Search Results forSirsiDynix Enterprisehttps://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/lives/lives/ps$003d300?2025-10-02T19:18:30ZFirst Title value, for Searching Keast-Butler, John (1937 - 2005)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725312025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372531">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372531</a>372531<br/>Occupation Ophthalmologist<br/>Details John Keast-Butler was a consultant ophthalmologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. He was born in London on 26 September 1937. His father, Joseph Alfred Keast-Butler, was a salesman and his mother, Mary Loise Brierley, was a secretary. He was educated at University College School and went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, to read medicine, going on to University College Hospital for his clinical studies.
After National Service in the RAMC he specialised in ophthalmology, at first as a registrar at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, then as a senior resident officer at Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road, and finally as a senior registrar at St Thomas’s Hospital and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases. In 1977 he was appointed as a consultant ophthalmic surgeon to Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust, Cambridge University Teaching Hospitals Trust and Saffron Walden Community Hospital. In addition he was associate lecturer (medicine) at the University of Cambridge, director of studies (clinical medicine) at Trinity College, Cambridge, and attachment director in ophthalmology, University of Cambridge School of Medicine.
He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, chairman of the BMA ophthalmic group committee for some years and honorary secretary of the Cambridge Medical Graduates’ Club. His colleagues rightly described him as a big man in stature and in personality. He was a skilled craftsman and enjoyed carpentry, photography and gardening.
He married Brigid Hardy, a nurse, in 1967 and they had three children – one daughter (a civil servant) and two sons (a trainee ophthalmic surgeon and a business analyst). He died on 19 March 2005 while travelling with his wife in Goa. He had a major fall that proceeded a fatal pulmonary embolism.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000345<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Lange, Meyer John (1912 - 2005)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725322025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372532">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372532</a>372532<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Meyer John Lange, known as ‘Nick’, was a consultant surgeon at New End and Royal Free hospitals, London. He was born on 5 August 1912 in Worcester, South Africa, the second son of Sally Lange, a government contractor, and Sarah née Schur. His older brother also became a doctor. Nick studied at Worcester Boys High School and the University of Cape Town, before going to England to Guy’s Hospital, where he qualified in 1935.
After junior posts he joined the RAF at the outbreak of the Second World War, and rose to the rank of squadron leader. He became a consultant surgeon at New End Hospital, Hampstead, and later at the Royal Free Hospital. He was a specialist in the surgery of the thyroid gland, being influenced by Sir Geoffrey Keynes and by Sir Heneage Ogilvie, who had been on the staff of Hampstead General Hospital before transferring to Guy’s Hospital. At New End he was a colleague of the charismatic John (Jack) Piercy, who had been born in Canada, and who had built up an endocrine unit, created by the London County Council, which was to become internationally famous. Nick published extensively on thyroid surgery and myasthenia gravis. He was a quiet, modest but charming colleague, and a meticulous and excellent surgeon – a surgeon’s surgeon.
He married a Miss Giles in 1945 and they had one son and one daughter, who studied medicine at Guy’s. Nick Lange died on 27 November 2005.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000346<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching MacFarlane, Campbell (1941 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725332025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10 2008-12-12<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372533">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372533</a>372533<br/>Occupation Trauma surgeon<br/>Details Campbell MacFarlane was a trauma surgeon who served with distinction in the Royal Army Medical Corps, before emigrating to South Africa, where he became the foundation professor of emergency medicine at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. He was born on 16 October 1941 in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland, the son of George MacFarlane and Anne Christessen Gove Lowe, and was educated at Webster’s High School, Kirriemuir. He gained a Kitchener scholarship and attended the University of St Andrews, graduating with commendation in 1965. While at university he gained several distinctions and medals, including a student scholarship to Yale University for the summer term of 1964.
After house jobs he joined the RAMC, where he won medals for military studies, military surgery, tropical medicine, army health and military psychiatry from the Royal Army Medical College. He was then posted to Singapore, where, in 1971, he was the first westerner to obtain the MMed in surgery from the University of Singapore. He passed the FRCS Edinburgh in the same year.
