Description:Portrait of John Thomas Arlidge (1822-1899).
Born Chatham, Kent, he became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1848. In 1862 he accepted a post as physician to the North Staffordshire Infirmary in Stoke-on-Trent and moved with his family to live in Newcastle-under-Lyme. He was largely responsible for the reconstruction of the hospital at Hartshill and improvements in the standard of nursing and the after-care of patients. He was also certifying factory surgeon to the Stoke-on-Trent district, and in this role he became a pioneer in industrial medicine. He made important investigations into the disease known as 'potter’s phthisis' and the effects of lead-poisoning. He was President of the North Staffordshire Field Club in 1871 and 1889 and was Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme for 1878-79.
A portrait by G. Harrison on Newcastle-under-Lyme. This image is from a collection of glass negatives and slides formerly belonging to William Blake of Longton.