Medical and surgical journal of the Lord William Bentinck transport for 20 October...

ADM 101/45/2D

1831

Medical and surgical journal of the Lord William Bentinck transport for 20 October to 21 November [1831] by John Robertson, Assistant Surgeon, during which time the said transport was employed on her passage to England from Bermuda.

[Note: ADM 101/45/2, 2A-2D are produced as a single document: order as ADM 101/45/2].

Folios 1-2: Lawrence Boothman, aged 33, Convict; disease or hurt, pthisis incipiens. Put on sick list, 20 October 1831, on being received on board from the Antelope convict ship at Bermuda. Discharged, into the York convict hulk at Portsmouth, 21 November 1831. Sent on board with a statement from the surgeon of the Antelope saying he was suffering from chronic cough and expectoration.

Folios 2-3: James Nelson, aged 26, Convict; disease or hurt, pthisis incipiens. Put on sick list, 20 October 1831, on being received on board from the Antelope convict ship at Bermuda. Discharged, into the York convict hulk at Portsmouth, 21 November 1831. Sent on board with a statement that he was suffering chronic cough alternating with diarrhoea and receiving the same medicine as Boothman.

Folios 3-5: William Waugh, aged 24, Convict; disease or hurt, pthisis incipiens. Put on sick list, 20 October 1831, on being received on board from the Antelope convict ship at Bermuda. Discharged, into the York convict hulk at Portsmouth, 21 November 1831. Came on board with a statement similar to the two previous cases.

Folios 5-6: Edward Davies, aged 24, Convict; disease or hurt, pthisis confirmata. Put on sick list, 20 October 1831, on being received on board from the Antelope convict ship at Bermuda. Died at sea, 27 October 1831. His original statement mentioned 'cough alternating with diarrhoea for upwards of two years, much emaciated and considerable debility'. On embarkation he was so debilitated that he could not stand.

Folios 6-7: Michael Collins, aged 27, Convict; disease or hurt, pthisis confirmata. Put on sick list, 20 October 1831, on being received on board from the Coromandle convict ship at Bermuda. Died at sea, 3 November 1831. His original statement mentioned 'cough alternating with diarrhoea, with emaciation and debility for the last two years'. On examination he was found to be greatly emaciated and debilitated with shrunken, sallow features.

Folios 7-9: Richard Surry, aged 27, Convict; disease or hurt, dysenteria. Put on sick list, 20 October 1831, on being received on board from the Coromandle convict ship at Bermuda. Died at sea, 11 November 1831. His original statement said that he had suffered bad health for many months, including pneumonia and dysentery, and was suffering rheumatism when embarked.

Folio 9: Thomas Croker, aged 33, Convict; disease or hurt, diarrhoea. Put on sick list, 8 November 1831, at sea. Discharged, into the York convict hulk at Portsmouth, 21 November 1831. Had been purged for 3 or 4 days with slight griping, considerable tenesmus and several internal haemorrhoids coming down at evacuations.

Folio 10: Henry Cope, aged 55, Convict; disease or hurt, diarrhoea. pthisis incipiens. Put on sick list, 11 November 1831, at sea. Discharged to duty, 20 November 1831.

Folio 11: John Young, aged 32, Convict; disease or hurt, diarrhoea. Put on sick list, 14 November 1831, at sea. Discharged to duty, 18 November 1831. Had been purged for 4 days previously but without any pain.

Folio 11: Abstract of the preceding journal, being a summary of all the cases contained therein, nosologically arranged.

Folios 12-13: Surgeon's general remarks. The surgeon comments on how few cases there are on the list and that the prevalent disease is diarrhoea. Thomas Croker had suffered haemorrhoids before, Henry Cope's diarrhoea arose from constipation, which he eventually admitted he had suffered prior to the attack, John Young's case was treated with a purgative followed by opiates. The other cases were ones who came aboard with longstanding diseases. The first three improved when they came aboard and more so as they travelled north. Edward Davies was so ill that there was no chance of his surviving more than a few days. He was so debilitated the surgeon had to lift him whenever he wanted to move him anywhere and describes him as looking like a 'human skeleton... his extremities were no larger than a child of ten years'. The weather was very bad and the sick berth being so far forward and not able to be ventilated, was very much against him. Michael Collins' symptoms became aggravated as they sailed north. Richard Surry seemed to improve at first but also became worse as the ship sailed north. The thermometer stood at 78 as they left Bermuda but soon dropped to 54 at noon and as low as 48 in the morning. No post mortems were carried out because there was no place below and the weather was too bad to use the deck. Signed, John Robertson, Assistant Surgeon.

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Armed Forces (General Administration)