Graham, Thomas (1818-1850), naval surgeon

Letters and papers of Thomas Graham (1818-1850), naval surgeon, mainly relating to his education at Edinburgh University and subsequent service aboard various warships in home waters, Ireland, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Far East.

1830-1850

3 volumes, 12 files and 1 reel of microfilm

MS.5462 was purchased from Burgess Browning in 1987 (acc.347704); the bulk of the remainder of the collection was separately acquired from postal history dealer and Thomas Graham enthusiast, John Beagle, in 2005-06 (acc.1368, 1372, 1398, 1417); an additional item , 8418/14 (acc.1465) was purchased from Maggs Bros Ltd, London.

Thomas Graham was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and studied medicine at Edinburgh University from 1835 (MD 1838). In 1841 he was appointed an assistant naval surgeon by the Board of Admiralty, serving initially at Melville Hospital, Chatham, then aboard HMS Warspite in home waters, in the Atlantic, American waters, and the Mediterranean between 1841 and 1846. In that year he was commissioned as assistant surgeon of HMS Madagascar, serving mainly in the west of Ireland, where he took a prominent part in assisting the relief of distress during the Famine. In 1849 he was commissioned with the same rank to HMS Hastings, based in Hong Kong, travelling out to meet her aboard the troopship Apollo. In March 1850 he was promoted surgeon, to serve on HMS Phlegethon at Whampoa (now Huangpu), but died a few weeks later on 13 July 1850 from malaria. He is buried on Dane's Island, near Canton (Guangzhou).

Thomas Graham's papers were evidently dispersed after his death; most seem to have found their way eventually to Australia. A Tasmanian postal history dealer, John Beagle, took an interest in some letters by Graham to his sister that passed through his hands and set about identifying and collecting other Thomas Graham items from private and commercial sources: the bulk of this material was subsequently purchased by the Wellcome Library and forms the majority of the collection described here.

Some digital photographs and transcripts of material in the collection can be viewed at www.thomasgrahamwritings.com