Cover image for
Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E006577 - Higgs, Sidney Limbrey (1892 - 1977)
Title:
Higgs, Sidney Limbrey (1892 - 1977)
Author:
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Identifier:
RCS: E006577
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2014-12-18
Description:
Obituary for Higgs, Sidney Limbrey (1892 - 1977), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Higgs, Sidney Limbrey
Date of Birth:
1892
Place of Birth:
London
Date of Death:
21 November 1977
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
MRCS 1917

FRCS 1922

MA MB BCh Cambridge 1919

LRCP 1917
Details:
Sidney Limbrey Higgs was the son of a solicitor and was born in London on 12 September, 1892. From Whitgift School he went to St John's College, Cambridge, where he rowed in the Lady Margaret's first boat winning his oar. While a student at St Bartholomew's Hospital in August 1914, he served with a Red Cross Unit in France as a 'dresser' and in December 1914 in the Indian Medical Service hospital ship, Glengarn Castle, which took him to Egypt and Gallipoli. Qualifying from Bart's in 1917, he joined the Royal Navy as temporary Surgeon-Lieutenant, serving on HMS Shropshire and HMS Curlew until the end of the war. He completed his hospital training under Professor Gask and Sir Thomas Dunhill at Bart's and under Bankart and Trethowan as a surgical registrar of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. He became demonstrator in anatomy at Bart's obtaining his FRCS in 1922. He subsequently worked at the Military Orthopaedic Hospital in Shepherd's Bush (Hammersmith Hospital) and later at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, where he came under the influence of Sir Robert Jones and R C Elmslie, the orthopaedic surgeon at Bart's. He became assistant to Elmslie and eventually followed him as chief in Bart's and orthopaedic surgeon to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. During the second world war, Higgs organised a large orthopaedic unit at St Albans where most of Bart's had been evacuated. Apart from being a great organiser, he was dedicated to his patients but was autocratic, demanding meticulous attention to detail, and yet he generated affection and respect amongst his colleagues and pupils who made him President of the British Orthopaedic Association. His few leisure moments were spent fishing trout or salmon while his great joy was his boat, Lady Margaret. He became a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron after his retirement at West Wittering. In 1927 he married Betty Chune Fletcher, a war widow with two young children. He later had a daughter of his own who certainly shared his enthusiasm for sailing - becoming commodore of her yacht club. His wife died in 1954 and in his later years, Higgs suffered many personal sorrows and very poor physical health. He died on 21 November 1977 at the age of 85.
Sources:
*Brit med J* 1977, 2, 1552

*The Times* 22 November 1977
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/E006000-E006999/E006500-E006599
Media Type:
Unknown