Sir Frederick Treves: 1853 - 1923

Frederick Treves was born in 15 February 1853 at 8 Cornhill Street, Dorchester, a large town house above his fathers shop.  Treves was the youngest son (the last of 6) of William Treves, a furniture upholster and salesman and Jane (Knight).

Aged seven Treves attended Reverend William Barnes’s school in Dorchester for two years.  Between the ages of eleven and eighteen Treves was sent to the Merchant Taylor’s School in London.  After Merchant Taylor’s Treves began his medical career enrolling as a student in the Medical School attached to the London Hospital.

It was not an obvious college for Treves to attend, set in the poorest area of London; patients arrived on handcarts, from the nearby Billingsgate Market and on stretchers from the docks and slums.  What the London Hospital did have was access to a wide variety of medical conditions and the most acute surgical cases.  Treves training would have, by necessity of the large number of patients being admitted to the hospital, had a large practical element.  Students were expected to help treat patients largely unsupervised.  The London had the largest surgical ward and boasted some of the leading teachers of the day including:  Sir Hughlings Jackson (the founder of modern neurology) and Sir Jonothan Hutchinson an eminent surgeon.  The London also had a reputation for innovation in both equipment and medical techniques.

After four years at the college Treves completed his studies.  A year later (1871) aged twenty one he took his Society of Apothecaries diploma. Treves became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1872.  He then spent six months as a house surgeon at the London Hospital before becoming Resident Medical Officer at The Royal National Hospital for Scrofula, (scrofula - a tuberculosis infection on the neck, usually the result of breathing in air contaminated with mycobacteria – the bacteria spreads throughout the body and can cause the lymph nodes in the neck and other areas of the body to swell – if untreated the lymph notes can become ulcerated and result in draining sores)for five months at the request of his brother who was Honorary Surgeon. 

In 1877 Treves married Anne Elizabeth Mason and set up as a general practitioner in Wirksworth in Derbyshire.   But within a year he had left the rural practice to return to London, once again as a general practitioner but this time in Sydenham.

In 1878 he took the position of Surgical Registrar at the London Hospital this led to the position of Assistant Surgeon at the London Hospital and also as an Assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital in 1879.  In 1883 Treves took up the post of Lecturer and Demonstrator in Anatomy at the London Hospital.  This position allowed him to conduct research into abdominal operations that had been made possible by development of anaesthesia and antiseptic techniques.  In 1882 Treves published his research on scrofula in his first book Scrofula and Its Gland Diseases.

Between 1880 and 1898 Treves developed an interest in pathology (causes and effect of disease) and especially in regard to deformity and disease.  He regularly spoke at meetings of the Pathological Society of London on such topics as Paget’s disease.  He began to gain a reputation for discovering more unusual cases than anyone else which helped further his career.

To balance his workload, publications and commitment to organisations like the Mission to Seamen Treves would get up at 5.00 am or 6.00 am to write, and deal with personal correspondence before completing his duties at the hospital.  Treves also needed to build up his private practice as his duties at the London Hospital were unpaid.

Treves was appointed head of the Anatomy School in 1883, and appointed a full surgeon at the London in 1884.

In 1884 Treves first encountered Joseph Merrick – for more information on their relationship please click here.

Throughout the time Treves was responsible for Merrick he had to maintain his general practice and his duties at the London Hospital.  He also continued to publish medical texts – he received the Royal College of Surgeon’s Jacksonian prize in 1883 for and essay on intestinal Obstruction on which he based his 1884 book Intestinal Obstruction:  It’s Varieties, with their Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment which was a highly regarded medical text book followed by The Intestinal Canal and Peritoneum which was became a highly regarded medical text.

From 1886 Treves seems to have concentrated on his surgical duties.  His reputation grew and he began to attract wealthy and influential patients.  He still continued with his work at the London Hospital, which in turn benefited from donations from some of Treves grateful patients.

In 1891 Treves returned to writing, publishing a practical guide to surgery as a form of medical treatment – A Manual of Operative Surgery and in 1895 – A System of Surgery. 

