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Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E006571 - Henderson, William Robert (1904 - 1975)
Title:
Henderson, William Robert (1904 - 1975)
Author:
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Identifier:
RCS: E006571
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2014-12-18
Description:
Obituary for Henderson, William Robert (1904 - 1975), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Henderson, William Robert
Date of Birth:
3 February 1904
Date of Death:
30 November 1975
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
OBE 1945

MRCS and FRCS 1934

MB ChB Edinburgh 1926
Details:
William Robert Henderson was born on 3 February 1904. He graduated in medicine at Edinburgh in 1926. In 1938 he was appointed first specialist neurosurgeon at Leeds but was only there for a year before he was selected as neurosurgeon-in-charge of the No 1 Army mobile neurosurgical unit based at Oxford. The unit worked, largely in general surgery, during the retreat to Dunkirk and was captured intact. His special qualities of determination, calm, surgical skill, and patience were of particular value at such a time and he became famous as one of the surgical team at the POW Hospital at Obermassfeld. During this period he gained a vast experience of peripheral nerve injuries and the effects of amputation and much of the carefully collected data later appeared in print. He was then transferred to Colditz. In 1945 he was appointed OBE for his distinguished services while a prisoner of war. After a few months attached to the military hospital for head injuries at Oxford, he returned to Leeds in 1946 and gradually expanded the neurosurgical service in the region. For 23 years his clinical commonsense and superb operating skills were an inspiration to many generations of trainees. As befitting a pupil of Harvey Cushing he had an abundance of patience at the bedside and in the theatre. He was greatly respected both locally and nationally and was for many years secretary and later President of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons. Among his memorable writings were those on pituitary tumours, basal meningiomas, phantom limbs, trigeminal neuralgia and angiomas. He died on 30 November 1975 leaving his wife, Mary, and a son and daughter.
Sources:
*Brit med J* 1976, 1, 345
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