Over the next decade he worked in civilian and military hospitals in Catterick, Eastern General Hospital (Edinburgh), Musgrave Park Hospital (Belfast), Cambridge Military Hospital (Aldershot), Birmingham Accident Hospital, Guy’s Hospital (London), Queen Alexandra Military Hospital (Millbank), Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital (Woolwich), Westminster Hospital, St Mark’s Hospital (London), as well as the British military hospitals in Rinteln, Berlin, Hannover and Iserlohn in Germany. He saw active service in Oman, Belize and Belfast while commanding a parachute field surgical team. In Northern Ireland he performed life-saving surgery not only on soldiers but also on members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The parachute unit was also deployed on NATO exercises in the UK, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Turkey. Finally, he was appointed senior lecturer in military surgery at the Royal Army Medical College, Millbank, where his lectures were avidly attended. He was a contributor to the *Field surgery pocket book* (London, HMSO, 1981) and carried out research at the Porton Down Research Establishment, which benefitted from his extensive battle surgery experience.
He retired as a lieutenant colonel after 16 years active service. He was appointed chief of surgery at the Al Zahra Hospital in the United Arab Emirates in 1981 and there proceeded to set up its first private hospital. In 1984 he accepted the position of chief of surgery and director of emergency room services at the Royal Commission Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Two years later, in 1986, he moved to Johannesburg to become senior specialist in the trauma unit at Johannesburg Hospital and senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as principal of the Transvaal Provincial Administration Ambulance Training College. A decade later he became head of emergency medical services training for the Gauteng Provincial Government, South Africa, and in 2004 he was appointed to the founding Netcare chair of emergency medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Campbell maintained his international contacts and visited the UK regularly. After gaining the diploma with distinction in the medical care of catastrophes from the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, he lectured on their course and became an examiner. Campbell was a member of the editorial boards of *Trauma*, *Emergency Medicine* and the *Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps*. In 1999 he was the Mitchiner lecturer to the Royal Army Medical Corps and in 2000 gave the Hunterian lecture at the College on the management of gunshot wounds.
He was a founder member and chairman of the Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa. He was elected as a fellow of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, a fellow of the Faculty of Emergency Medicine (UK) and a founding fellow of the Faculty of Pre-hospital Care at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
His many outside interests included scuba diving, military history, languages (Afrikaans, French and Spanish), martial arts and sailing. He married Jane Fretwell in 1966, by whom he had two daughters (Catriona and Alexina) and a son (Robert). They were divorced in 1986. He died unexpectedly at JFK Airport in New York on 7 June 2006 while returning from representing South Africa at a meeting of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine in Halifax, Canada.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000347<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching McNeill, John Fletcher (1926 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725342025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372534">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372534</a>372534<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details John Fletcher McNeill, always known as ‘Ian’, was a surgeon at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle. He was born on 15 March 1926 in Yoker, near Glasgow, the youngest of the five children of John Henry Fletcher McNeill, a teacher, and Annie McLachlan, a housewife. The family moved from Glasgow to Newcastle when he was a baby and there he attended Lemington Grammar School. He entered King’s College Medical School, Durham University, a year younger than he should in 1943. There, in addition to serving in the Home Guard, he won the Tulloch scholarship for preclinical studies, the Outterson Wood prize for psychological medicine and the Philipson scholarship in surgery. He qualified in 1949 with honours.
After house posts at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he did his National Service in the RAF with Fighter Command. In 1952 he returned to the professorial unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary as a senior house officer. A year later he was demonstrator of anatomy and then completed a series of registrar posts at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Shotley Bridge, before returning to the surgical unit as a senior registrar.
From this position he was seconded as Harvey Cushing fellow to the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, from 1961 to 1962, where he carried out research on the effects of haemorrhage and cortical suprarenal hormones on the partition of body water, which led to his MS thesis.
He returned to Newcastle as first assistant, until he was appointed lecturer (with consultant status) at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in 1963, as well as honorary consultant in vascular surgery, consultant in charge of the casualty department and honorary consultant to the Princess Mary Maternity Hospital. He was one of the first to restore a severed arm, and he developed a g-suit to control bleeding from a ruptured aorta. He wrote extensively, mainly on vascular and metabolic disorders.