He resigned from his post at the London hospital in 1898 and the following year went to serve in the Boer War, working in a field hospital in South Africa.  During this period Queen Victoria announced his appointment as Surgeon-in-Ordinary to the Queen.  Following her death Prince Edward VII announced in a Court Circular on 4 May 1901

In 1900 Treves 18 year old daughter became seriously ill with an acute appendicitis – ironically Treves was the leading specialist in this area but was unable to save his daughter.  In a desperate attempt to save her he called in 2 eminent doctors but they were forced to inform him that if he couldn’t save her no-one could.  In another twist of fate Treves was called upon to perform an appendix operation on Edward II on the eve of his coronation.  Later receiving the title of Baron in the Kings Coronation Honours List and Edward II granted him the use of Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park as a home.

It was at this point in his career that Treves decided to partially retire keeping up only his royal appointments.  Instead he focused his energies on founding the Radium Institute of London and the British Red Cross.  He also re established his writing career publishing several recollections of his time in South Africa and several travel books.

In 1905 he moved back to Dorchester close the home of Thomas Hardy with whom he developed a close friendship.

Treves returned to his official duties during World War One.  After which he moved to Switzerland living on the shore of Lake Geneva where he returned to his writing, publishing amongst other books – The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences in 1923.  He died in 1923 from peritonitis and was cremated in Lausanne, his ashes were interred in Dorchester cemetery.

Frederick Treves - in The Elephant Man

Pomerance’s initially portrays Treves as Merrick’s saviour – rescuing him from the unscrupulous Ross.  A surgeon and teacher Pomerance’s interpretation of Treves appears to genuinely care about Merrick.  However, he also hopes to gain credibility and recognition through their association.    Pomerance portrays Treves as a typical Victorian gentleman, strict, guided by moral duty, who is outraged when Mrs Kendal shows Merrick her naked body.

Like all Pomerance’s characters that come into contact with Merrick – Treves projects his own characteristics on to him. But in doing so Treves fails to acknowledge that Merrick is a human being in his own right, as someone who has his own needs and characteristics.   

While determining to treat Merrick as ‘normal’ human being Treves actually continues to treat him as an object to be observed and exploited.  For example in Scene Eight,  Treves tells Merrick that he will not be put on display, immediately after a hospital porter brings an assistant into Merrick’s rooms to show him Merrick off as an object of curiosity.  Gomm fires the porter insisting that it is important to maintain discipline.  Merrick responds that whole towns would need to be fired if discipline was to be maintained everywhere.  Treves insists Merrick thanks Gomm for clearly defining the rules, lecturing Merrick on how happy he will be if he follows the rules. He follows this and the incident with the porter by asking Merrick to tell him more of his history for a follow up paper he is writing on him for the London Pathological Society.

By the end of the play Pomerance shows Treves to be a man disillusioned with his life, unable to find any satisfaction in his career or family.  Once certain in his interpretation of Merrick’s characteristics and temperament – he comments to Gomm at the end of the play:

Treves comments also illustrates one of the themes of the play that of illusion verses reality – Treves is able to accept the illusion of Merrick that he had created but is also unable to accept the reality.  Through his argument with Gomm and his conversation with the Bishop at the end of the play Treves discovers how different his perceived relationship with Merrick is to what it has been in reality.  Through Gomm he realizes how he has exploited Merrick and through the Bishop how shallow his relationship with Merrick was. 

Treves also sees that his interpretation of Ross has been coloured by his illusions about himself and his motives in regard to Merrick.  Pomerance uses the characters of Merrick and Treves once again to illustrate the theme of illusion and reality – Merrick has no illusions about Ross while Treves builds up an illusionary reality based on his own sense of humanity and importance.  Pomerance illustrates this theme again in regard to Mrs Kendal – Treves fails to see that she genuinely cares for Merrick, blinded as he is by his sense of correct behaviour and his own self absorption.

Treves reaction to Lord John’s mishandling of the money bequeathed to the hospital for Merrick’s care illustrates how he chooses to believe in illusion over reality.  Angered by Treves exploitation of Merrick he fails to acknowledge his equal guilt in this respect.  While Lord John has wasted Merrick’s money, Treves has exploited Merrick to further his own career and medical standing.

Yet Treves does seem to understand by the play's conclusion that his life has been changed by Merrick.

^ top of page