Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1979) vol 6i

Peel's fall A G W Whitfield CBE MD PhD FRCP Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Birmingham

Robert Peel, Bart, from an engraving in the Royal College of Physicians of London.

Sir

To American Presidents and politicians the risk of assassination or attempted assassination is appreciable, but Spencer Perceval is the only British Prime Minister to have been murdered and, however selfseeking or dishonest they may be, British politicians enjoy the undeserved happiness of knowing that they will almost certainly die from natural causes unless, as did Lord Londonderry in I822, they cut their throats or, as did William Huskisson in 1830, they inadvertently step in the path of a moving railway engine. Threats and unkind words are commonplace; Disraeli said that 'if Mr Gladstone fell

into the Thames it would be a misfortune but if someone pulled him out it would be a calamity', but politicians quickly learn to disregard abuse. It is ironic that Sir Robert Peel, who was one of the most sensitive, altruistic, able, and honest men to hold the office of Prime Minister, should die from physical injury. Courage he certainly had-he challenged Daniel O'Connell to a duel-but he was never a popular man. Politics in his time was the perquisite of the aristocracy and though Peel's father was enormously wealthy, had been created a baronet, was a Member of Parliament, and had a fine mansion and estate at Drayton Bassett near to Tamworth, and though Peel himself had been educated at Harrow, where he was a friend of Lord Byron, and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained a double first, he never lost the accent of Bury, where he spent his early childhood, or overcame the 'disgrace' of the family fortune having been acquired so recently in 'trade'. Moreover, Peel was by nature shy, reserved, and lacking in warmth. O'Connell said his smile was 'like the gleam of wintry sunshine on the brass handles of a coffin', Queen Victoria thought him a 'cold, unfriendly, disagreeable man', and the Duke of Wellington said he 'has no manners'. Nevertheless, like Othello, he 'had done the state some service and they know't', but it was not until after his tragic death in I850 that the floodgates of national gratitude and acclaim were opened. On the night of the 28th June i85o he made a magnificent, statesmanly, and generous speech in the House on the Don Pacifico incident. The debate continued until four o'clock the following morning and after a few hours' sleep at his London home in Whitehall Gardens Peel attended a meeting of the Commissioners for the Great Exhibition of i85I. In the evening he went for his customary ride

Peel's fall with his groom. Though according to Palmerston 'he was a very bad and awkward rider', he had ridden all his life but, through his friend Becket Denison, he had recently acquired a new horse which had been hunted regularly and which his son-in-law, Lord Villiers, thought suitable for him. However, the horse had been sold by Sir Henry Peyton, a most accomplished horseman, because of its tendency to kick and buck and had been unsuccessfully offered for private purchase before being sent to Tattersalls. Paul Hunter recognised the horse and wished to warn Peel but lacked the courage to do so. Peel called at Buckingham Palace to sign the visitors' book and then rode up Constitution Hill when, opposite the gate into Green Park, he met Lord Dover's daughter, Miss Ellis, who was also out riding with her groom. As Peel greeted her his horse turned and threw him face downwards over its head. Peel held on to the reins and the horse stumbled on top of him with its hoof on Peel's back. Two men who were near at hand helped Peel into a sitting position and Dr Louis Foucart, a recently qualified Glasgow doctor, who had seen the fall, rushed to his aid, being joined almost immediately by Sir James Clark, the Queen's physician. Mrs Lucas, of Bryanston Square, came by in her carriage, which she immediately vacated so that Peel could be transported back to Whitehall Gardens. On arrival he was put on a couch in his dining room and though later moved on to a patent hydraulic bed he remained in this room, hung with some of his magnificent collection of paintings, until he died. Sir Benjamin Brodie, Mr Caesar Hawkins, and Dr E J Seymour, all St George's Hospital men, were summoned, also Dr Hodgson, Peel's family doctor. A comminuted fracture of the left clavicle was found, and associated with it was considerable swelling, which was noticed to be pulsatile. Peel was in such severe pain in his shoulder and back that full examination was impossible. Bandages were applied, but these increased rather than relieved his suffering and were therefore removed. His left forearm and hand became numb and weak and his pulse became more rapid and feeble and he was clearly critically

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ill. The only nourishment he was able to take was a little champagne and yolk of egg. Fifteen leeches were applied to his left shoulder without benefit and he was given mercurial treatment 'in order to arrest inflammation'. From the outset Peel's medical attendants, though uncertain of the exact nature of his injuries, had no doubt about their gravity or their likely outcome and on the 2nd July Brodie sent a letter to Sir James Clark indicating that life was ebbing away. Clark immediately sent it round to Prince Albert, who had a very high regard for Peel and who had called personally at Whitehall Gardens to enquire of his progress. That evening Peel lapsed into unconsciousness and died at nine minutes past eleven. In the true Victorian tradition Peel was by no means alone when he died, his end being watched by his brothers Lawrence, John, and Jonathan, three of his sons, Frederick, William, and Arthur, his son-inlaw Lord Villiers, his close friends Viscount Hardinge and Sir James Graham, and his doctors. Foucart had insisted on remaining with him from the time of his accident until his death. No autopsy was carried out, but examination after death suggested that one or more ribs underneath the left scapula had also been fractured and the underlying lung damaged, and it was thought that the fractured clavicle had lacerated the subclavian vein or artery. The following day the Queen (after knighting Sir Charles Hastings!) agreed that her Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, should offer Lady Peel a funeral in Westminster Abbey for her husband, but this she declined and Peel was buried in a thunderstorm at the village church at Drayton Bassett. Later Lady Peel was offered the title of Viscountess, but this too she refused. Prince Albert devoted an after-dinner speech at York to his personal tribute to Peel. His serious nature and high regard for Peel doubtless persuaded him that it was an appropriate occasion, but it is dubious whether his fellow diners shared this opinion. The baronetcy is still extant, but when the

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sixth baronet was killed on active service whilst serving in the Royal Navy in 1942 it passed to Earl Peel, grandson of Peel's younger son, Arthur, who was Speaker of the House of Commons. Beatrice Lillie, the brilliant comedy actress and widow of the fifth baronet, still survives. Peel's eldest son Robert, the third baronet, dissipated most of the family fortunes and sold Peel's fine collection of paintings to the National Gallery for £75 000 in I87I. He ceased to live at Drayton which, apart from the clocktower, was demolished half a century ago, and the park is now a zoo and golf course. Sic transit gloria et omnia!

Bibliography Sir James Clark's Diaries. Sir James Clark's Letters. Gash, Norman (1972) Sir Robert Peel. London, Longman. Holmes, Timothy (I898) Benjamin Brodie. London, T Fisher Unwin. Lancet (I850) 2, I9 et seq. Mackay, Charles (185I) Life and Times of Sir Robert Peel. London, Jackson. Parker, Charles Stuart (I899) Sir Robert Peel. London, John Murray. Ramsay, A A W (1928) Sir Robert Peel. London,

Constable. Thiirsfield, J R (1898) Peel. London, Macmillani.

Peel's fall.

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1979) vol 6i Peel's fall A G W Whitfield CBE MD PhD FRCP Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Universi...
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