The Serjeant Surgeon is the senior surgeon in the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The origin of the post dates back to 1253. Early serjeant surgeons were military surgeons who followed their king into battle.

John Arderne John of Arderne (1307–1392) was an English surgeon, and one of the first of his time to devise some workable cures. He is considered one of the fathers of surgery, described by some as England's first surgeon and by others as the country's f ...

, later famous as the Father of Proctology, accompanied

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

at the Battle of Crecy in 1346. But the title did not refer to a military rank; the word "serjeant" comes from the Latin "''serviens''" or "serving". Over the years, other duties of the Serjeant Surgeon have included embalming of the royal corpse, oversight of torture to ensure the prisoner was not killed, and the screening of applicants to be touched by the king for the cure of

the King's evil The disease mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis, also known as scrofula and historically as king's evil, involves a lymphadenitis of the cervical lymph nodes associated with tuberculosis as well as nontuberculous (atypical) mycobacteria. Dise ...

(tuberculous glands of the neck). The first knighthood to be granted to a serjeant surgeon was in the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, to John Aylef, who was said to have cured the king of a fistula. The first serjeant surgeon to receive a peerage was

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of s ...

, the founder of antiseptic surgery, who was created Baron Lister of Lyme Regis in the County of Dorset by Queen Victoria.

Pre-twentieth century

* Claudius Amyand 1715-1740 * Robert Keate FRCS 1841 *

Benjamin Travers Benjamin Travers, FRS (3 April 1783 – 6 March 1858) was a British surgeon, known for his expertise in the physiology and morbidity of the eye. From 1857 to his death, he was the Serjeant Surgeon, a member of the Medical Household (part of th ...

1857–1858 *

Sir William Lawrence Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet (16 July 1783 – 5 July 1867) was an English surgeon who became President of the Royal College of Surgeons of London and Serjeant Surgeon to the Queen. In his mid-thirties, he published two books of his lect ...

, Bt FRCS FRS 1858 *

Caesar Hawkins Caesar (or Cæsar) Henry Hawkins Royal Society, FRS (19 September 1798 – 20 July 1884) was a British surgery, surgeon. Life He was the son of the Rev. E. Hawkins and grandson of Sir Cæsar Hawkins, 1st Baronet (1711-1786), Serjeant-Surgeon t ...

FRS 1862 * Sir Prescott Hewett, 1st Bt. 1884 *

Sir James Paget Sir James Paget, 1st Baronet FRS HFRSE (11 January 1814 – 30 December 1899) (, rhymes with "gadget") was an English surgeon and pathologist who is best remembered for naming Paget's disease and who is considered, together with Rudolf Virch ...

* Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister 1900 (to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

)

List of serjeant surgeons from the beginning of the twentieth century

* Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, OM, FRS 1901 (re-appointed to King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

) *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Sir Frederick Treves Bt

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

CB 1902-1910 * Major-General Sir Richard Havelock Charles, 1st Baronet 1910-1928 *

Sir

Hugh Rigby Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

Bt KCVO 1928-1932 * Wilfred Trotter MD MS FRCS FRS 1932-1939 * Sir

Thomas Dunhill Thomas Frederick Dunhill (1 February 187713 March 1946) was a prolific English composer in many genres, though he is best known today for his light music and educational piano works. His compositions include much chamber music, a song cycle, '' ...

KCVO CMG 1928-1957 *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Sir

Arthur Porritt Colonel Arthur Espie Porritt, Baron Porritt, (10 August 1900 – 1 January 1994) was a New Zealand physician, military surgeon, statesman and athlete. He won a bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the 100 m sprint. He served as the ...

Bt KCVO

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

MA MB

MChir The Master of Surgery (Latin: Magister Chirurgiae) is an advanced qualification in surgery. Depending upon the degree, it may be abbreviated ChM, MCh, MChir or MS. At a typical medical school the program lasts between two and three years. The ...

FRCS 1946-1966 * Sir

Ralph Marnham Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

KCVO

FRCS 1967-1971 * Sir Edward Muir KCVO MS FRCS 1972-1973 * Sir

Edward Tuckwell Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

KCVO MCh FRCS 1973-1975 * Sir

Hugh Lockhart-Mummery Sir Hugh Evelyn Lockhart-Mummery, KVCO, (28 April 1918 – 24 June 1988), was a British surgeon who researched inflammatory bowel disease and distinguished Crohn's from colitis. He was educated at Sandroyd School and Stowe School. He was Serjean ...

KCVO MD

FRCS LRCP 1975-1983 * Sir William Slack KCVO MD MCh BM FRCS 1983-1990 *

John Leonard Dawson John Leonard Dawson (30 September 1932 – 16 May 1999) was an English surgeon particularly known for his work in the field of liver disease. He pioneered several surgical techniques, including radical tumour resection, injection sclerotherapy a ...

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

MS FRCS 1990-1991 * Sir Barry Jackson MS FRCS 1991-2001 *Adam Lewis

2001-2006 * Sir

Roger Vickers Sir Roger Henry Vickers KCVO (born 1945) is a British orthopaedic surgeon, who had been part of the Medical Household as an Orthopaedic Surgeon to the Queen and was later appointed Serjeant Surgeon. Biography Roger Vickers is the son of Henry ...

KCVO FRCS 2006-10 *George Hamilton

MD FRCS 2010-2016 *Satyajit Bhattacharya LVO MB MS

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

FRCS 2016-

Honorary serjeant surgeons

* Sir William MacCormac, Bt., KCB, KCVO 1901 * Sir Thomas Smith, Bt. 1901-1909 * Sir Frederick Treves, Bt.,

, CH, FRCS 1901{{London Gazette , issue=27300 , date=29 March 1901 , page=2194 (he was appointed Serjeant Surgeon the following year)

References

Positions within the British Royal Household