Edward Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber

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Dr Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber (1865-1948 was born on 1st July 1865 in the Spanish colonised capital city of Santa Isabel on the island of Fernando Po in West Africa. Fernando Po (as it was then known) was the only Spanish colony in Africa. Today Santa Isabel is known as Malabo and is the capital of Equatorial Guinea. It is situated on the island of Bioko which is off the west coast of Nigeria and Cameroon in the bight of Biafra.

[edit] Early years and first experience in Britain

There is little information about the early years of Dr Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber but records from the university of edin burgh showed that he was educated for 5 years at the C. M. (Church Missionary) Grammar school in Sierra Leone, West Africa. It is estimate that he would have been aged 12-17 during this period. He would have been sent to Sierra Leone to study since Fernando Po only offered minimal education in Spanish and being from the English speaking Creole tribe, Sierra Leone offered English based Education at the time with such schools as the Church Missionary Grammar School & the then prestigious Fourah Bay College still in existence to day.

The records also showed that he then travelled to Britain to study the equivalent of A Levels at Elmfield College in York aged 18 which would have been in 1886-1887. Elmfield College was opened in 1864 and soon took a foremost place amongst the middle-class schools in England. It was established as a Primitive Methodist boarding school.

[edit] Edinburgh University

When Dr Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber first enrolled at Edinburgh University in 1887 the records showed that his address was 8 Brighton Terrace, Joppa. Joppa is the easternmost suburb of Edinburgh. It is bounded on the north by the coast of the Firth of Forth estuary.

Prior to starting his medical degree at Edinburgh University he studied preliminary courses and examinations which he took at Edinburgh University during 1887-1988 and covered subjects such as English, Latin, Philosophy, French and Maths. His medical course started in 1888 and covered many subjects including botany, anatomy, surgery, midwifery, pathology and pharmacy. He sat both oral and written exams with his final medical professional exams taking place in June 1892 when he graduated as a Medical Doctor.

[edit] Back To Africa

On his return to Fernando Po, Dr Thaddeus Barleycorn Barber worked at the Hospital there for a few years. He also worked as a Doctor in Cameroon were it is believed he met and married his wife Edith barber before returning to Fernando Po once again. In 1919 he travelled to Calabar, in the then Eastern Nigeria where he worked as a doctor at the St Margaret’s Hospital which was the first public (General) hospital in Nigeria. He later arrived at Aba (also in the Eastern Nigeria) in 1924 where he started his own Infirmary and surgery whilst also helping at the Aba public hospital.

He trained quite a few nurses and dispensers at his infirmary including two of his daughters. He continued to provide medical services to the people of Aba until his death in 1948.

He was later honoured by the people of Aba where they named a road in the Government Residential Area (GRA) Dr Barber Avenue.