Transcript

of

Paul Quick Karkeek [Obituary]

Trans. Devon. Assoc., vol.  XXXV, (1903), pp.38-39.

by

J. Brooking-Rowe (Ed.).

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1903 Sidmouth meeting. An obituary for PAUL QUICK KARKEEK, M.R.C.S.Eng., L.S.A.Lond., M.O.H,was reported in The British Medical Journal for January 10, 1903. Here is an image of his unusual bookplate. Dr Karkeek’s obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

Paul Quick Karkeek. The closing months of the year 1902 removed from among us several valuable members: Archbishop Temple, William Cotton, Richard F. Weymouth, Joseph Harper, Thomas Andrew, Paul Quick Karkeek, Thomas Wiltshire, all passed away within a few weeks of each other, leaving blanks not to be easily filled. Most unexpected and sad was the death of our old friend P. Q. Karkeek, who had been a member since 1874, soon after he settled down at Torquay, from which time he was a constant attendant at the meetings of the Association and the Council, and a frequent contributor of papers to the Transactions. He was born at Truro in September, 1843, educated at Probus School and in Germany. Deciding to become a doctor, he entered St. Bartholomew's, and after qualifying he became house surgeon at the Chester Infirmary, and afterwards assistant house surgeon at the Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich. He then pursued his studies in France and Germany.

Returning to England, he bought a practice at Torquay, and in 1878 was elected Medical Officer of Health by the then ruling authority, the Local Board, and also of St. Mary Church; and on the town behig made a borough, and St Mary Church and Babbacombe joined to it, he became its Medical Officer, discharging the duties of his office with credit to himself and for the benefit of the community which he served. He was a student to the last, and a great reader, and was always seeking information. "I want to know" was his frequent greeting. He had a good collection of books, which he bequeathed to the Torquay Natural History Society. Besides papers for our Transactions he was a frequent contributor to the proceedings of medical societies and periodicals. He was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries of London. In 1900 he was President of the Torquay Medical Society. He did valuable work for the Torquay Natural History Society, of which he was president in 1894, and an active member of the Teign Naturalists’ Field Club, in connection with which one of the last things he did was to raise a fund to present a testimonial to the secretary, who, Karkeek and his fellow-members felt, had done so much to provide for their comfort and pleasure. On the afternoon of Tuesday, 2nd December, Karkeek attended the monthly meeting of the Town Council. After the business was over he returned to his home and dined. At ten o'clock his wife retired, leaving him in the drawing-room, apparently in good health, preparing for a lecture on Eisenach, which he was to deliver at the Torquay Natural History Society the following Monday, and arranging the lantern slides to illustrate it. About two o'clock in the morning Mrs. Karkeek awoke, and found that he had not come up. She rose and went down to the drawing-room, where she found him lying on the floor unconscious. He had been stricken with paralysis, and never rallied, dying on the 27th December, having remained in a state of almost entire insensibility for three weeks and a half. He was sixty years of age. At his funeral the Association was represented by Mr. Maxwell Adams, one of the general secretaries.