- Alfred Keogh
Sir Alfred Henry Keogh, GCB, GCVO, CH (1857–1936) was a
medical doctor in theBritish Army .Born in
Dublin on3 July 1857 , the son of Henry Keogh, barrister and magistrate of Roscommon. He was educated at Queen's College,Galway , andGuy's Hospital ,London . Received his M.D. from theQueen's University of Ireland in 1878. He went on to excel academically at theArmy Medical College ,Netley , gaining the Herbert prize and the Martin memorial medal.He joined the army as a surgeon in 1880. In March 1892, he was appointed
Surgeon Major in theRoyal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), and achieved the position ofLieutenant-Colonel in 1900. Following the Boer War Sir Alfred Keogh carried through the changes which turned the RAMC into a proper medical service and encouraged research againsttyphoid by setting up a proper school of Army Hygiene atMytchett nearAldershot . Keogh also helped create the Territorial Force which would be the forerunner of theTerritorial Army .He was made Director General of the Army Medical Service in 1904. He was reappointed to this position at the outbreak of
World War I . Under the scheme devised by Keogh, public buildings were earmarked for use during times of war; this far sighted policy proved crucial in WWI.He was appointed
Rector of Imperial College London and served from 1910–1922, a position in which he was accessible and aimiable to students.An original portrait of Sir Alfred Keogh by
Arthur Hacker RA hangs in the RAMC HQ Mess at Millbank London.Source
Mark Harrison, "Keogh, Sir Alfred (1857-1936)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University
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