Edwin William Alabone, MD

Buried: 21/11/1913, aged 65
Plot no: 71340 | Section: J09 / B

Edwin William Alabone was born 9 November 1848 in Newport, Isle of Wight.  He was the son of a draper, Edwin George Alabone and his wife Ellen.

The family moved to Islington, and it was in London that he lived and worked for the rest of his life.  At the age of 21 he was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons, which gave him the right to add the letters 'MRCS' to his name.  Early in his career he held a number of part-time posts, which included casualty surgeon to the Home for Reclaimed Females.  He also served for a while as surgeon to the Lower Clapton Orphan Home. 

The memorial stone for Edwin William Alabone. This is at ground level and was obscured by vegetation when discovered by Abney Unearthed volunteers.

The basis of his life's work as a medical practitioner was in the treatment of tuberculosis, as proudly recorded on his Abney Park grave.  In the London Post Office Directory of 1875, Alabone ('M.D. homoeop.dispen.') is listed at 142 Kingsland Road E.  In 1880 he is listed as 'physician', residing at 175 Highbury New Park N and by 1900 he is listed under the category heading 'Physicians' ('M.D., F.R.M.S., D.Sc'.) living at Lynton House, 12 Highbury Quadrant N. He also become an early adopter of new technology, with a display listing (in large, bold type) as a 'chest specialist' in the telephone directory.

The listing makes reference to his book, The Cure of Consumption, Asthma, Bronchitis, and other Diseases of the Chest with chapters on laryngitis, tabes mesenterica, post nasal catarrh and hay fever. The introductory pages of the forty-sixth edition (published in 1911) include a notice of Alabone's consulting hours at his home, Lynton House, 12 Highbury Quadrant.  These were Monday to Thursdays from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm, while 'patients can be visited in the country on Fridays and Saturdays'.  'Where an interview is impossible, a form of questions will be sent; if this is filled in and returned, immediate attention will be given to the case.' 

Alabone lived at a time when tuberculosis, commonly called 'consumption', was endemic in Britain and Europe.  Research by the microbiologist Robert Koch in Germany in the 1880's revealed the organism  - Mycobacterium tuberculosis (later named 'Koch's bacillus') - responsible for the infection which caused tuberculosis, but there was more work to be done before an effective treatment, by vaccination, was eventually developed.

In the absence of scientifically tested and proven treatment, practitioners such as Alabone could make a successful living through promoting their own methods, which in his case included the use of lachnanthes (bloodwort), a plant used in herbal and homoeopathic medicine. It was his refusal to specify the composition of this remedy, and indeed his continued public promotion of a 'secret remedy' which incurred the censure of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) and lead to his being struck off their register in November 1886.  He subsequently included 'ex-MRCS Eng' among the qualifications after his name, on the title page of The Cure of Consumption.  Alabone lived at a time when tuberculosis, commonly called 'consumption', was endemic in Britain and Europe.  Research by the microbiologist Robert Koch in Germany in the 1880's revealed the organism  - Mycobacterium tuberculosis (later named 'Koch's bacillus') - responsible for the infection which caused tuberculosis, but there was more work to be done before an effective treatment, by vaccination, was eventually developed.

The Truth 25 December 1921. Source: British Newspaper Archive.

In the early 1870s Alabone had learned of the reputed properties of the herb lachnanthes (Lachnanthes tinctoria) indigenous to North America and esteemed by Native Americans for its effects on fluency of speech, cough and pneumonia. Over the next 30 years Alabone perfected his methods of inhalation of the syrup of lachnanthes with the addition of oxygen and camphor (among other ingredients). The delivery methods required the building of complex machinery to precipitate inhalation. He also invented hand-held inhalers.

Alabone did also advocate a holistic approach to curing tb, recommending cod liver oil, a nourishing diet, and light airy clothes. He was in no doubt about the importance of avoiding occupations requiring bent or cramped postures. He was not modest about his success, but also, did not claim his treatment to be infallible.

 Dr. Alabone lived through a period when medicine in all its branches was becoming a regulated profession, through bodies such as the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), and the General Medical Council (GMC) which was responsible for the registration of practitioners.  It was an age when unregulated practitioners promoting unproven treatments and 'cures' were seen by an emerging medical establishment as a menace which had to be challenged.  He was just one of many promoters of treatments for tuberculosis, and this became the foundation of his thriving practice.  He could not accept that Koch's bacillus was the cause of consumption. His own methods seem never to have been put to the test by any recognised medical body.

Dr. Alabone's book and treatment methods were frequently cited in the press. From as early as 1876 up to 1921 there were references to testimonials from grateful patients and rebuttals of what some saw as his harsh treatment by a prejudiced section of the medical profession. His clashes with the medical establishment (as reported in both the medical and general press), seem to have done him no lasting harm.

The Alabone family grave. The memorial stone for Dr Alabone lies at the base of the ivy-topped headstone.

Dr. Edwin William Alabone died at home on 17 November 1913. He was 65 years old, and his death certificate gives his profession as 'a Chest Specialist'. Cause of death was carcinoma of the bowel and liver. The death was reported by his son, a chartered accountant of Church Street, Stoke Newington. Sympathetic obituaries described him as a kindly and original man. They referred to his humanity and generosity and his refusal to accept payments from poor patients, and to the grief he felt at the separation from his colleagues and the solitary application of his own researches.

The foot stone of the Alabone grave.