Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Henry Keogh, GCB, GCVO, CH, FRCP (3 July 1857 – 30 July 1936) was a medical doctor in the British Army. He served as Director-General Army Medical Services twice; from 1905 to 1910 and 1914 to 1918.[1]
Keogh was born in Dublin on 3 July 1857 to Henry Keogh, a barrister and magistrate of Roscommon.[2] He was educated at Queen's College, Galway, and Guy's Hospital, London.[3] He received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the Queen's University of Ireland in 1878.[1]
Upon graduation, he moved to London to undertake his house officer placements. He served as a house physician at the Brompton Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, and as a clinical assistant at the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital.[2]
On 2 March 1880, Keogh was commissioned into the Army Medical Services as a surgeon-captain.[2] His first posting was as a surgeon to the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.[1] On 6 March 1892, he was promoted to surgeon-major.[4][2] With the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, he was posted to South Africa.[3] He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 6 March 1900,[5] and became commander of No. 3 General Hospital near Cape Town.[1] During the war, he served in Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal Republic.[2]
In January 1902, following his return from the Second Boer War, he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the Army Medical Services.[6][7] He was promoted to colonel on 2 December 1904.[2] On 1 January 1905, he was appointed Director-General Army Medical Services and promoted to lieutenant-general.[2] He led the reform of the Army Medical Services in response to the Haldane reforms of the Territorial Forces in 1907; this included the introduction of the Territorial Force Nursing Service.[8] He retired from the military on 6 March 1910.[9]
With the outbreak of the First World War, he was reappointed DGAMS on 3 October 1914.[10] He supervised the huge expansion of the Army’s medical services to cope with the war,[3] and was in command of the medical services in the UK.[2] He left the appointment and the military in June 1918.[1]
He was appointed Rector of Imperial College London and served from 1910 to 1922.[11]
He died at 10 Warwick Square, London, on 30 July 1936.[2] A requiem mass was held at Westminster Cathedral.[7] He was buried in the Marylebone Cemetery, Finchley.[2]
On 29 November 1900, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in recognition of services in the campaign in South Africa, 1899 to 1900.[12] On 7 May 1903, he was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John (KStJ).[13] He was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1906 King's Birthday Honours.[14] On 24 July 1907, he was appointed Honorary Physician to the King (KHP).[15] He was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) on 24 January 1917 'for services rendered in connection with [WWI]'.[16] He was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) on 25 February 1918 'for services in connection with the war'.[17] In the 1918 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).[18]
He was a recipient of a number of foreign honours. In 1917, he was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown by the King of the Belgians,[19] and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour by the President of France.[20] In 1918, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, 2nd Class by the King of Serbia.[21]
He received the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps in 1901.[2]