Norvalspont - Medical staff

During the Anglo-Boer War, Norvalspont (South Africa) was one of the Prisoner-or-War (POW) camps used by the British Forces to imprison for Boers from South Africa. Elria Wessels wrote the following as a caption to the image, on the Facebook group “Norvalspont Concentration Camp: Norvals Pont was probably established about November 1900, in order to relieve the overcrowded Bloemfontein camp with its dire shortage of water The first superintendents, both military men, seem to have been capable people; Lieutenant Wynne of the Imperial Yeomanry was described as the ‘Father of the Camp’ and he was succeeded in January 1901 by Major du Plat Taylor of the Grenadier Guards, who instilled ‘firm military discipline’. At the end of February 1901, when the camp passed into civilian control Cole Bowen was appointed. Almost everyone who encountered him commented on his calm efficiency. Emily Hobhouse wrote later that Cole Bowen possessed ‘marked administrative powers; his rule was firm, just and kind and he seemed possessed of unlimited resources’ It was not that Norvals Pont lacked the problems of the other camps. On the contrary, the measles epidemic struck early and was followed by scarlet fever and diphtheria. Families poured in without warning and tents and blankets ran out. And, with all these struggles, Cole Bowen had to contend with an unpleasant medical officer. Some people deserted and Cole Bowen was forced to fence in those who were a ‘bad influence’. Nor did Cole Bowen show overt sympathy for the Boers. Despite his determined loyalty to his employers, the Boers of Norvals Pont presented a number of testaments to head office and to Cole Bowen himself, affirming their satisfaction with the camp. S.D. Poign provided a long statement describing their lives in considerable detail He concluded: ‘With these few suggestions, I, a person brought here against my will, and wish [to] beg to attest, that I have no reason to object in any manner over the way in which I have been treated while in this camp, neither have I any reason to complain that the authorities have not treated me with that courtesy which I as a man and a gentleman could expect under the peculiar circumstances under which I am placed.’ The chaplain, the Rev. A.P. van der Merwe, asserted that everything possible was done for the comfort of the people. om Holland, testified in some detail. ‘I cannot judge of other camps but I believe this is one of the best’, she wrote. At first the camp did not have a resident medical officer but Dr Michie of the RAMC attended the inmates. His services were necessary for, consisting of families from Bloemfontein, Norvals Pont was struck early by the measles epidemic. But Michie was not easy Even then the staffing problems at Norvals Pont were not over. The most prominent of the women doctors of the camp systems, the Hon Dr Ella Scarlett, took over from Michie. . Nevertheless, she worked hard on behalf of the Boers who do not seem to have complained about her. Later doctors were equally troublesome. Drs Caldwell and McArthur, both brusque men, did not get on and the latter had to be transferred. Caldwell also quarrelled with the admirable Sister Broers, who was transferred to Bethulie, and he then fell out with Broers’ replacement. Inevitably, such a man was at odds with Dr Ella Scarlett who, he said, was lax and ignored his authority. The correspondence does suggest that Scarlett was wilful but Caldwell had a poor record in his relationships with the medical staff. Apart from measles, in April 1901 scarlet fever ran through the camp, followed by diphtheria. Michie struggled to isolate the sufferers, forced to house them with their families, although he knew that the infection was likely to be passed on. Staff shortages may explain some of his irascibility. Neither trained nurses nor civilian doctors could be obtained in South Africa in the early months of 1901, head office explained when Michie appealed for more qualified medical staff. Fortunately the arrival of Miss Broers relieved the situation slightly. Yet mortality remained low in Norvals Pont camp.