THE RESUSCITATION OF PERSONS APPARENTLY DEAD: WILLIAM HAWES
The good news was that Cabbage Cooke remembered the Humane Society in his will; the bad news was that, even though he had shown one of its directors a copy of his will with the sum of £500 written in it, when the actual will was probated, the figure had dwindled to £50. Ironically, the founder of the Humane Society, who died three years before the Miser of Pentonville, shares space with him in St Mary's Churchyard. The ceremonies attending the burial of William Hawes (1736-1808) could hardly have contrasted greater than with Cooke's. According to Gentleman's Magazine, Hawes was buried on 13 December, 1808, attended by three mourning coaches carrying members of his family and friends, including William Chamberlain, Cooke's biographer. Managers and Directors of the Royal Humane Society joined the procession at their own expence, and later erected "a neat and elegant Tablet...highly creditable to an ingenious young artist, Mr. John Mallcott," in St Mary's Church (see illustration #41).
William Hawes, born in Islington, attended classes in a school administered by John Shield. In 1773, continuing the narrative from the December 1808 Gentleman's Magazine, "he became deservedly popular, from his incessant zeal in calling the attention of the publick to the resuscitation of persons apparently dead, principally by drowning." His early efforts were ridiculed, as few believed in possibility of resuscitation. Hawes persevered, and announced that he would reward anyone who rescued a seemingly drowned person between Westminister and London bridges, if they would give him immediate notice.
Hawes saved many who were apparently dead, paying the rewards out of his own pocket for a year to those who gave him notice, and even rewarding those who brought victims that he could not resuscitate. Dr. Thomas Cogan, concerned that his friend's fortune would soon be depleted by such generosity, had also realized that lives could be saved by resuscitation, and the two men agreed to combine their efforts to bring the public's attention to their cause. They each invited fifteen friends to join them at the Chapter Coffee-house in 1774, and the Humane Society was organized. Soon, humane societies were established in Europe, America, and Asia.
For some unremembered reason, officials of St Mary's, and/or its vicar, seem not to have been overly encouraging of Hawes's efforts, even though Islington benefitted greatly from his good work. According to Gentleman's Magazine, after each annual meeting of the Humane Society, Hawes would begin to make plans for the ensuing year. One of his self-appointed tasks was to nominate succeeding stewards, update the list of subscribers, and solicit "Churches and Preachers for the benefit of his favourite Institution." The author of the article went on to assert that his
not being able to obtain for that purpose the grant of the churches of two or three opulent parishes, which he had long been anxiously soliciting (particularly that of Islington, where a very large proportion of the Society's rewards is unavoidably applied) was a circumstance that gave him more uneasiness, and preyed more upon his mind, than can easily be imagined.
In addition to founding the Royal Humane Society, Hawes served as its registrar, and wrote a number of works on medicine. He deserves to be remembered as one of Islington's most famous citizens, and one of St Mary's most distinguished parishioners.
Illustration 41: The marble tablet that the Royal Humane Society erected in St Mary's to honor its founder, Dr. William Hawes did not survive the 1941 war damage. The round seal at the top represents the Society's honorary medal, while the profile at the bottom is "a small but correct medallion of Dr. Hawes." Reproduced from the April 1811 issue of Gentleman's Magazine.