From Burnley Barracks to the battlefield : a Territorial doctor in the Great War

This presentation will explore the life and career of Lieutenant Colonel Dr Thomas Holt, who served as Medical Officer of Health for Burnley from 1906 to 1931. It will examine his significant contribution to public health in the town during a period of considerable social and medical change, alongside his military service during the First World War. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Holt held the rank of Major in the Territorial Force, Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), based in Burnley. The presentation will follow his wartime experiences, including his service at Gallipoli and his subsequent appointment to command a field ambulance unit. By bringing together his civilian and military careers, the talk will offer an insight into the life of a medical professional whose work spanned both local public health and the challenges of wartime medical service, highlighting his contribution to the history of Burnley and the wider story of military medicine during the First World War.