The diary of Robert Thin Craig Robertson, British Surgeon (1845-1920)

Moira Rankin

(First published in Dunaskin News, March 2002)

To prove that records relevant to maritime history can be found almost anywhere, we decided this month to feature a little known shipping gem among the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives' deposited collections.  The diary of Robert Thin Craig Robertson (1845-1920) covers his fascinating life as ship’s surgeon on board several ships.  Educated at Glasgow University where he qualified MB in 1868, Robert Robertson was employed by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company both as a ship’s surgeon and as surgeon to their shore hospital in Peru.

The diary charts his life as the surgeon on SS Atacama, at the Pacific Steam Navigation Company shore hospital in Peru and then as ship’s surgeon on SS John Elder and RMS Chimborazo in 1871.  He details all manner of stories about medical procedures, the ships’ cargoes, passengers and crew and his own love life.  He discusses the migrant labourers transported from Valparaiso to Callao; his treatment of injured seamen; the need for quarantine and other health precautions at ports; his leisure pursuits, including inland exploration in Peru, his romance with Miss Emily Krabbe and much more.  Following the professional stereotype, this doctor’s handwriting is particularly difficult to read. Luckily for busy academic researchers, the depositor, Dr Peter Stewart has transcribed the entire diary.

Fuller details of the diary and how to access it are available from the Robert Thin Craig Robertson section of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives' collections section.