This 19th Century passport contains original official documents obtained during the mid 19th Century for the benefit of its owner, George William Frederick 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800-1870).
One of the documents inside dates back to 10th May, 1855 when the surgeon obtained a signed letter from the Foreign office allowing him to travel abroad ‘on Her Majesty’s Service’. Le Mesurier, it states, was a ‘British subject’ and this document allowed him to travel to Turkey ‘without let or hindrance’ and offered him ‘every assistance and protection of which he may stand in need’.
This type of passport would have been required by travelling medical men, particularly throughout war time when the amount of travelling increased. British doctors were sent to stations across the globe to tend to wounded soldiers and other military personnel.
This object is on display in the War Surgery display case at the George Marshall Medical Museum.