Meurice Sinclair CMG: A great benefactor of the wounded of the First World War

SummaryMajor Meurice Sinclair was a Regular Army Medical Officer who revolutionised the management and treatment of gunshot fractures during the First World War, particularly those of the femur which carried the highest mortality. Not only did his methods reduce mortality but they increased the ease of nursing and hence the comfort of the wounded to a marked degree. His system of traction on the Thomas splint, in suspension, gained general acceptance such that he gave lectures and demonstrations to the medical officers of the allied forces, for which he was thrice mentioned in despatches and subsequently appointed CMG. Central to his method was the concentration of the fracture cases within certain hospitals to standardise and improve their management. This he was able to achieve through the good offices of Sir Almroth Wright who was Consultant Physician to the British Expeditionary Force. His methods reduced the death rate in open fractures of the femur from 80% generally, to 7.3% in his own hospital. He left a legacy that bore fruit both in the treatment of civilian fractures after the war but also in the second war of 1939–1945.