ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates through an analysis of records from the medical department at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard. It focuses on the period between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the launch of the Royal Navy's first iron warship. The chapter outlines the yard's medical facilities are given, followed by an examination of the changing frequency, nature and causes of work-related injuries. The transition from wood and sail to steam and iron affected the health of dockworkers in many ways. While injuries such as hernias and lacerations remained common, eye injuries and burns became increasingly prominent. The surgeons at both Portsmouth and Chatham complained of an increase in hurt cases following the introduction of iron. The examination of two surgeons' case books from the latter part of the period, suggested that some occupations were susceptible to certain types of injuries to particular parts of the body.
