George Joseph Hamilton Evatt

Major-General Sir George Joseph Hamilton Evatt KCB (11 November 1843 – 5 November 1921) was a British Army officer and military doctor. He served overseas in the Perak War, Second Anglo-Afghan War, and Mahdist War, but was better known for his writings on military medicine and his lobbying for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Early life Evatt was born in Ireland, the oldest of seven children born to Mary Anne and Captain George Joseph Evatt of the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot. His father died in 1858 while on duty in Peshawar, India. Evatt studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast, obtaining his Doctor of Medicine degree from the latter in 1863. He subsequently studied surgery with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Military career Evatt enlisted in the army in 1865, with the rank of assistant-surgeon in the 25th Regiment of Foot. He saw active service for the first time in the Perak War of 1875. A few years later, he was twice mentioned in dispatches during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, serving under General Sir Charles Gough. He participated in the Battle of Ali Masjid, the Bazar Valley expedition, the relief of Sherpur, and the advance on Kabul, organising multiple field hospitals.

From 1880 to 1886, Evatt was a medical officer at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. His time there was interrupted by his service in the Mahdist War, where he participated in the Battle of Tamai and the Suakin Expedition. He was awarded the Khedive's Star. Evatt was stationed in British India from 1887 to 1891, where he was the senior medical officer at Quetta. During that time he was a member of the Zhob Valley expedition of 1890. He returned to England in 1892 as the chief sanitary officer at the Royal Artillery Barracks, and in 1894 was appointed secretary to the Netley Hospital. After retiring from the military, Evatt ran in Fareham where Bertha Bowness Fischer was briefly his agent. He contested the 1906 election in Fareham and in Brighton he was at the January 1910 election; he did not come close to being elected on either occasion.

Evatt was a prolific writer. He contributed numerous articles to the British Medical Journal, and served on the council of the British Medical Association for a period; in 1896 he was the president of the organisation's Hong Kong branch. He also served on the committee of the International Health Exhibition of 1884. Evatt's nephews via his brother John included the Australian politicians H. V. Evatt and Clive Evatt. He entertained two more of John's sons, Frank and Ray, while they were on leave in London during World War I; both were subsequently killed in action.

Honours Companion of the Order of the Bath – 26 June 1903 Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath – 1 January 1919 Honorary Colonel of the Home Counties Division, Royal Army Medical Corps