Report of the Barrack and Hospital Improvement Commission on the sanitary condition and improvement of the Mediterranean stations / [Douglas Galton, John Sutherland].

  • Great Britain. Barrack and Hospital Improvement Commission.
Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Barrack and Hospital Improvement Commission on the sanitary condition and improvement of the Mediterranean stations / [Douglas Galton, John Sutherland]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    25/416 (page 5)
    It would hence appear that the Mediterranean stations we examined have, either by regulation or by local practice, barrack accommodation (some of it good, much of it indifferent, and some of it unfit for occupation) for about 16,402 men. That by applying the home scale of 600 cubic feet per man wherever it is possible to do so, and by departing from it as little as possible in barracks badly situated or otherwise incapable of sufficient improvement, there is space for no more than about 11,317 men, leaving a deficiency of space for about 5,085 men.* This large deficiency can only be met by providing more accommodation, or by reducing the garrisons. At all the stations there is one period of the year more unhealthy than the remainder. The prevailing diseases at this season are fevers and bowel complaints. In the absence of sufficient barrack accommodation, we would suggest, as a temporary expedient for preserving the troops from the unwholesome influence of their barrack rooms during the unhealthy months, that as many men as possible be removed out of the crowded rooms and placed under canvas. We have indicated in the reports on the stations the class of barracks in regard to which this measure might be most advan- tageously adopted, and we recommend that it be made a matter of ordinary barrack administration during such time as the principal medical officer of the station may certify as to its being necessary. The experience of Pembroke barracks at Malta shows how much benefit might be derived by removing troops from unhealthy casemates if this measure is properly carried out. But the amount of disease which took place among troops under canvas in a badly selected locality close to these barracks, shows the need of exercising care in select- ing ground for camping. 2.—Additional Barrack Accommodation. If it be determined that the present garrisons are to be maintained, it will be necessary to provide additional barrack accommodation//CIf the sites for barracks be properly chosen, and if the buildings be suitably arranged for health, 600. to 750 cubic feet, with from 60 to 75 square feet per man, ought to afford sufficient space for health at almost every Mediterranean station./If in any locality where a new barrack is required there be not sufficient area to erect barracks of hut construction, it would be safe to build barracks containing two floors of rooms. But the simplest form of construction for barracks in warm climates, to ensure the conditions necessary for health, subdivision of men, and good ventilation, is that of detached huts. Huts of this description have already been built at Gibraltar, where the practice of building is similar to that followed at home. The windows of these huts are, however, too small. The Maltese population build in a different manner. They have a soft workable stone, which affords great facilities for erecting structures, sometimes arched over to form casemates, or having arched ribs to support ceilings or roofs, or wooden beams are used. The roofs are flat, and stone flooring is universally adopted, to prevent annoyance from vermin. The barracks in the Ionian Islands are built like ordinary English structures. Detached barracks can be built at any of the stations, either on one floor or two floors, and can be rendered healthy by attention to the following simple precautions:— 1. The hut may consist of one room for 20 to 25 men, with windows along both sides, and doors at the ends. The window space should be in the proportion of one window to two beds. The beds should be arranged between the windows, with their heads to the wall. The windows should be carried from within about 2 feet 6 inches of the floor to within 1 foot 6 inches of the ceiling, and should open top and bottom. From 20 to 22 feet would be a good breadth for the room. Nine to ten feet would be a sufficient height. 2. In airy positions each man should have at the least 600 cubic feet, and 60 square feet of barrack-room space. This applies to detached hut construction, where the air plays freely round all sides of the hut. But, if rooms be built, with two sides only exposed to the outer air, the cubic space and superficial area should be 750 and from 70 to 75 feet respectively. * Excluding the Ionian Islands, the barrack accommodation at Gibraltar, Malta, and Gozo -would, if improved, be sufficient for 8,967 men, leaving a deficiency to be supplied of healthy barrack-room space for 3,715 men of the present garrisons. A 3