24 
INTKODUCTION 
A fire at the 
Laboratories 
Losses 
Timely aid 
Re-fitting 
Acknowledg¬ 
ments 
NOTE 
Since the ahuve was written a heavy calamity has befallen the lahoratories. From some 
unknown cause a disastrous fire liroke out in them early on the morning ot May 11th. lu a 
couple of hours the dark room, the hacteriological room and the kitchen had been comidetely 
gutted. Xot only was a large quantity of equipment ilestroyed, hut all the tr\q)anosomiasis 
strains wei’c lost, together with records of two years’ work on this suliject. 
i\lany valuable microscopical s})ecimens, collected since the foundation of the 
lahoratories, were consnmed, as was a considerable portion of the Keview, newly-written, 
and of which there was no duplicate. 'I’he office files for five years—hooks and sanitary 
records, being housed, for lack of space, in the bacteriological room—perished. 
Unfortunately, many museum specimens, some of special interest, were in the kitchen 
awaiting ]>reparation and remounting, and these were all lost. So were Mr. Edie’s cultures 
of bacteria isolated from gum. 
It was chieily due to the magnificent help rendered by Colonel Chapman commanding, 
and the. officers and men of the 1st Battalion Royal 1 tuhlin Fnsiliers, and by El-Kaimakam 
Stockwell Bey commanding, and the officers and men of the 3rd Battalion Egyptian Army, 
who were assisted by the fire brigades of the Pnblic Works Department, the iludiria and 
the Gordon College, that the mnsenm room itself and the Director’s office, together with 
the library, were saved. The chemical ami entomological rooms also escaped destruction, 
though considerable damage was done to the chemical equipment. 
The blow was a very severe one, and has prevented the completion of several of the 
research papers. Nearly all the paraffin blocks prepared during the past eighteen 
months, and containing the embedded organs of fowls, ilead of spirochmtosis, were lost, 
and it has been impossible to collect ff-esh material. Work on the therapeutic treatment of 
trypanosomiasis had to be abandoned, and imleed in every direction we found ourselves 
crippled and hampered. 
At the same time sympathy and help were not lacking. Mr. Wellcome at once cabled 
his intention to refit the lahoratories in the most up-to-date manner possible, and pronqitly 
despatched a large quantity of the mori^ necessary equipment. Idrs. Stephens and Breiid, 
of the Liverpool School, kindly replenished our trypanosomiasis strains. 
Every aid was rendered us by the Director of Education and his staff, who undertook the 
reconstruction of the building, and fi-om many quarters offers of assistance reached us. Thus, 
i\Ir. Ilewins, the Secretary of the Central Economic Board, aided us in having the Review 
re-typed when it had again been written, and similar help was proffered by Mr. Huxley, of 
the Public Works ].)epartment. It is not possible to mention all those who were good enongh 
to offer or render assistance, but it can safely be said that this ready sympathy and help did 
much to lighten the weight of a misfortune which was none the easier to hear in that it 
hai)pened as the hot weather began, during which it is at any time difficult to be energetic. 
Personally I would specially thank the members of the Staff for the manner in which 
they set to work to retrieve the damage and to help those concerned with the bacteriological 
work, who naturally suffered the greatest loss of time and material. 
One must also express one’s appreciation of the kindness shown by H.R.II. the Duke 
of Connaught, who graciously wired his condolences to H.E. the Governor General from 
Malta, as soon as he received news of the fire. At a later date the authorities at the Royal 
■D-my Medical College, London, very kindly permitted me the use of their library and 
reading-room. 
