The Depot for Prisoners of War at Norman Cross, Huntingdonshire. 1796 to 1816

by Thomas Walker

[74b] Correspondence with the French Government relative to Prisoners of War Supplement, 1801, to Appendix No. 59. Report of the Transport Board to the House of Commons, 1798.

[75] This will be dealt with in the following chapter.

[76] Report of the Transport Board to the House of Commons, 1798, Appendix No. 59—Most valuable information on the merits of the dispute between the two Governments has been obtained from the Report and its Appendix, and from an imperfect copy of a Supplement to the Appendix, issued from Downing Street, 6th Jan. 1801. This supplement is not to be found either in the Library of the House of Commons or in the British Museum, and the Fragment which contained thirty-nine out of fifty-three letters indexed in the table of contents, in the course of its travels through my hands and my agents’ and the typewriters’, has been lost. This loss is irreparable, but I am able to publish in the text or in the Appendix five of the fifty-three letters which were printed in this supplement to the report. Appendix D.

[77] AFFIDAVITS OF PERROT, THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH SURGEON

Copy of an Affidavit made by Mr. James Perrot, Agent for Prisoners of War at Norman Cross. Dated Peterboro’, 15th December 1797.

These are to certify, that James Perrot, Agent for Prisoners of War at Norman Cross, voluntarily maketh Oath, that to the best of his knowledge and belief, the Certificate and Affidavits given by Dr. Higgins, Physician, Mr. James Magennis, Surgeon, and Messiours Chatelin and Savary, the French Assistant Surgeons to the Hospital at Norman Cross Prisons, are strictly true, and corresponding with the accounts, daily brought to him; and that the number of Patients in the said Hospital on the 19th day of November last, were one hundred and ninety-four, including twenty-four nurses, and the whole number of Prisoners, including the Sick, were on that day confined in the said Prisons, 5028, and from the first the establishment never exceeded 5178, and that to the present date only 59 have died in the said Hospital; and further to the best of his knowledge, neither contagious or epidemic disorders have ever prevailed in the said Hospital or Prisons.

(Signed) J. Perrot, Agent.

Given under my hand at Peterboro’ this 15th day of December 1797.

(Signed) H. Freeman.

Copy of an Affidavit made by Dr. Higgins, Physician, and Dr. Magennis, Surgeon.