Brigadier Surgeon George Alexander Moorhead MD LRCSI MRCPI (30 November 1829 – 11 February 1912) was a British military surgeon. He was father to

Alice Moorhead Dr Alice Margaret Moorhead MD LRCP LRCSE LM (Dub) (1868–23 June 1910), also known as Dr A.M. Moorhead, was one of the first practising female physicians and surgeons in Scotland. In the late 19th-century she established a practice and hospi ...

and

Ethel Moorhead Ethel Agnes Mary Moorhead (28 August 18694 March 1955) was a British suffragette and painter and was the first suffragette in Scotland to be forcibly-fed. Early life Moorhead was born on 28 August 1869 in Fisher Street, Maidstone, Kent. She wa ...

Life

He was born in Naas,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

in central Ireland on 30 November 1829. He came from a long line of doctors. He qualified as a physician and surgeon at Trinity College Dublin, in Ireland, around 1853. He received his doctorate (MD) in 1859 whilst already occupied as an army surgeon, serving with the

Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), b ...

in India. The regiment had been sent to India in 1857 to suppress the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. He appears as an Assistant Surgeon in a regimental photograph of the 66th Regiment taken in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in 1863. The regiment returned to England in 1865 but was returned to India in 1870. He was promoted to Surgeon Major in 1873. He served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

with the Regiment from 1880. He was present at the aftermath of the tragic Battle of Maiwand in July 1880. He was retired in 1894 (surgeons were generally retired at 55) and began spending time in Dundee, visiting his daughter, who had set up the first all-female practise in the city. He would have advised her on the foundation of Dundee Women's Hospital in 1897. He moved to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

permanently in 1901. He lived with his wife at 20 Magdalen Yard Road. Ironically his daughter married a few years after he arrived and relocated to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. He is the likely source of the poem "The Battle of Maiwand" by fellow Dundee resident William McGonagal written in 1899. He later lived (alone apart from his servants) at "The Weisha" a villa on the Ninewells site. He died on 11 February 1912. He is buried with his wife and daughter in the

Western Cemetery, Dundee The Western Cemetery in Dundee, Scotland, is a still-operational cemetery founded in the mid 19th century. It rises northwards from the Perth Road, with terraces in its upper sections. It views over the Firth of Tay to the Tay Rail Bridge ...

. His very distinctive grave, in black polished basalt, bears a palm tree. His house and grounds were later used to build the Ninewells Hospital. It is not clear if this is a coincidence or a gift.

Family

In November 1864, in the Roman Catholic Cathedral in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, he was married to Margaret Humphrys (1832-1902) from Portarlington, youngest daughter of Capt. John Gourlin Humphreys or Humphrys (died 1864). She stayed with him in India and when the regiment returned to England in 1865 they settled in Maidstone in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and began a family. They stayed in England when he returned to India. The family probably saw little of him but were well provided for. They were parents to the female medical pioneer Dr

and the suffragette

.http://www.saltiresociety.org.uk/awards/outstanding-women/outstanding-women-of-scotland-community/2015-celebration/ethel-moorehead/ His granddaughter Margaret Moorhead Langwill married

F. G. Emmison Frederick George "Derick" Emmison (28 May 1907 – 9 November 1995) was a British archivist, author and historian. He was County Archivist for Bedfordshire between 1925 and 1938, County Archivist for Essex between 1938 and 1969, a founder member ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorhead, George Alexander 1829 births 1912 deaths People from Naas British surgeons Members of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Military personnel from County Kildare Burials in Scotland Health professionals from County Kildare