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Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E002834 - O'Brien, Peter Joseph (1806 - 1882)
Title:
O'Brien, Peter Joseph (1806 - 1882)
Author:
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Identifier:
RCS: E002834
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2012-09-05

2022-10-03
Description:
Obituary for O'Brien, Peter Joseph (1806 - 1882), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
O'Brien, Peter Joseph
Date of Birth:
19 November 1806
Place of Birth:
Galway
Date of Death:
24 March 1882
Place of Death:
St Helier's, Jersey
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
MRCS June 9th 1843

FRCS December 9th 1858

LMS Calcutta
Details:
Born at Galway on November 19th, 1806, and received his professional training at Calcutta Medical College and at St George's Hospital. He was Uncovenanted Medical Officer with the Gwalior Contingent from March 2nd, 1846, to November 19th, 1853, when he joined the Bengal Army as Assistant Surgeon, being promoted to Surgeon on November 15th, 1864. He was nominated for the Army by J Cotton on the recommendation of Sir James Ronald Martin (qv) for his services as an Uncovenanted Medical Officer. His active service included Central India (1844-1850), when he was present in minor operations; Burma (1852-1853), when he was at the capture of Ava; and during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858), when in the Central India Campaign. He took part with the 3rd Bombay European Regiment in the actions at Madapura and Betwa, the siege and storm of Jhansi, the action of Kunch, and the capture of Lahuri and Kalpi (Medal with Clasp). He retired on July 6th, 1866, practised for a time at Tudor Square, Tenby, South Wales, and died at St Helier's, Jersey, on March 24th, 1882. **See below for an expanded version of the original obituary which was printed in volume 1 of Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows. Please contact the library if you would like more information lives@rcseng.ac.uk** Peter O’Brien was a surgeon in India. He was born in Galway on 19 November 1806. On 24 May 1822 he was listed for the first time in the *Bengal Almanac* as an assistant apothecary attached to the 38th Regiment of Foot. On 7 October 1825 he went with the regiment to Burma for the First Burma War and was promoted to apothecary, serving in the field hospital at Rangoon. The Burma War ended in 1826 and, a year later, in July 1827 in Calcutta, he married Alice Hemsol Linford, the daughter of William Linford of the 14th Regiment of Foot and Martha Linford. In 1831 O’Brien was working at the Simla Dispensary. From 1831 to 1842 he practised in Calcutta, becoming interested in treating tetanus and other convulsive diseases with Indian hemp or ganja. In 1842, after 21 years’ service, he applied to retire, which was granted. He received a pension of £60 per annum. Leaving his wife and children in India, he sailed to London on 17 October 1842 and studied at St George’s Hospital. He was admitted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England on 9 June 1843. He returned to India, and, in March 1846, he joined the newly formed Gwalior Contingent, a body of troops in the service of Maharajah Scindia, the pro-British ruler of Gwalior. He was classified as an ‘uncovenanted civil surgeon’ – a lower rank of surgeon – or named in records as a ‘doctor’. He served in various infantry and cavalry regiments of the Gwalior Contingent until 1853, when on 19 November, at the age of 47, he was made an assistant surgeon of the Bengal Medical Service. At the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, he was serving with the Gwalior Contingent at Lullutpore in the northwest. As well as being the civil surgeon he was also the joint magistrate. O’Brien managed to use his tact and linguistic ability to calm a very tense situation. Instead of the garrison officers and wives being killed, the mutinous Indian officers and troops saluted O’Brien and turned their horses towards Gwalior. There then followed three months of privations at the garrison, but eventually the officers and wives were released and walked to Saugor, where O’Brien was attached to the 3rd Bombay European Regiment. In 1858 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and on 15 November 1864 he was made a surgeon, at the age of 57. He finally retired on 6 July 1866. For his service in Burma he was awarded the Army of India medal with the clasp Ava. He went to England, where for a few years he practised in Tenby, south Wales. He then moved to an address in Bayswater, London. He died in St Helier, Jersey, on 24 March 1882 at the age of 75. Paul Hellier
Sources:
Crawford D C. *A history of the Indian Medical Service 1600-1913* London, W Thacker & Co, 1914, p.512 https://archive.org/details/b21352148/page/n7/mode/2up – accessed 22 September 2022

*Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1615-1930*
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Format:
Obituary
Format:
Asset
Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899
Media Type:
Unknown