Surgeon-General James Jameson (15 August 1837 – 13 September 1904) was a British Army surgeon during the late 19th century, seeing service during the Franco-Prussian War and heading the Army Medical Services from 1896 to 1901, during which time the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

was established.

Early career

Born in

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie ( Gaelic: ''Cill Bhraonaigh'') is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisle ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Jameson was educated at Glasgow University, and entered the Army as a staff assistant surgeon in 1857. He saw service in Canada (1862) and in Trinidad (1870), where he was promoted to Surgeon for service during a yellow fever epidemic. He commanded a division of the English Ambulance during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) and was promoted to Surgeon Major in 1873.

Royal Army Medical Corps

He was appointed Brigade Surgeon in 1883, deputy Surgeon General in 1888, and Surgeon Major-General in 1893. In 1896, he succeeded Sir William MacKinnon as Director General in 1896, retaining the post until his retirement in 1901, by which time he had overseen operations in the Second Boer War. The

was established during Jameson's term in office, and the South African campaign confirmed the need for strong medical support beyond that previously provided by the Army Medical Department. Until this time there had been considerable unhappiness in the Army medical service, with staff not given military rank and awarded fewer honours and awards than the Army Service Corps. The ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'' campaigned for better conditions, as did the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

, the Royal College of Physicians and others, but with no effect on the Secretary of State for War until 1898. Then officers and soldiers providing medical services were finally incorporated into a new body: the Royal Army Medical Corps. Military authorities used Jameson as a scapegoat for the previous medical failings outside his control, but his medical colleagues marked his retirement with a complimentary dinner, testifying to "the esteem in which they continued to hold him". He died at his home in Eltham on 13 September 1904 and was buried with military honours in

Greenwich Cemetery Greenwich Cemetery (also known as Shooters Hill Cemetery) is a cemetery in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London. It is situated on the southwestern slopes of Shooter's Hill, on the western side of the A205 South Circular, Well Ha ...

on 17 September 1904.

Family

Jameson married the daughter of the Rev Robert David Cartwright, of Kingston, Canada, who survived him with five sons and a daughter. Two of the sons were officers in the RAMC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Jameson 19th-century Scottish medical doctors British Army generals 1837 births 1904 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century British Army personnel Royal Army Medical Corps officers