- He started university at just 15 years old
- Worked at the same Crimean war hospital as Florence Nightingale (known as the founder of modern nursing) and they apparently fought RELENTLESSLY, particularly regarding the importance of sanitation, where Nightingale prioritised good morale
(Nightingale would later go on to promote the value of good sanitation and handwashing, saving countless lives)
- Would carry both a rapier and a pistol for duelling with people who pissed him off (which he reportedly did regularly)
- He became known for getting into loud arguments with almost everyone. All the time.
- When deployed to Africa he was taught by the local midwives on how to perform a c-section that saved BOTH the mother and the child— something that was unheard of in England at the time
- He made it a point to improve sanitation at the camps and outposts under his care for EVERYONE, including the locals, soldiers, enslaved people and workers
- He cultivated a 'close relationship' with a senior officer called Lord Charles Sommerset, who promoted him and was likely the reason Barry was able to go so far with his career
- (Barry would later return to England and care for Sommerset at the end of his life)
- Requested that he be buried unwashed, with his clothes on, exactly how he was
(This was denied, and his state was reported on by the mortuary assistant after his death. As a result the Army had his records sealed for exactly 100 years, until they were released again in 1965. )
All in all Dr James Barry was an angry bulldog of a man, who cared deeply about the people under his care, and was really, really, good at his job.
