John Wyatt (1825–1874) was an English army surgeon.

Life

Wyatt was the eldest son of James Wyatt of Lidsey, near Chichester, yeoman, by his wife Caroline, and was baptised in the parish church of Aldingbourne, Sussex, on 28 October 1825. He was admitted a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...

on 26 May 1848, becoming a fellow of that body on 13 December 1866. He entered the army medical service with the rank of assistant-surgeon on 17 June 1851, was gazetted surgeon on 9 April 1857, and surgeon-major on 9 January 1863, being attached throughout his life to the first battalion of the Coldstream guards. He was engaged in active service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

, and was present at the battles of

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, Balaclava, and Inkerman, and at the

Siege of Sebastopol A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

. At Inkerman his horse was shot under him. At the close of the war he received the

Crimean medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...

with four clasps, the Turkish medal, and a knighthood of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. In 1870 he was selected by the War Department to act as medical commissioner at the headquarters of the French army during the Franco-German War, and in this capacity, he was present in Paris during the whole of the siege. At this time he rendered important services to the sick and wounded, for he was attached to an ambulance and was a member of the Société de Secours aux Blessés. For these services, he was made a Companion of the Bath in 1873. He died at Bournemouth on 2 April 1874, and was buried at Brompton Cemetery.

Notes

References

* endnotes: **Registers of Aldingbourne Parish Church **Obituary notices in the Proceedings of the Royal Med. and Chir. Soc. vii. 320 **Medical Times and Gazette, 1874 i. 414, 1874 ii. 192. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, John 1825 births 1874 deaths English surgeons