Historic monument restored ahead of centenary ceremony

A crowd gathered to mark the centenary of the interment of ashes of Sir Frederick Treves, at the grave of himself, his wife and two daughters in Weymouth Avenue Cemetery.

As previously reported, the Society of Dorset Men, the Dorchester Civic Society and the Dorchester Association were raising funds to see the Celtic Cross memorial to Sir Frederick repaired after weather and time had made the inscription illegible.

The Treves memorial before it was restored (Image: Jan Tollerfield)

The ceremony for Frederick Treves at Weymouth Avenue Cemetery (Image: Dorchester Civic Society)

• READ MORE: Work on ‘Elephant Man’ surgeon memorial to start

The groups were looking to raise around £1,500 for the works to be completed. Work started early by  Grassbys, the funeral directors and stone masons, to see the repairs completed in time for the ceremony.

The ceremony for Frederick Treves at Weymouth Avenue Cemetery (Image: Dorchester Civic Society) After raising the money, the service could take place, organised by the Society of Dorset Men, of which Sir Frederick was a founding member.

• READ MORE: Dorchester Association want Frederick Treves memorial repair

The service was conducted by Rev. John Travell, before a wreath was laid at his grave by Ian Gosling, chair of the Dorset Civic Society.

Mark Chutter of the Thomas Hardy Society read aloud a poem, written by the Dorchester-born author, that was read at Sir Frederick’s funeral, after his ashes were transported from his place of death in Switzerland.

The memorial before restoration went ahead (Image: Jan Tollerfield) Mr Gosling, said: “It was a moving and extraordinary ceremony. When you work on restoring old objects you discover things about the past.

“Where we could read the inscription, we could then read the other three sides, which were made out to his wife and two daughters which we could never see before. One of his daughters passed away at the age of 22 from peritonitis which Treves was a specialist in.”

Frederick Treves was born in Cornhill, Dorchester, and was one of six children.

In 1875, Treves passed his Royal College of Surgeons exam, before he married Anne Elisabeth Mason, who lived in Durngate Street in Dorchester. At the age of 24, the couple moved to Wirksworth in Derbyshire where Treves joined a GP practice.

In 1884, Treves moved to London and worked closely with John Merrick, who was otherwise known as the Elephant Man, and had severe physical deformities. Treves was unhappy with Merrick’s treatment and took him to a London hospital in 1886 where he was looked after, despite being seen as an incurable, until his death in 1890.

Sir Frederick Treves (Image: Archive) He was then surgeon to Edward VII, performing an appendicitis operation on the soon-to-be king before his coronation.

Despite being a rare procedure at the time, the operation, performed in Buckingham Palace, was a success. Treves was given a baronet title by Edward VII. 

Treves moved to Switzerland in 1920 where he lived out the rest of his life, until his death from peritonitis three years later.