Guthries War: A Surgeon of the Peninsula and Waterloo

Guthrie's War: A surgeon of the Peninsula and Waterloo, Michael Crumplin

It is interesting to learn of the surgical procedures practiced at the time, various incisions made in the skin, ligation of the blood vessels, and exposure and amputation of the limb, then post-operative treatment to encourage healing, including the administration of cordials, lemonade, opiates and a simple diet. Casualties arose from battles, sieges and day-to-day life on campaign, and Guthrie had to deal with them all, so he had a large pool of subjects to learn from, and from this account it is evident that he was learning his profession all the time.

He also had to work with Wellington, other senior officers, and Dr James McGrigro, plus perform his medical duties with the often limited resources available to him. This is where the author has provided us with a unique and original contribution to the vast array of books on this campaign, in that we are given details of military medicine of the time, plus Guthrie's views on surgery.

Being a retired surgeon, Mick is able to apply a modern medical analysis of the procedures in use two hundred years ago. Guthrie's War contains a selection of original drawings, battle maps and narrative.

Guthrie's War: A surgeon of the Peninsula and Waterloo, Michael Crumplin

This book provides a detailed account of a subkect not usually dealt with in such detail in most histories of Wellington's campaigns. If you have an interest in the subject, or want to learn about the medicine of the period in all its gory detail, then this book is a recommended read. To anyone who has an interest in military surgery, Guthrie's War is a fascinating read. Michael Crumpil, surgeon, archivist at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and well-known military historian has traced Guthrie's career from being the youngest to pass the examination for Membership of the College at 16 years through his career to a short appreciation of his three terms as President of what was then the Royal College of Surgeons of London.

Guthrie's War : A Surgeon of the Peninsula and Waterloo by Michael Crumplin (2010, Hardcover)

Those already are students of the Peninsular War and Wellington's campaign will acknowledge the detail of the various units which Guthrie supported as the reader is taken very rapidly from campaign to campaign, but throughout there are well described clinical vignettes which bring out the care which Guthrie had from individual casualties and how he developed his principles of managing the horrific injuries faced with huge numbers of casualities, understaffed, lacking in resources and often without senior support. It is the number and detail within these case recordings, which illustrate the problems, which Guthrie faced and make this book so relevant.

Guthrie was one of the first to appreciate the essential need to collect data, subject it to audit and alter his approach. His contributions in trauma management will strike a cord with those who currently deal with such injuries. He recognised the need for early amputation of limbs when the limb was clearly unsalvageable, yet conservative management where feasible; in vascular surgery where compression was preferable to the immediate application of tourniquet, isolation of bleeding vessels was preferable to merely litigating the feeding artery proximal to a wound and decompression of swollen limbs; the need to remove debris and clothing taken into wound by bullets, or later drain the inevitable abscesses.

If only he and colleagues had audited the results of the widespread habit of 'bleeding the patient', maybe many more lives would have been saved. Crumplin seeks to elevate Guthrie to the status of Baron Larrey, Napoleon's surgeon, the 'father' of military surgery whom Guthrie never met.

There may well be justification in this but we are two centuries further on. What an exchange of vies there could have been had there been an international military surgical conference in the early s! With such a background, it is not surprising that Guthrie found it difficult to settle in peacetime to the more gentile surgical practice in London, but publications and teaching followed and he was elected onto the Council of the RCS of London at 39 years, overcoming prejudice and driving through reforms as its President.

This book can unequivocally be recommended for anyone interested in the history of surgery. Mick Crumplin has produced a comprehensive and graphic study of this remarkable doctor and relates his contribution to the success of Wellington's Army. This book provides a detailed account of a subject not usually dealt with in such detail in most histories of Wellington's campaigns.

An author is casting fresh light on an "unsung hero" pf the 19th century in his latest work. Wrexam-based Michael Crumplin has published Guthrie's War: One of the pioneers of military surgery, Guthrie's achievements have been largely forgotten today. Mr Crumplin is himself a retired surgeon as well as being the current curator and archivist at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Guthrie's War looks at the surgeon's life and work during the Napoloenic Wars. Guthrie was, as Mr Crumplin puts it, "a soldier's surgeon" and as well as looking at the historic context of his work the book also documents action seen by Guthrie. It recounts one such occasion: On one occasion he set up his own field hospital so as not to have to take patients to the existing facility where disease was rife. Guthrie ensured the survival of a remarkable number of the patients he treated, given that this was before the age of antiseptics.

Painstakingly researched and at times very graphic, Guthrie's War gives a real insight into the work of a military surgeon at this time, as well as into a conflict from the perspective of someone who was centrally involved. I'm not the greatest of people with squeamish stuff - graphic descriptions of nasty wounds make me toes curl. I studied 'medicine through time' for GCSE History, and eve then medical history, although interesting, would make my stomach churn.

Yet despite that, I could never deny that Medical History is interesting. Its at an intersection between history and science. And more often than not, most medical advances are inspired by war.

And this book is a prime example of a skilled medic who honed his skills during war time. George Guthrie is one of the unsung heroes of the Napoleonic Wars. As Guthrie shows, bullets do not make nice neat holes, neither do swords. War gives the surgeon many more opportunities to examine the human anatomy, that in peacetime would only come from dissecting dead bodies. And the opportunity to get to grips with complex trauma wounds led to discoveries and innovations — Guthrie found that when amputating limbs a tourniquet was not always necessary, and that all an assitant needed to do was apply firm pressure on the right arteries.

Guthrie also developed an understanding of how to run hospitals with minimising the risk of infection and disease in mind. We often find that the treatment and suffering of wounded during wars brings about a national outcry — particularly the Crimean War, the First World War and to a lesser extent the current Afghan War and Help for Heroes.

The Napoleonic Wars might not have caused a revolution in nursing like the Crimea, nor the forming of charities such as after But its effects were more subtle — slowly, the authorities began to see the importance of good medical services to warfighting. Much as Wellington won his battles partly through solid logistical organistation, he also made medical services an inherent part of planning, and not just a bolt-on.

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Interestingly, it seems that Guthrie came up opposition from his contemporaries, particularly on his policy of only amputating when absolutely necessary. Maybe the historical convention that all Napoleonic-era military surgeons were butchers needs to be re-thought? I am hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts from you later on as well. From a thriller to a biography and comedy to journey. The record has classic movies like Noise of the Audio and latest movies like Up, which are essential view for kids. There are stations for sports, information, family entertainment, and Infotainment.

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