Medicine Men
I want to say a big thank you for the ‘Record Masterclass’ in the February issue. Even though I’ve not yet had the chance to pursue further research, I was very pleased to read the background to the appointment of Medical Officers of Health. It is something I had already investigated to a degree, because I have an ancestor who died of smallpox in his late 20s during a major epidemic in Birmingham.
I researched more of the background through the Newspaper Library at Colindale before it moved, and was surprised to see that the post of Medical Officer of Health already existed – but, of course, your article shows just how much earlier the conditions were created by which authorities could appoint such officials.
The newspaper reports about the efforts of Birmingham’s local government to persuade people to be vaccinated were very interesting. They included inviting a professor from University College London to speak on the subject, and opening schools as vaccination centres. Statistics in the newspapers about how many new cases, whether vaccinated or not, and how many deaths, whether vaccinated or not, all look very modern for the period.
It seemed to me that there were many parallels with the current pandemic, and I recently revisited some of my material to write a short article for my local family history society’s journal.
Michelle Higgs’ article not only fills in more of the context, but also holds out the possibility of discovering more about this event in the future.
Jenni Dobson, by email
EDITOR REPLIES:
This is indeed a fascinating subject, Jenni – not least, as you point out, because of our current situation.