6355 Major James Charles Gordon Carmichael
OBE (1919) MB ChB (1902) DPH (Camb 1912)
27 Aug 1878 [Calcutta India] – 22 July 1938 [Ewell Surrey]
Lieutenant Colonel James Charles Gordon Carmichael was the son of Colonel James Charles Gordon Carmichael Indian Medical Services who died on 3 November 1905. The British Medical Journal gives his date of birth as 28 October 18761 which differs from that in Drew's records of 27 August 1878.2
He was educated at Edinburgh University, where he graduated MB ChB in 1902. He took the Cambridge DPH in 1912. He entered the Royal Army Medical Corps as lieutenant on 31 January 1903 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel on 11 August 1925. After retirement he went into practice at Ewell, where he was honorary physician to the Epsom and Ewell Cottage Hospital. He served throughout the Great War and was mentioned in dispatches in the London Gazette of 18 December 1917. He had been a member of the British Medical Association since 1905.
Service Record
31 Jan 1903 Lieutenant RAMC (on probation). Confirmed in rank 4 August 1903.
Jan 1903 – Feb 1904 Home Service.
Feb 1904 – Jan 1905 Served in India (Madras).
Jan 1905 – Sep 1905 At Home (sick).
Sep 1905 – Mar 1909 Served in India (Madras).
31 July 1906 Promoted Captain RAMC.
1909 – 1914 Home Service.
1911 Attended RAMC College London, but did not specialise.
24 Jan 1914 Arrived from Manchester with his wife and two young children. Medical officer in medical charge of 2nd/The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
29 July 1914 On the declaration of war, Ghajn Tuffieha Camp was shut. Rejoined 2nd/Scottish Rifles.
6 Aug 1914 At Mellieha camp. Evacuated his sick to C
Section Field Ambulance in Iz-Zebbiegh near Mgarr. From Iz-Zebbiegh the sick were admitted to Mtarfa Barrack Hospital.
31 Oct 1914 Promoted Major RAMC.
Mar 1915 Officer in charge Forrest Venereal Hospital. The hospital was expanded to 80 beds. Additional staff consisting of an assistant cook, 3 general duty men, 3 nursing section were sent to Forrest Hospital to men the additional beds.
8 May 1915 Officer Commanding St Andrew's Barracks Hospital.
He had been briefly in charge of St George's Barracks Hospital.
1916 Officer Commanding St Andrew's Barracks Hospital.
24 Apr 1917 Left for France.
13 Nov 1917 – 13 Oct 1919 Acting Lieutenant Colonel RAMC.
Apr 1917 – Feb 1919 Served in France. Left his family in Malta at No 200 Strada Torre Sliema.
Brought to the notice of the Secretary of State for his valuable service during the war (Germany 1915).
1917 – 1918 Commanding Officer 29 Casualty Clearing Station British Expeditionary Force.
30 Dec 1918 Mentioned in despatches.
1919 – 1921 Served in Egypt.
1922 – 1923 Served in Constantinople.
11 Aug 1925 Retired and granted the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Bibliography
- 1Deaths in Service, Br Med J (1938), 2; 320 (Published 6 August 1938).
- 2Drew R., 1968. Entry No: 303. Medical Officers in the British Army 1660 – 1960. Volume II: 1898 – 1960. London: Wellcome Historical Medical Library.
- RAMC/PE/3/27/Drew. Manuscript for Drew's Roll.
- Succession Books Vol XXI, Returns of statement of service of RAMC Officers.
- News and Gazette Vol 12 No 3 September 1938.
- Location of Casualty Clearing Stations Western Front.
- Gordon I. (2013). Lifeline - A British Casualty Clearing Station on the Western Front, 1918. Gloucestershire: The History Press. 58-63.