Leicester, John Cyril Holdich (1872 - 1949)
by
 
Royal College of Surgeons of England

Asset Name
E004345 - Leicester, John Cyril Holdich (1872 - 1949)

Title
Leicester, John Cyril Holdich (1872 - 1949)

Author
Royal College of Surgeons of England

Identifier
RCS: E004345

Publisher
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England

Publication Date
2013-08-21

Subject
Medical Obituaries

Description
Obituary for Leicester, John Cyril Holdich (1872 - 1949), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Language
English

Source
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows

Full Name
Leicester, John Cyril Holdich

Date of Birth
29 March 1872

Place of Birth
Scarborough

Date of Death
19 May 1949

Place of Death
Newbury

Occupation
Gynaecologist

Titles/Qualifications
CIE 1927
 
MRCS 14 May 1896
 
FRCS 9 June 1898
 
BSc London 1893
 
MB 1896
 
MD 1897
 
BS 1898
 
LRCP 1896
 
MRCP 1905
 
FRCP 1923

Details
Born 29 March 1872 at Scarborough, third child and eldest son of the Rev John Augustus Leicester, a priest of the Church of England who held no regular living, and his wife Charlotte Eliza Holdich. He was educated at Dulwich College and University College, London, where he took honours in physiology at the BSc examination in 1893. He qualified in 1896 from University College Hospital, and held house appointments there and at the Samaritan Hospital for Women. He took the Fellowship in 1898. Leicester was commissioned a lieutenant in the Indian Medical Service on 28 January 1899, and saw active service in China during the Boxer rising of 1900, for which he received the medal. He was promoted captain in 1902 and major in 1910. During the war of 1914-18 he was on active service in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine, and was twice mentioned in despatches. In 1919 he served on the Afghan frontier. He had been promoted lieutenant-colonel in 1918. For the greater part of his career Leicester practised as a gynaecologist at Calcutta. He was for two and a half years resident surgeon under C R M Green and afterwards surgeon at the Eden Hospital for Women, Calcutta, and professor of midwifery and gynaecology in the Medical College. He took the MRCP in 1905 and was elected FRCP in 1923. In January 1924 he was placed on the select list for promotion in the IMS, served for a period as acting Surgeon-General of Bengal and was appointed an Honorary Surgeon to the Viceroy; he was created CIE in June and retired on 27 September 1927. He continued to practise privately at 6 Harington Street, Calcutta, but soon returned to London where he settled at 128 Chatsworth Road, NW2. He married on 3 December 1907 in St Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta, Queenie, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Dobson, MB, IMS, who survived him but without children. He died at his country home, Clare Cottage, Cold Ash, Newbury on 19 May 1949 aged 77. He left his entire fortune to be divided among numerous charities after his wife's life interest. Leicester was an excellent administrator, with a taste for detailed statistical investigations. He made numerous contributions to the Obstetrical Society and to the *Journal of Obstetrics*. He was an active churchman, gave valued service to the Oxford mission at Calcutta, and was a vestryman of Calcutta Cathedral. He was also a keen promoter of the Boy Scout movement in India and at home. Publications: Mechanical dilation of the cervix uteri in pregnancy. *J Obstet Gynaec Brit Emp* 1907, 11, 224. A short note on the duration of pregnancy and the relation between the weight of the child and the length of gestation of Europeans (in India), East Indians and natives. *Ibid* p 465. On the relation of the frequency of the foetal heart beat to the sex and weight of the child. *Ibid*, 1907, 12, 39. Menstruation in Europeans, Eurasians, and East Indians in India. *Ibid* 1910, 17, 414. A short note on the delivery of the foetal head after decapitation. *Surg Gynec Obstet* 1908, 7, 478.

Sources
Crawford's *Roll of the IMS*, general list, no 53
 
*Lancet*, 1949, 1, 1028, with appreciation by Lieut-Colonel V B Green-Armytage, FRCP, IMS
 
information from Mrs Holdich Leicester
 
*The Times*, 16 August 1949, will and list of charitable bequests

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/E004300-E004399

URL for File
376528

Media Type
Unknown