Catalogue description Folios 11-12: John Whyte, aged 49, Gunner; disease or hurt, cholera. Put on sick list,...

Folios 11-12: John Whyte, aged 49, Gunner; disease or hurt, cholera. Put on sick list, 18 July [1858]. Died, [20 July 1858].

Folio 12: Thomas Dickson, aged 49, Boatswain's Mate; disease or hurt, stricture. Put on sick list, 24 July [1858]. Sent to the Hercules Hospital Ship, 26 July [1858], and subsequently invalided. He had suffered stricture for several years, there were two strictures.

Folio 12: Charles Forbes, aged 19, Ordinary Seaman; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 6 August [1858]. Died, 8 August [1858]. He presented symptoms of continued fever which prevailed extensively on board at the time.

Folios 12-13: Thomas Snell, aged 21, Ordinary Seaman; disease or hurt, fever. Put on sick list, 6 August [1858]. Died, 13 August [1858].

Folios 13-14: David Reynolds, aged 35, Yeoman of Signals; disease or hurt, cholera. Put on sick list, 15 August [1858]. Died, 18 August [1858].

Folio 14: Frederick Pearce, aged 36, Able Seaman; disease or hurt, anasarca. Put on sick list, 11 September [1858]. Died, 16 October [1858], at Singapore. 'A man of impaired constitution and cachetic habit of body', he had suffered internal haemorrhoids for a long time. His health had been failing but he had not complained because the duties were light.

Folios 14-15: Richard Dennick, aged 35, Boatswain's Mate; disease or hurt, dysentery. Put on sick list, 13 August [1858]. Left at the hospital at the Cape, 1 December [1858]. The dysentery was contracted while serving with the Naval Brigade on shore at Canton.

Folio 15: John Nicolls, aged 31, Captain of the Mizzen Top; disease or hurt, diarrhoea. Put on sick list, 17 September [1858]. Discharged to duty, 26 December [1858].

Folios 15-16: John Jackson, aged 40, Boatswain's Mate; disease or hurt, constipatio. Put on sick list, 6 December [1858], with rheumatism. Discharged, 8 December [1858]. Returned to the list, 11 [December 1858]. Convalescent, 16 [December 1858].

Folio 16: Robert Melhuish, aged 40, Marine; disease or hurt, phthisis. Put on sick list, 5 November [1858]. Died, 30 November [1858]. He had been landed with the rest of the Marines at Canton in December [1857?] and remained there until September [1858]. He had lost weight and become very emaciated, weighing only 104 lbs.

Folio 16: Charles Richard, aged 35, Bandmaster; disease or hurt, dysentery. Cornelius Kingett, aged 22, Marine; disease or hurt, catarrh. Both sent to hospital at Plymouth, 2 February 1859, as the ship was being prepared for paying off.

Folio 17: Table I, A nosological synopsis of the sick book kept during the period of this journal, in conformity with the 30th article of the Surgeon’s Instructions.

Folio 18: Table II, A list of men who have received wounds or hurts. Henry Varnham, aged 48, Captain of the Mast. Severe contusion of left foot. Richard Harden, aged 46, Quarter Master. Fracture of the right femur. William Edward Thompson, aged 19, Bandsman. Inguinal hernia. John Cockerell, aged 38, Gunner’s Mate. Wounded by gingal ball in attack on Nantow [Nantou]. Edward Madden, Commander (Acting). Bullet wound in attack on Nantow. Thomas Lucas, aged 17, Boy. Fracture of thigh from falling down a ladder at Macao Fort when it was struck by lightning. William Sweet, aged 27, Marine. Inguinal hernia right side.

Folios 18-19: Table III, All cases to the end of December [1858?]. Mean numerical strength of the ship's company 521 ¾.

Folios 19-20: Table III, All cases between 1 January 1859 and 15 February 1859. Mean numerical strength of the ship's company 589.

Folios 20-23: Surgeon's general remarks. Describes the Bocca Tigris in the Canton [Pearl] River, near the Bogue Islands, where the ship was anchored for most of the journal. In July a party of 240 officers and men were disembarked to strengthen the garrison at Canton and helped in pulling down and firing houses. Their daily routine is described and measures to avoid fever, such as issuing of quinine wine. There were 103 cases of fever in August, there were less in September but they assumed both remittent and intermittent characters. In October there were several cases among the ship's company and the invalids on passage from Hong Kong to Singapore. There had also been one case of measles and one of small pox during the year [it is not clear which year]. There were few diseases of the respiratory organs, the weather during the year is described. 'About ten days before the commencement of the year' [1858?], 287 officers and men of the ship's company were landed for the attack on Canton [Guangzhou], their quarters are described. There was little disease except diarrhoea until a large store of 'samshoo' was discovered and they 'freely availed themselves' of it. Several were attacked with symptoms resembling English cholera and after they returned to the ship, 40 cases of diarrhoea were added to the list. There were cases of choleraic diarrhoea in September at Hong Kong, mostly when men had been eating fish fried in the bum boats, mostly cold and not fresh when first cooked. Cases continued on the passage to the Cape. The men were allowed shore leave in Hong Kong in March without a great increase in the sick list and were allowed on shore at the Bogue Islands, where there was no opportunity for procuring samshoo. The only death from wounds was Mr Thompson, Midshipman, who was killed at Canton on the morning the city was taken by a spear pointed rocket which fractured his left arm and entered his kidney. There were three other cases of wounding at Canton, two by gingal balls and one bullet wound. Two other men, one the Senior Lieutenant, were wounded in the attack on Nantou. Their cases and the cases of accidents are described briefly. Of 80 invalids embarked at Hong Kong, 8 died on the passage to England, 7 of dysentery and 1 of phthisis. The care of these invalids and their voyage home is described briefly.