For all the new students, we thought that it would be
nice to meet the students from 100 years ago. In 1913, the School ran three
sessions during the year; the 43rd session began in October 1913 and
ran to December. 71 students attended, this was made up of 66 men and 5 women.
The photo shows the students along with members of staff
including H B Newham, the Director and Superintendent (second row, sixth from
the left). He attended the School in 1906 as a student; then became a
demonstrator until he became Director in 1910. Also present is Philip Bahr
(second row, fourth from left), who later married Sir Patrick Manson’s daughter
and became a leader in the field of tropical medicine as Philip Manson-Bahr. Robert
Mackay
(standing at the far right), labelled as ‘Robert’, a laboratory assistant who
served at the school from its foundation, when he was only 14, until his
accidental death in 1928. His skill was already well respected within the
School, especially since his discovery of the organism in the first case of
human trypanosomiasis
in England in 1902.
Carpenter diary |
The students included HE Shortt (unfortunately absent
from the photo), he came back to work at the School in 1938 as a reader in
Medical Parasitology, and then as the Director of the Department of
Parasitology after the Second World War. Also absent is G D Carpenter, he went
to work in Uganda in the 1920s as the specialist officer in control of Sleeping
Sickness and the archives has a diary written jointly between him and his wife
which gives a fascinating account of life in Uganda during this period.
School in the Albert Docks |
At this time the School was based in the Albert Docks in
the East End, along with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, this was so that
students had access to seamen suffering from tropical diseases who had arrived
back from overseas on their boats which docked in the Thames. The school
offered facilities for study and research, including laboratories and
insectaries that provided students with the opportunities to develop and share
their knowledge. There was also an emphasis that students would not only learn
how to identify and treat tropical disease but would also gain the skills to
investigate illnesses.
On leaving the School, the majority of students travelled
overseas, during the 43rd session, the most popular destinations
were India (22 students) and West Africa (16 students).
If you would like to find out more about the history of the School or our archive collections visit our webpage here or email us at archives@lshtm.ac.uk
If you would like to find out more about the history of the School or our archive collections visit our webpage here or email us at archives@lshtm.ac.uk
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