A new audio exhibit at the Regimental Museum of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders explores the sounds of front-line surgery during the nineteenth century.
The exhibit describes a battlefield amputation carried out by Surgeon General William Munro M.D., C.B., L.L.D., who served with the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders and the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders between 1844 and 1867.
Told through the tale of an actual operation carried out during the Indian mutiny of 1857, listeners hear the sound of scalpel and saw on flesh and bone, while the battle carries on outside.
Rod Mackenzie, Assistant Curator of Regimental Museum of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, “As well as being an accomplished surgeon Munro was a gifted writer. He scribed a wonderfully descriptive account of his life in the regiment. This resource has proved invaluable to historians researching how the men in the regiment lived and the medical practises of the period.”
“He was an intriguing character, popular and well loved by all the ranks, often administering his skills under enemy fire. He was a great believer in the use of specific forms of anaesthetic long before they were widely used on the battlefield.
“At the museum, people can use their imagination to match the grim sounds of the recording to Munro’s tools before them. Munro was alive during a fascinating part of British history and his accounts and legacy give us a window into the life of a soldier towards the end of the British Empire.”
A former serving officer with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander, Colonel Bobby Steele T.D. J.L. L.P. the Regimental Secretary at the Headquarters of The Royal Highland Fusiliers in Glasgow, has lent his voice to William Munro.
Found beside Surgeon Munro’s medical case, the audio exhibit can be heard free inside the museum using a mobile phone or online at www.forthstimeline.com.
The audio exhibit was created for the Forth’s Timeline Project, a collaboration of 16 museums, galleries and sites of historic interest in the Forth Valley backed by Museums Galleries Scotland’s Regional Development Challenge Fund.
Other audio presentations can be heard beside the world’s oldest football in the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum and the Carronade display at Callendar House is Falkirk.
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The presentation can be embedded in any website by inserting the following code
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For more information please contact Joe Walton at Matthews Marketing 0141 419 9000 joe@mmarketing.org.uk
For more information on Dr William Munro or the history of the regiment please contact Rod McKenzie at the Regimental Museum of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, museum@argylls.wanadoo.co.uk, 01786 475165.
The Regional Development Challenge Fund is funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Museums Galleries Scotland. The Fund aims to encourage the development of partnerships at regional level across local authorities and between museums of all types and other related agencies.
The full list of visitor attractions are The Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Kilmadock Information & Heritage Centre, Clackmannanshire Tower Trail, Clackmannan Tower, Menstrie Castle, Sauchie Tower, Alloa Tower, Castle Campbell and Garden, Dollar Museum, Tullibody Heritage Centre, Callendar House, Kinneil Museum, Grangemouth Museum, The Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, Birkhill Fireclay Mine and the University of Stirling Art Collection.