Henry Cayley

Henry Cayley (20 December 1834 – 19 March 1904) was a British medical doctor 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.

Early life and family Cayley was born into a prominent family in Stamford, Lincolnshire, the fourth son of Edward Cayley (1782–1868), a Stamford banker, and Frances (née Twopeny). 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."

In 1870 he was a member of a British mission to Yarkand, where Ladakh had trading links.

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.

In 1891, he was made Honorary Surgeon to Queen Victoria, and he retained this position when Edward VII came to the throne. In 1896 he wrote a pamphlet, Guide to Travellers on the maintenance of health in unhealthy countries.

On the outbreak of the Second Boer War he volunteered for service with the army. He was granted the temporary rank of colonel in April 1900, as he was sent out 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.

In 1900, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). He died on 19 March 1904 at Weybridge, Surrey.