Introduction

If the above story is taken at face value, then it is easy to identify the Principle Medical Officer (PMO) on the march from Kabul to Kandahar in August of 1880, one James Arthur Hanbury. As to whether he found himself the victim of a personal tragedy and walking the streets of Hackney, it seems unlikely, but there is as yet no proof to positively identify the unfortunate.

The march involved at least 30 Surgeon-officers, and there are a few, with further research, who could be candidates. Some can be ruled out because they died before the turn of the century, or because they were still serving beyond that date. By this time, most of the events of the Second Anglo-Afghan War had faded from public consciousness, and Roberts' march became an heroic tale of Empire. Some soldiers who served in Afghanistan, an inglorious war, felt passed over by the only opportunity for acclaim (not to mention a special medal) that went to the participants of the 'heroic' forced march. Their sore feet too could attest to the amount of marching they had done all over the stony plains of Afghanistan, and so veterans did sometimes claim to be part of that event, or in later years, as the forgotten war became synonymous with the folklore of the relieving army, family stories were innocently transmuted from service in Afghanistan to participation in the march to Kandahar.

The Hindu Doctor

A few days after I'd done the piece on Making History, I did find an interesting newspaper item with echoes of the mystery tale. In August 1898, The Times reported on an elderly Hindu gentleman who found himself up for trial at the Old Bailey for two cases of felony and obtaining money by fraudulent misrepresentation. He had somehow obtained a certificate from the Medical Council and for two years had posed as an Indian doctor under the name of Masha Allah Khan, though his true name was thought to be Nawab Akbar Khan. While being held he maintained that he was the grandson of an Indian Prince and had been Principle Medical Officer to Lord Roberts on his march to Kandahar.

James A. Hanbury

Surgeons in Afghanistan

The priority of the British Army surgeon was, of course, to treat the wounds and illness of the British and Indian serviceman, but 'the struggle for hearts and minds' is not just a modern phenomenon. In the aftermath of battle, medical staff would see if anything could be done for survivors of both sides, though this could be dangerous as some ghazis would feign death and shoot at their enemy, or draw a knife and swipe out in a last effort to do their duty under the jihad.

In more peacable moments, hospitals and dispensaries would be set up for the Afghan population. In October 1879 Dr. Charles Owen was ordered to set up a charitable dispensary in Kabul and, as the population gradually became more trusting, received upto 200 patients a day.

Mohammad Jan's occupation of the city and the seige of the British in Sherpur saw the hosipital ransacked and destroyed, but by January 1880 the place was once again up and running. The chief ailment of the indigenous population was ophthalmia, caused by dirt and exposure, though the staff also treated Afghans who had been wounded in the December attack against the occupying force. A Kabuli 'matron' was hired to assist with female patients, a separate room being made available for them, and Dr. Owen often undertook house visits into the city. Another example was Surgeon Joshua Duke who opened a dispensary at Ali Khel in May 1879 and for several months attended the inhabitants of the Hariab Valley in their own homes:

Perhaps the most famous surgeon involved in the Second Afghan war was fictitious - Dr. John H. Watson, later an assistant to a certain Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle's 'A Study in Scarlet' (1887) details his involvement in the Battle at Maiwand on July 27 1880 while attached to the 66th Foot, and of his wounding by a bullet fired from a jezail.

Surgeons on the march to Kandahar

Listed below are the surgeon-officers I have been able to identify who marched with the Kabul-Kandahar Field Force in August 1880 (plus some other medical staff). As well as the Principle Medical Officer, each brigade had a surgeon in charge, as too did the various regiments. Names that are hyperlinked will lead to that man's database card with further information.