Born in London 1 November 1903, the second child and only son of Alfred George Chamings, chief officer of the public control department, London County Council, and Bertha Wilson, his wife. He was educated at Westminster School (admitted 27 September 1917, non-resident King's Scholar September 1918, left August 1922 with Triplett exhibition, which is open to town-boys and scholars). He matriculated Michaelmas 1922 with an open scholarship in natural science at St Catherine's College, Cambridge and graduated with a second class in Part I of the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1925. He entered St George's Hospital in October 1925, having won an entrance scholarship. In 1926 he was the Brodie prizeman in clinical surgery, in 1927 the Thompson silver medallist for medicine and surgery, in 1928 he was awarded the Brackenbury surgical prize, and in 1929 he was Allingham scholar in surgery. He then served as house surgeon, house physician, and casualty officer, and having determined to devote himself to laryngology he was appointed chief assistant in the ear, nose, and throat department at St Thomas's Hospital and registrar at the Golden Square Throat Hospital. He was laryngologist at the Paddington Green Children's Hospital, and at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital for Children. He died of phthisis, unmarried, at Worthing on 21 February 1937, aged 33, having lived at 18 Sudbrooke Road, SW12, near his parents, and practised at 78 Wimpole Street, W1.