RECORD ROUND-UP
What’s available online and in the archives
In addition to the Medical Register and the Medical Directory, there are a number of other sources to use to trace your medical ancestor.
British Army surgeons
To look for surgeons in the British Army, check the Army List (from 1754) and Hart’s Army List (1839–1915). Some editions are online at
archive.org and books.google.co.uk. You can also search British Army officers’ service records and medal rolls via The National Archives’ Discovery catalogue at discovery. national
archives.gov.uk and ancestry.co.uk.
Hospital records
If your ancestor worked in a hospital, you can search the Hospital Records Database to see if staff records have survived ( nationalarchives.
gov.uk/hospitalrecords). Responsibility for Scottish hospital records fell to health boards which have their own archives; there is a separate database for these hospitals ( clinicalnotes. ac.uk).
Hospital records may also include annual reports with lists of key staff; general minutes of the hospital board, which may have details about your ancestor’s appointment; and there might also be photographs of staff from the late 19th century onwards.
Local newspapers
Local newspaper articles are an excellent source, especially if your ancestor was in general practice. They can include obituaries, letters to the editor, information about inquests attended, and complaints about your forebear. Try searching the British Newspaper Archive ( britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk); these digitised newspapers are also available via findmypast.co.uk.
Medical college training records
Where available, the records of medical colleges may include entrance papers; attendance registers; report books; prize lists and examination results; and student fees books. Bear in mind that most registers are closed for 80 years from the last date on the file. You can check the locations of records for medical colleges by searching Discovery ( discovery.
nationalarchives.gov.uk) or the Scottish Archive Network ( scan.org.uk).
Medical journals
Specialist medical journals such as The Lancet (from 1823) and the British Medical Journal (from 1840) may contain an obituary for your ancestor, or even articles or letters written by him or her. The Glasgow Medical Journal (from 1828) and the Edinburgh Medical Journal (from 1805) are worth checking for Scottish doctors. You can view archived issues of the British
Medical Journal online ( bmj.com/archive), while back copies of The Lancet can be seen at the Wellcome Library in Bloomsbury, London ( wellcomelibrary.org).
Naval surgeons
Check the Navy List (from 1782) and the New Navy List (1841–1856) if your medical ancestor served in the Royal Navy. They are available in large reference libraries, and some editions for selected years are online for free via at archive.
org and books.google.co.uk. You can also search for your ancestor in Royal Naval officers’ service records and medal rolls via Ancestry, and surgeons’ medical journals using Discovery ( discovery.nationalarchives.gov. uk/details/r/ C1810). These journals are also digitised on Ancestry.