as a soldier, patient or member of hospital staff at this time.

The Craigleith Hospital Chronicle, Volume One, No.2 (LHSA Ref: GD1/82/1) is the first in LHSA's collection, articles include: "Duties of a Ward Orderly", "An Impression of the Belgian Wounded" [arriving at the hospital in October 1914], "Christmas Day in Hospital"; and a poem entitled "A Private's Alphabet", the first lines of which are repeated below:

"A is the Army, to which we belong;

B is the Battle, we wage against wrong.

C is the Cause we are all fighting for;

D are the Devils who started this war..."

 

 ‘Craigleith Hospital Chronicle’ magazine (GD1/82).

Craigleith Poorhouse was founded in 1868 and served the St Cuthbert's district of Edinburgh. It included an Infirmary for the care of sick paupers. In 1914, the Poorhouse was taken over as a military hospital and renamed the Second Scottish General Hospital, Craigleith. The Poorhouse returned to its former function in 1919, and in 1929 it became the Western General Hospital.

An article in volume 1 number 5 from April 1915, ‘Lighthouses in War Time’, describes the war from the point of view of lighthouse keepers and sailors. It explains that in autumn 1914 the command was given, ‘lights out on the east coast’. This may have baffled enemy movements by night but it also added anxiety, delay and danger to allied merchant ships’ sailings.

According to the article, some mail boats had changed their sailing times to complete voyages during daylight. Also included is a story in which the crew of an Orkney vessel found they were being tailed by a German submarine. The captain of the ship decided that the submarine meant no harm but was merely following them to gain a safe passage through the Pentland Firth. The article then claims that the ‘wily Orkneyman…led his unwelcome follower a wild dance across the shoals and shallows’ until the submarine ran aground!

Moving onto the work of the lighthouse men, the article states that although the lights are not lit, the machinery is continually oiled, cleaned and ready for use. Therefore, their work is constant and essential. It informs the reader that ‘with the least encouragement’ many of ‘these brave fellows would gladly don khaki’, but the best way they can serve king and country is to persevere with their present work.

‘Craigleith Hospital Chronicle’, Volume One, Number Five, April 1915 (GD1/82/3).

An interesting feature of the writing style is how it describes lighthouse keepers and sailors as masters of their craft. Adjectives such as patient, painstaking, steady, reliable and nimble paint the character of men who do their job very well, while the phrase ‘handy with a boat’ and ‘as clever with their hands as jolly tars’ emphasises how skilful they need to be. It also mentions their ‘cheery philosophy’, showing that despite their isolation they remain steadfast. By creating a sense that all people in Britain and its allied countries, no matter what they were doing, were diligently working towards a common cause, the hospital magazines would have attempted to build up the morale of soldiers who may have had to spend months recovering and inactive.

The publication is an invaluable account that delves into the personal experiences of those involved in such a convoluted event.

Disability Employment and Livelihood (1): The history of Jonathan Kerr

On the occasion of UK Disability History Month 2024, LHSA contributed to a Lunch and Learn session with NHS Lothian’s Disabled Employee Network. Through the lens of our varied collections, we explored the role that disabled people have held historically in the workplace and the job market at large. This is the first of a series of blogs exploring the role of disability employment and livelihood.

Victorian Edinburgh. 1830s. A deaf man, Jonathan Kerr, is a cupper at the Royal Infirmary. But… what was a ‘cupper’? The position of ‘cupper’ at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh seems to have been first proposed by Mr Henry Mapleson in February 1826, at which point he also offered to take on the role himself. In Mr Mapleson’s words, the role ‘has for its object the local abstraction of blood by means of cupping […] requiring a considerable dexterity, and long experience’ (Letter of Application, February 1826).

Excerpt from the Minutes of Managers of RIE discussing Mr Mapleson's application for the role of cupper (LHB1/1/10).

Jonathan Duncan Kerr applied for the role of Cupper at RIE in April 1830. Both Mr Mapleson and Mr Kerr were appointed for this position, although in later minutes Mr Kerr is described as ‘Junior Cupper’. Both men worked as joint Cupper to the House until the Manager found Mapleson ‘had not been attending his duties and that some difficulty had occurred to the medical gentleman of the house in communicating their directions to Mr Kerr’, at which point the Managers reached out to Mr D S Cafe, who was offered the role (to be shared with Kerr) on 23^rd May 1831.

Excerpt from the Minutes of Managers of RIE detailing Mr Mapleson's performance (LHB1/1/10). 

On 25^th January 1837 a complaint was made against Kerr by Dr Craigie – which seems to have involved Mr Kerr making a mistake in regards to some orders for bloodletting. In October 1838, Mr Cafe made a complaint against Kerr although the Minute Books do not record the reason for the complaint. The sequence of events takes us to the 28^th January 1839, when Mr Kerr resigned as cupper and in February of that year, Mr Cafe would be the sole Cupper to RIE.

Excerpt from the Minutes of Managers of RIE mentioning Dr Craigie's complaint against Mr Kerr (LHB1/1/10).

Excerpt from the Minutes of Managers of RIE addressing Mr Cafe's complaint against Mr Kerr (LHB1/1/10).

While there are three records of complaints made against Mr Kerr by different hospital staff, these don’t provide the later reader with much insight. The volume informs that there were difficulties communicating directions to Mr Kerr and that he made a mistake regarding some orders for bloodletting several years later. However, there is no mention of his deafness, which may or may have not been the cause of these misunderstandings and his eventual resignation, but which would have played an essential part in his role at the hospital. Although it is tempting to try to make assumptions about his working relationships and the challenges he faced daily, his colleagues’ difficulties in adjusting to his disability may or may have not led to his eventual resignation.

 

Excerpt from the Minutes of Managers of RIE highlighting Mr Kerr's intention to resign his role as cupper (LHB1/1/10).

How do we know he was deaf you’re asking? Only because we received a query from a researcher who was tracking Mr Kerr’s story. His account highlights the many underlying issues around the acknowledgement of disability that already preceded Victorian society and have perpetuated up to this date.