Catalogue description Folios 1-2: case no 1, Edward Hougham, aged 16, Boy 1st Class; taken ill on board HMS...

Folios 1-2: case no 1, Edward Hougham, aged 16, Boy 1st Class; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, fever remittent, was on shore the previous day at St Domingo bathing with the rest of the ship's company. During the time he was in the water the clouds cleared away and the sun came out strong, says that after he awoke from a short sleep he had rigors, headache, pain in the back, skin hot, face flushed, eues vascular, thirst, pulse 170; put on sick list 13 January 1861, discharged 18 January 1861 to duty. Folio 2: case no 2, Benjamin Bevan, aged 16, Boy 2nd Class; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, remittent fever, after coming on board from bathing, says that he had a severe headache when attending on the Captain at dinner, was restless, had sometimes chills and at times hot during the night; put on sick list 13 January 1861, discharged 18 January 1861 to duty.

Folios 2-3: case no 3, Thomas Warren, aged 19, Boy 2nd Class; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, urtica, complained of pain in the abdomen, heat of skin and restlessness, pulse 100, bowels rather confined and thirst; put on sick list 19 January 1861, discharged 29 January 1861 to duty. Folio 3: case no 4, George Hayman, aged 18, Boy 1st Class; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, remittent fever, complained of general uneasiness, chills, headache, stiffness of neck, face sallow, skin dry and hot; put on sick list 2 February 1861, discharged 8 February 1861 to duty. Folios 3-5: case no 5, William Button, aged 26, Ship's Steward; taken ill at Rio de Janeiro; sick or hurt, delerium tremors and dropsy [with?] albuminous urine, he served on the station 7 years and in this ship 5 years, on the whole enjoyed good health up to his present attack of dropsy accompanied with great nervous tremors and depression with general atony of the system brought on by lengthened course of hard drinking. The body seemingly well nourished, but dropsical infiltration was chiefly confined to the abdominal and lower extremities; put on sick list 2 February 1861, died 5 February 1861 at 3 pm.

Folios 5-7: case no 6, George Vant, aged 28, Yeoman of Stores at Cobras; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, chronic alcoholism and delerium tremors, he was living ashore at Cobras for the last 5 years and on the whole enjoyed good health up to the last six months when he came on board this ship three times for the treatment of derangement of the bowels which was brought on by hard drinking, according to the patient he admitted that for three days he was drinking more than usual and other men at Cobras confirmed this statement - his appearance of a fine strong muscular, well made man, body well nourished; put on sick list 9 February 1861, died 13 February 1861 at 3:45.

Folios 7-8: case no 7, Edward Meaz, aged 18, Ordinary Seaman; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, remittent fever, complained of having chills attended with headache, pains in the back over the kidneys, and lower extremities, bowels loose, face flushed; put on sick list 21 February 1861, discharged 4 March 1861 to duty. Folios 8-9: case no 8, William Taylor, aged 18, Boy 1st Class; taken ill on board HMS Madagascar; sick or hurt, remittent fever; put on sick list 21 February 1861, discharged 27 February 1861 to duty.

Folios 9-10: case no 9, Mr William Thomas Tregidgo, aged 43, Master; sick or hurt, chronic hepatitis, he joined this ship in June 1859 and was invalided in March 1861, during which he was entered on the sick list six times of which the last for chronic hepatitis. On each occasion there was much nervous excitement brought on by over indulgence in alcoholic liquors, the abuse of the stimulants taken by him was at first and every occasion evinced by nausea, vomiting of bile, tremor of hands, occasional attacks of muttering and squeaking in his sleep; put on sick list 26 February 1861, invalided 4 March 1861.

Folio 10: case no 10, John Ellice, aged 21, Blacksmith; sick or hurt, phymosis, the patient stated that for some months he had gonorrhoea, during which time the orifice of prepuce contracted - urithral discharge by this time had completely disappeared; put on sick list 7 May 1861, discharged 31 May 1861 to duty. Folios 10-11: case no 11, Mr Thomas Handford, aged 36, Boatswain; sick or hurt, delerium tremors, was walking ashore the day before and exposed to the sun and drank hard, complained of headache, restlessness and general uneasiness; put on sick list 30 March 1861, discharged 7 April 1861 to duty.

Folio 11: case no 12, William Saunders, aged 17, Boy 2nd Class; sick or hurt, cirsocele, the patient stated that one day when he attempted to lift some heavy weight, he suddenly felt pain in the left testicle and in his back. On examination the testicles were found slightly enlarged - vessels of spermatic cord enlarged; put on sick list 1 April 1861, discharged 10 April 1861 to duty. Folio 11: case no 13, Mr James A Skene, aged 25, Assistant Surgeon; sick or hurt, chronic hepatitis, during 1857 this patient served in China, in which he contracted severe attacks of dysentery and since which time he suffered more or less from his liver, had served in this ship upward of three years during which he had two acute attacks of hepatitis; put on sick list 8 April 1861, invalided 13 May 1861. Folios 11-12: case no 14, Mr George Roberts, aged 22, Assistant Paymaster; sick or hurt, albuminuria, was served on the [Ilatino?] 3 ½ years, two of which was on the Island of Cobras when the Naval Stores were kept. In March his general health became bad without at first any apparent cause, now complained of acute pain over both kidneys, constipation, urine scanty and high coloured; put on sick list 4 March 1861, invalided 13 May 1861.

Folio 12: case no 15, Henry Jewells, aged 28, Ordinary Seaman; sick or hurt, debility, he came on this Station in 1854 and joined this ship in 1857, during these period was entered three different times on the sick list, according to the surgeon the patient's debility state was partly from the effects of climate and partly on account of the closeness of the place where he performed his duty as Cooper and Ship's Steward; put on sick list 13 May 1861, invalided 13 May 1861. Folios 12-13: case no 16, Benjamin Bevan, aged 16, Boy; sick or hurt, abscess in right thigh, swelling and pain in upper third of right thigh, the part were found red and painful to the touch some redness along the course of the absorbents from the knee; put on sick list 16 October 1861, discharged 4 November 1861 to duty.

Folio 13: case no 17, Edward Cooper, aged 43, Able Seaman; sick or hurt, contusion, received when came down the fore ladder, he fell and was [pitched?] on his right shoulder, there was fullness and swelling of the joint and pain on attempting to move arm; put on sick list 3 October 1861, discharged 23 October 1861 to duty. Folio 13: case no 18, Cornelius Marney, aged 28, Able Seaman; sick or hurt, paralyses of bladder, received when employed cleaning the cutter he fell from the fore chains into the cutter a high of 10 feet. The lower part of sacrum coming against the mast of the boat; put on sick list 7 September 1861, discharged 20 October 1861 to duty. Folio 13: case no 19, Samuel Drew, aged 32, Marine; sick or hurt, wound on the middle third of right thigh from a fall on a broken bottle; put on sick list 7 April 1861, discharged 10 April 1861 to duty.

Folio 14: case no 20, William Saunders, aged 17, Boy; sick or hurt, contusion of lower lip, he was fell on the deck and his lower lip coming against the chain cable; put on sick list 7 June 1861, discharged 13 June 1861 to duty. Folio 14: case no 21, William Tabler, aged 34, Marine; sick or hurt, fracture of 3 metatarsal bone of the right foot; put on sick list 22 November 1861, discharged 2 January 1862 to duty.