Medical and surgical journal of His Majesty's convict Ship Lloyds for 9 July [1833]...

Medical and surgical journal of His Majesty's convict Ship Lloyds for 9 July [1833] to 4 January [1834] by John Inches, Surgeon, during which time the said ship was employed in a voyage to Sydney.

Folios 1-2: John Barrett, aged 22, Convict; disease or hurt, cholera. Put on sick list, 16 August 1833, at Woolwich. Sent immediately to the Dasher hospital ship.Taken ill with malignant cholera in the morning, he was sent to the hospital ship as soon as the surgeon was aware of it but died before reaching her. Prisoners were appointed to report to the sentries if anyone became ill in the prison during the night.

Folios 2-4: John Barker, aged 27, Convict; disease or hurt, cholera. Put on sick list, 27 August 1833, at Woolwich. Discharged, 8 September 1833.

Folios 4-5, 7: Lieutenant Emeri, Officer of the Guards; disease or hurt, sore on the penis. Put on sick list, 8 September 1833. No discharge date. The army doctor at Chatham had told him the sore was not venereal and had prescribed treatment, which he had followed, but the sore was getting bigger and becoming inflamed.

Folios 6-8: William Quinnell, aged 24, Convict; disease or hurt, coma and delirium following exposure to the sun. Put on sick list, 29 September 1833, at sea. Discharged, 12 October 1833. 'Of a strong, full, plethoric habit' he took off his cap to wash on the forecastle and was exposed to the tropical sun with the thermometer at 94 in the shade.

Folios 8-12: William Johnstone, aged 26, Convict; disease or hurt, fixed pain in his right breast, great difficulty breathing and a troublesome cough, pulse full and hard. Put on sick list, 16 September 1833. Discharged, 2 November 1833.

Folios 9-11: Patrick Sheedy, aged 22, Private of the Guard; disease or hurt, violent fixed pain in his chest, great difficulty breathing, pulse full hard and quick, tongue coated. Put on sick list, 24 September 1833. Discharged, 31 September 1833.

Folios 11-14: John Dorey, aged 37, Convict; disease or hurt, severe griping pains and frequent loose stools, with troublesome tenesmus. Put on sick list, 31 September 1833. Discharged, 7 November 1833.

Folios 12-14: James Jones, aged 25, Convict; disease or hurt, violent griping pains alternated with frequent loose stools of white frothy mucus, very severe tenesmus. Put on sick list, 1 November 1833. Discharged, 10 November 1833.

Folios 14-19: Francis Marshall, aged 35, Convict; disease or hurt, fixed pain in his chest, difficulty breathing, frequent desire to cough. Put on sick list, 14 November 1833. Died, 6 December 1833. Had been subject to a cough for the past year but was free from it at the time of embarkation at Woolwich.

Folios 15-18: Robert Banks, aged 27, Seaman; disease or hurt, severe constant pain all over the anterior part of the abdomen, with severe griping pains round the navel. Put on sick list, 20 November 1833, at sea. Discharged, 27 November 1833.

Folio 20: Abstract of the preceding journal, being a summary of all the cases contained therein, nosologically arranged.

Folios 21-23: Surgeon's general remarks. On 9 August 1833 the guard embarked at Deptford. They arrived at Woolwich on 13 August and in the next two days inspected and received 200 male convicts from the hulks Ganymede and Justitia. A great many had not long recovered from cholera. On 19 August they arrived in the Downs and were ordered to proceed from there on 24 August. They exchanged an insane convict at the York hulk, Spithead. In 18 days they were in the tropics. The Lloyds was a new ship and 'very close on the prison deck' so every measure was used to keep the two prisons ventilated. All the prisoners were on deck for two hours every evening. With the exception of a few slight cases of diarrhoea they were remarkably healthy. They arrived at Sydney Cove on 18 December but finding that the prisoners could not be landed for some weeks, two men with spongy gums and debilitation were sent ashore to the hospital. Signed John Inches

Topics

Shipping

Army

Disease

Navy

Armed Forces (General Administration)

Prisons