On September 1, 1911, at the age of eighteen years and eight months,
Henry Plant was admitted into the Royal Navy, at Wolverhampton, as a
second-class stoker, and passed a searching medical examination by a
naval doctor at Birmingham. He was sent to Portsmouth, served on the
“Victory” till September 24, and was then drafted to the “Renown.”
Shortly afterwards he was vaccinated in three places, high up on the
left shoulder. On October 19, 1911, he was admitted to the Royal Naval
Hospital, Haslar, suffering from influenza. Severe shooting pains from
the left shoulder to the finger-tips developed, and for sixteen days he
was treated for rheumatism. After sixteen days’ intense suffering an
operation was performed, an abscess was discovered, and from this time
till the arm was amputated on July 9, 1912, the poor fellow suffered
unceasingly. Four Members of Parliament took up the case, and the final
result was a compassionate grant of £50 compensation and the offer of
a situation at Devonport under the Admiralty. Representatives worked
for nearly seven months to secure justice for the young man, and though
the Admiralty have never admitted that the loss of the arm was due to
vaccination, their action in compensating Plant is an admission of
responsibility. The facts in this and the following case are taken from
a circular issued by The National Anti-Vaccination League, London.