Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2018
Journal
Journal of Medical Biography
Volume
26
Issue
4
First Page
1
Last Page
8
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1177/0967772017752897
Abstract
At the turn of the 20th century, Dr Edwin Seaborn was starting his surgical and academic career at Western University in Ontario. When war was declared in 1914, Seaborn prevailed upon the university’s president to offer the Canadian government a fully staffed hospital for deployment overseas. Initially declined by the War Office in Ottawa, the university’s offer was later accepted after mounting casualties stretched the capacity of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, and Seaborn was granted command of the new No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital. From 1916 to 1919, Seaborn’s medical, surgical, and administrative practices transformed the humble No. 10 Stationary Hospital into a General Hospital that was indispensable to the war effort and raised the standard for military medical practice. Upon the unit’s return to London, Ontario, Seaborn’s dedication was transferred to his extensive work as an author, historian, academic, and beloved physician. During the centennial of the First World War, this paper explores the impact of an academic medical unit by looking at the career of its Commanding Officer: a man who made an invaluable contribution to the Canadian war effort and set a precedent for exceptional medical care at home and at war.
