HUGH OWEN THOMAS

THIRD GENERATION BONESETTER

The origins of Orthopaedic surgery go back to the days of the BONESETTERS

But who or what are they?

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It is widely believed that the story starts in 1834 with the birth of Hugh Owen Thomas; however, the story goes further back to 1730 with a shipwreck off the coast of Anglesey which left only two young survivors.

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Sadly only one survived. He was taken in by a local doctor Dr Lloyd.

This boy was Evan Thomas.

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His ability to heal injured birds soon became apparent, a talent which, in a place such as Anglesey, was greatly needed.

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At the time of his death, in 1814, Evan had four sons. Richard, who was born in 1772, also had the ability of ‘bone setting’ but he preferred to work as a farmer whilst using his skills as a craft. His 3 sons and 4 daughters however all put into practice the skills they had, both in Wales and abroad.

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One son – Evan Thomas – left Wales and set up a practice in Crosshall Street in Liverpool where he was fortunate to include the Duke of Westminster among his patients. Sadly he died at the age of 56 having contracted pneumonia whilst visiting a patient.

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In 1834 Evan and his wife Jane went back from Liverpool to Anglesey for a holiday at which time Jane gave birth to a son who they called Hugh Owen Thomas. Having spent his apprenticeship with his uncle in St. Asaph he went to Edinburgh when he was 21 and then to University College hospital in London before returning to Liverpool in 1857. Following a somewhat acrimonious partnership with his father H.O.Thomas decided to set up practice on his own and moved to Nelson Street where he remained until his retirement.