Catalogue description STOCK, PHILIP GRAHAM

Stock's papers, 1899-1902, consist of his notes and sketches about army medical services, case notes with sketches, and negatives of photographs, taken in South Africa during the Boer War, 1899-1902 (MS737); Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides made from the photographs, some labelled and indexed, taken by Stock during the Boer War, 1899-1902 (MS738-739).

Stock, Philip Graham (1876-1975)

Open access

• Boer War, 1899-1902

Philip Graham Stock (1876-1975) was born on 1 April 1876 at Clifton, Bristol. He went to the Bristol Royal Infirmary to study medicine. He graduated in 1900, and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. Immediately after graduating Stock joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). He was posted to South Africa, where he was appointed Regimental Medical Officer with the 8th Hussars.

From the end of the Boer War, in 1902, to 1914 he remained in South Africa, and held various medical posts. He was appointed Medical Officer of Health of Johannesburg, and gained exceptional experience directing public health in a rapidly expanding community. He was responsible for the underground sanitation of the gold mines. In 1913 he was made Director of Medical Services of the Union of South Africa. After the First World War broke out in 1914 he organised the medical services for the force invading German South-West Africa. He introduced compulsory anti-typhoid inoculations for the entire force, which undoubtedly saved much sickness and many deaths.

Towards the end of the Southwest African campaign Stock was sent to organise medical services for the South African contingent in Europe. He was recalled to German East Africa in 1917, where there were high casualties from disease, and reorganised the medical services there. He returned to Europe in 1918, and served in France as Officer Commanding a General Hospital, and as Medical Adviser on Native Labour. He was also a member of the Inter-Allied Sanitary Conference 1917-18. He received the CB and CBE, and was mentioned in dispatches. He was also admitted to the honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

In 1920 he was persuaded to join the newly formed Ministry of Health. Between the two World Wars, Stock undertook a large amount of epidemiological work, investigating outbreaks of plague, cholera, typhus, malaria and other diseases. His particular interest was in port sanitation, international quarantine, and the related international conventions. For many years he was a leading world expert on the subject. He represented South Africa at the twice-yearly meetings in Paris of the Office Internationale d'Hygiene Publique.

In Britain he became a Deputy Senior Medical Officer within the Ministry of Health in 1935. In 1937 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. During the Second World War Stock was made responsible for the health of the people in air-raid shelters in London.

Stock retired from the Ministry of Health at the end of the war. The French Government awarded him the Medaille de la Reconnaissance Francaise for his services to the Free French forces. Awarded to civilian foreigners who helped the French war effort, the medal was quite rare. He became a part-time consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO), serving as chairman of the Quarantine Commission of their Interim Commission. He also accompanied the Director General of WHO on an extensive tour of tropical Africa. Stock died 95 days before his 100th birthday, on 27 December 1975.

Sources:

'Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of London, continued to 1975, vol. VI', Gordon Wolstenholme (ed.) (London, 1982) [Munk's Roll Vol.VI pp.419-23]

'Obituaries - Colonel P.G. Stock', 'British Medical Journal', 1976, Vol. I, [BMJ, 1976, p.160]

'Obituary - Philip Graham Stock', 'The Lancet', 1976, Vol. I, p.103

'Colonel P.G. Stock', 'The Times', 14 January 1976