War hero, scientist with unmatched credentials in the entire world, was a Canadian

I guess you could say it all started  with John and Mary, who were Quakers heavily involved in the linen industry back at the Ulster of the late 1800's. For unknown reasons they migrated to Canada where their son John was born in December of 1884. To support the family John took up work in labouring or clerical functions in a goods store, but soon took to wharfingering.. the job of running a wharf and taking responsibilty for the arrival, storage and departure of goods. Soon  that led to being  a freight agent for a local railway.

But Canada was not Ireland, and by aged 6, John and parents were off back to Northern Ireland. This time the family settled some 60 miles east of Ulster at a place called Lisburn. 

John attended public school, an academical institution and then Queens College (forerunner of Queens University) at Belfast. By the time he finished at Queens, he would graduate head of his class, with first class honours in medicine. More schooling came, back in England with three degrees coming his way from Cambridge and Liverpool. Degrees were now his  for bachelors of medicine, surgery and obstetrics. Appointments in the pathology came his way from Queens and the School for Medicine in Liverpool and other hospitals in Belfast.

In 1911, at age 26, John was living in Liverpool, according to the England and Wales census. That year he wrote the exams to enter the British India Army, and  of all recruits was yet again the first of the class. He was commissioned a Lieutenant and about to be sent off to India, but was instead  seconded back to Queens University for further research duties at the Liverpool School for Tropical Diseases.

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By 1915 John was wearing the rank of Captain and had taken up the bad habit of smoking a pipe,  as seen here. That year he joined the Duke of Connaughts' Own Lancers and became the officer commanding the brigade's Laboratory.

Near year's end he switched over to the 37th Dogras, a British Indian Army infantry regiment. His duties there would be as the Regimental Medical Officer. (Cap badge and collar dog shown above)

In October of 1915 John's 37th was part of the Indian Expeditionary Force and by the 29th he would leave Karachi aboard the small British Indian Steamer Muttra to move to the front lines.

The steamer was built to only carry  27 Ist class passengers and  1982 deck passengers. But on this trip it carried not only his unit but also the  complete 97th Infantry and his unit's full contingency of mules. It was said to be very overloaded...and ripe for disaster. Such almost came 3 times en-route, but I'll bring you that and more... much more ... on Sunday.

Bart

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