Playne - Medical Officer of Railway during construction - Playne has Dr. A.R. Sievesking

EA Diary has A.R. Sieveking - Senior Medical Officer, Uganda Railway

North - From Sheerness, Kent; end off appt 20-6-1903; due to dep. Mombasa for Europe 1-7-1903; arr. Flushing 2-8-1903 Uganda Railway.

The African Standard - 26-2-1903 - Invited to the wedding of H.R. Phelips & Miss Jacquette Edith Lambe in Mombasa (Dr. & Mrs A.R. Sieveking [sic])

Mills Railway - Sieve-King's salary increments caused misgiving and in April Whitehouse wrote: "At the time the first increment was given to Dr Sieve-King, I pointed out that there was no other course to follow between giving an increment or termination of service. On reviewing the numerous unsatisfactory officers who have been sent out for this department, it appears to me quite hopeless to expect any improvement if Dr Sieve-King's services were dispensed with." Pending Gracey's comments on the medical services, Whitehouse deferred action on a request from Sieve-King for another increment.

Neither Sieve-King nor Dr J. McCullough at railhead was in any hurry to defend himself. The latter took nearly two months to reply and Sieve-King did not forward the report with his own comments for another seven weeks so the defences did not reach the Committee until September. McCullough agreed there had been 225 men in hospital at railhead at the time of Gracey's inspection but said they were in 22 tents, the ground being quite dry apart from some wetting round the edges after 3 days continuous rain. He himself had been "attending the wife of the Protectorate doctor at Naivasha at her approaching confinement." Sieve-King regretted his absence from the country on leave, complained about the shortage of reliable subordinate staff, pointed out that only 3 hospitals out of 10 were inspected and objected to "assistant surgeons with thorough medical educations who were properly qualified men" being referred to as hospital assistants. The Committee did not discuss the matter further.