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{{Short description|British Army physician in colonial India (1834–1904)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
'''Henry Cayley''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|CMG|FRCS}} (20 December 1834 – 19 March 1904) was a British physician who was Deputy Surgeon-General in the [[British Army]] in India. He was appointed Professor of Military Medicine at the Army Medical School, Netley. He was Honorary Surgeon to Queen Victoria and King Edward VII.<ref name="burke">{{cite book |title= Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood|publisher=Burke's Peerage & Gentry |editor= Mosley, Charles |editor-link=Charles Mosley (genealogist) |edition=107 |year= 2003 |pages=734–735 |ref=Burke |isbn=0-9711966-2-1|title-link=Burke's Peerage }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DlK-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA157 |title = Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1615-1930 - Volume 1|isbn = 9781781502297|last1 = Crawford|first1 = Lieutenant-Colonel D. G.|date = 8 February 2012}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
Cayley was born into a [[Cayley baronets|prominent family]] in [[Stamford, Lincolnshire]], the fourth son of Edward Cayley (1782–1868), a Stamford banker, and Frances (''née'' Twopeny).<ref name="burke"/>

In 1862, he married Letitia Mary Walters (1839–1920), daughter of the Rev. Nichols Walters. They had two daughters and six sons, including Sir [[Walter de Sausmarez Cayley]] and [[Douglas Edward Cayley]], both of whom served as senior officers in the [[Gallipoli Campaign]]. His eldest daughter, Mary Louisa, married Sir [[Charles Campbell MacLeod]] and his younger daughter, Evelyn Wynn, married Maj.-Gen. Sir [[Hayward Reader Whitehead]].<ref name="burke"/>

==Career in India==

After studying medicine at [[King's College London|King's College, London]], Henry Cayley joined the Indian Medical Service in 1857 as an Assistant Surgeon. From 1858 to 1864 he was in charge of the 2nd Sikh Police Corps at [[Gorakhpur]] near the border with [[Nepal]]. From 1864 to 1866 he was Joint Civil Surgeon at [[Shimla|Simla]], the summer capital of British India. After holding the post of Civil Surgeon at [[Burdwan]] and then [[Howrah]], he was appointed joint commissioner at [[Ladakh]] in 1867. The native government of Ladakh had accepted an army officer in the post only on condition that a medical officer was selected. Henry Cayley's duties there were both political and medical.<ref name="rcseng">{{cite web |title=Cayley, Henry (1834 - 1904) |url=http://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E001108b.htm |website=Lives of the Fellows |accessdate=14 April 2019}}</ref> In December 1867 a newspaper commented that "the reported assassination of Assistant-Surgeon H Cayley, the British representative at Ladak, was without foundation; and some very interesting notes by him respecting that remote region have just been published."<ref>''Belfast Chronicle'', 25 December 1867</ref>

In 1870 he was a member of a British mission to [[Yarkant County|Yarkand]], where Ladakh had trading links.<ref>''Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette'', 8 Sep 1870</ref>

His appointment ended in 1871, when he went on leave in England. There he extended his medical knowledge, particularly though studies in ophthalmology at [[Moorfields Eye Hospital]]. Shortly after his return to India, he was appointed Superintendent of the Eye Infirmary at Calcutta and Professor of Ophthalmic Surgery in [[Calcutta Medical College]].<ref name="rcseng"/>

==England and South Africa==

He left India permanently in 1884. In 1885, he was made a member of the Medical Board at the [[India Office]] and the [[War Office]]. He formally retired from the Bengal army in 1887.<ref name="rcseng"/>

In 1889 the Professor of Military Medicine at the army medical school at [[Netley Hospital]] fell ill, and Henry Cayley was invited to step in. He took over as Professor the next year, retiring in 1897. While at Netley his pastimes included sailing: his yacht ''Kathleen'', moored there, was stolen in 1895 while he was away in Scotland.<ref>''Huddersfield Chronicle'', 21 Sep 1895</ref>

In 1891, he was made Honorary Surgeon to Queen Victoria, and he retained this position when Edward VII came to the throne.<ref name="rcseng"/>

In 1893 he contributed a chapter on tropical liver diseases to ''Hygiene and Diseases of Warm Climates''.<ref>ed. Andrew Davidson, published by Y J Pentland, Edinburgh, 1893</ref> In 1896 he wrote a pamphlet, ''Guide to Travellers on the maintenance of health in unhealthy countries''.<ref>Published by H. Cox, London, 1896</ref>

On the outbreak of the [[Second Boer War]] he volunteered for service with the army. He was sent out as colonel in charge of the Scottish National Hospital at [[Kroonstad]] in the [[Orange Free State]]. While there he suffered serious injuries as a result of a fall from his horse.<ref name="rcseng"/>

In 1900, he was made a [[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]]. He died on 19 March 1904 at [[Weybridge]], [[Surrey]].<ref name="burke"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cayley, Henry}}
[[Category:1834 births]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:British surgeons]]
[[Category:Cayley family|Henry]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Indian Medical Service officers]]

Henry Cayley - Revision history

Bot at 23:26, 23 June 2021