Cover image for
Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E003879 - Cant, William Edmund (1844 - 1936)
Title:
Cant, William Edmund (1844 - 1936)
Author:
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Identifier:
RCS: E003879
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2013-04-18
Description:
Obituary for Cant, William Edmund (1844 - 1936), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Cant, William Edmund
Date of Birth:
30 June 1844
Place of Birth:
Colchester
Date of Death:
17 August 1936
Place of Death:
Colchester
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
MRCS 9 May 1867

FRCS 11 June 1874

MD Durham 1885

LRCP 1868

MBE
Details:
Born at Colchester, Essex, 30 June 1844, the only child of William Cant, seedgrower, and Elizabeth Cross, his wife. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Colchester, and afterwards entered St George's Hospital, where he acted as house surgeon. For some years he took house surgeoncies at the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital, at the Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich, and at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. From 1878 to 1885 he was surgeon in charge of the government lock hospitals and was assistant surgeon at the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital. He was, too, tutor in the medical school at Bristol. In March 1888 he went to Jerusalem under the auspices of the Order of St John of Jerusalem to take charge of their ophthalmic hospital, which at that time was the only hospital in Palestine devoted to the treatment of eye disease. Here he soon made a name for himself. In the early days many patients - nervous, wild, and free - escaped from the hospital and only returned months later in a worse state than when they had first been admitted. The skill and patience of Dr Cant, ably assisted by his wife, caused the Arabs in time to bring their children as well as their elders. The growth of the work led to the appointment of an English assistant ophthalmic surgeon and later still of English nurses in addition to the devoted native assistants who had been properly trained. Dr Cant resigned his position and returned to England in December 1911. As a reward for his services he was made a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, and was later decorated MBE. He died on 17 August 1936 at the Mill House, Lexden, Colchester, survived by his widow, nee Mary Hill, but without children. He was at the time of his death the senior FRCS. Mrs Cant died on 5 December 1936.
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Format:
Obituary
Format:
Asset
Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899
Media Type:
Unknown