Cunningham, John Francis (1875 - 1932)
by
 
Royal College of Surgeons of England

Asset Name
E004129 - Cunningham, John Francis (1875 - 1932)

Title
Cunningham, John Francis (1875 - 1932)

Author
Royal College of Surgeons of England

Identifier
RCS: E004129

Publisher
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England

Publication Date
2013-06-20

Subject
Medical Obituaries

Description
Obituary for Cunningham, John Francis (1875 - 1932), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Language
English

Source
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows

Full Name
Cunningham, John Francis

Date of Birth
25 September 1875

Place of Birth
Kobe, Japan

Date of Death
13 July 1932

Place of Death
London

Occupation
Ophthalmic surgeon

Titles/Qualifications
OBE 1919
 
MRCS 8 February 1900
 
FRCS 14 December 1905
 
LRCP 1900

Details
Born at Kobe, Japan on 25 September 1875, the elder son of John Kirkaldy Cunningham, a merchant, and Florence Heaslop, his wife. His father retired from business and settled at Axminster in 1887, and sent his son to Sherborne School. He entered at Michaelmas term 1889 and left in 1894, having been captain of the school XV. He proceeded at once to St Thomas's Hospital and became known as a distinguished athlete, winning the mile in three successive years and playing football both for the hospital and the united hospitals. He filled the office of house surgeon, ophthalmic house surgeon, and the newly created post of ophthalmic-registrar. He also served as clinical assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, and was house physician at Bethlem Royal Hospital. He acted for a time as demonstrator of physiology in St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. In 1910 he joined the staff of the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital, and in 1920 he was appointed consulting surgeon to St Charles's Hospital, formerly the Marylebone Infirmary. During the first world war Cunning¬ham, with the rank of major, RAMC(T), served in France 1915-18, where he had remarkable success in the treatment of trachoma amongst many thousands of Egyptians and Chinese. For his services he was decorated OBE on 3 June 1919. He married on 17 June 1909 Phyllis Lovell, daughter of Mr Justice Clarence of the supreme court of Ceylon. She survived him with two sons and three daughters. Cunningham was a man of singularly lovable nature, which won for him the affection of all with whom he was brought in contact. He never spared himself, doing everything to the best of his ability, thinking only of the work and never of any reward. He was interested to the end of his life in the success of the Sherborne Old Boys Society. He acted for many years as its secretary, and brought it to the acme of success. He died in St Thomas's Hospital on 13 July 1932, and was buried in the cemetery at Sherborne. Publications:- Contagious diseases of the conjunctiva in wartime, with J Wharton. *Trans Ophthal Soc UK* 1918, 38, 18. Analysis of a series of cases of interstitial keratitis. *Ibid*. 1922, 42, 44. The eye and emergencies of general practice, in Sargent and Russell's *Emergencies of general practice*. London, 1910.

Sources
*The Times*, 15 July 1932, p 8e
 
*Brit Med J* 1932, 2, 275
 
Information given by Mrs Phyllis Cunningham

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/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199

URL for File
376312

Media Type
Unknown