Letter from the Surgeon General, War Office, to The President, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 7 November 1915
London, S.W. 7 th November, 1915. Sir, An impression appears to have obtained credence
among medical students in their 4th and 5th years that it
is unnecessary for them to undergo any military training
while engaged in the study of their profession. This
view has doubtless arisen because, owing to the great
demand for medical men and the shortage of supply, many
who have received no military training have been given
commissions in the Royal Army Medical Corps. From the experience of the past it has been
clearly shown that men who have had previous military
training are of infinitely greater value as Officers of
the Royal Army Medical Corps than those who have had no
military experience. Students in their 4th and 5th years have been
advised that it is best for them to continue their
medical studies in order to qualify for commissions in the
Royal Army Medical Corps but this does not in the least
exempt 'them from using all the means available for
obtaining military instruction. The Medical Units of the various Officers
Training Corps are organised so that men may obtain this
instruction without disturbance of their medical studies
and The President,
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. 2 and all senior students, who have not already done so,
are strongly encouraged to become cadets in the Medical Units of
their University Officers Training Corps. I am,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant, Mmm Russell
Surgeon General
for Director General,
Army Medical Service. MacG
12.X1.15
Typescript letter from the War Office advising RCPI that while recently graduated medical students with no military training can obtain commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps on qualification, previous military training is a great advantage and they urge senior students 'to become cadets in the medical units of their University Officers Training Corps'. The letter has been initialed by Ephraim MacDowel Cosgrave, RCPI President, and dated 12 November 1915.
How to cite
Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__3664.html)
- Place
- War Office, London, England
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Bertram Cubitt to Robert Chalmers, 3 June 1916
- Letter from B. B. Cubitt, War Office, to Sir Matthew Nathan, 2 December 1915
- Letter from J. Simpson to the Chief Crown Solicitor, 20 April 1916
- Letter from B.B. Cubitt to the Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, 30 March 1916
- Deportation Order from the Secretary of State to James Gough, 17 June 1916
- Telegram from the War Office to Samuel Cleland Davidson, 7 July 1916
- Letter from David Lloyd George to John Redmond, 29 September 1916
- Letter from the Surgeon General, War Office, to The President, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 7 November 1915
- Letter from sir William Robert Robertson to Edward Carson, 7 June 1916
- Place
- Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin, Ireland
- Mentioned in
- Letter from the Surgeon General, War Office, to The President, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 7 November 1915