In 1957 he married Alma Mary Robson, a theatre sister at the Royal Victoria Hospital. He had many interests, including Egyptology, art, swimming, cricket, woodwork and travel. He died on 8 March 2006 from cancer of the lung, and is survived by his daughter Jane.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000348<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nixon, John Moylett Gerrard (1913 - 2005)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725352025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372535">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372535</a>372535<br/>Occupation Ophthalmologist<br/>Details John Nixon was a consultant ophthalmologist in Dorset. He was born in London on 18 October 1913, the son of Joseph Wells Nixon, a grocer, and Ellen Theresa née Moylett, and educated at Cardinal Vaughan School, Holland Park, London, Presentation College Bray in County Wicklow, Blackrock College in Dublin and Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare. His medical training and his house jobs were at Trinity College Dublin, where he qualified in 1937. He held junior posts at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Croydon General and Oldchurch hospitals.
He served throughout the Second World War in the Navy, mainly on convoy work, particularly to north Russia and Malta.
Following his demobilisation he trained as an ophthalmologist. Interestingly he was the last house surgeon at the Tite Street branch of Moorfields just before the introduction of the National Health Service. After working as ophthalmic registrar at Maidenhead Hospital he was appointed consultant ophthalmologist at Weymouth and this service included clinics at Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne. He was considered by his colleagues to be a ‘magnificent medical ophthalmologist’.
He married Hilary Anne née Paterson in 1943. Sadly she died of a cerebral tumour. His second wife was Ione Mary née Stoneham. He had six children, three from each marriage, Patrick Michael, Hilary Anne, Peter John, Monica, Paula and Andrew. John Nixon died at the age of 92 on 8 April 2005.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000349<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rowntree, Thomas Whitworth (1916 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725362025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372536">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372536</a>372536<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Tom Rowntree was a consultant surgeon in Southampton. He was born at 9, Upper Brook Street, London, W1 on 10 July 1916. His father, Cecil Rowntree, was a consultant surgeon at the Cancer (now Royal Marsden) Hospital, London, and held several other honorary posts in and around the city. His mother was Katherine Aylmer Whitworth Jones, the daughter of an opera singer. After his preparatory education, Tom went to Radley, where he passed the Higher School Certificate and matriculated for St John’s College, Cambridge, in 1933. He went up in the autumn of 1934 after an agreeable intervening six months in Rome – where he became fluent in Italian and attended anatomy classes at the university. He graduated from Cambridge in 1937 with a 2:1 degree in the natural sciences tripos (gaining a first in anatomy). He then went to St Bartholomew’s Hospital for his clinical training, where he also joined the Territorial Army (as a second lieutenant). At Bart’s he won the Matthews Duncan prize and qualified in 1941.
At the outbreak of the Second World War Bart’s was moved to Hill End Hospital and there Tom was appointed house surgeon to James (later Professor Sir James) Paterson Ross, and then to John O’Connell, neurosurgeon. He then got a job demonstrating anatomy at Cambridge and passed the final FRCS in 1942. He returned to Hill End as chief assistant and was commissioned as a full lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps.
1942 was a landmark year for Tom for another very particular reason; it was while back at Cambridge that he met his future wife, Barbara – Dr Barbara Sibbald as she then was. They became engaged that year and married the next. They had four children, a boy and three girls. Their son became an orthopaedic surgeon and one of their daughters qualified at Bart’s, like her father, and became a general practitioner.
In 1944 Tom was posted to India as a captain in the RAMC. He was released from the Army with the rank of major in 1947. After various jobs, including accident room surgeon at Reading, a registrarship at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and an honorary post at the Italian Hospital in London, he successfully applied for a consultant general surgical job in Southampton and started there in 1951.
Tom was the quintessential general surgeon, the very embodiment of the best. He emphasised the importance of a detailed history, taken patiently, claiming it made up some 80 per cent of a diagnosis. He advocated, for instance, that the clinician sit at the bed/couch-side when examining the abdomen, the better to ensure, through the examiner’s bodily ease, that the examination is both gentle and unhurried; just one valuable lesson amongst many others. He independently discovered the curious phenomenon of abdominal wall tenderness in patients with non-specific abdominal pain, an immensely valuable physical sign.
Tom’s clinical honesty demanded a searching but always kind and constructive analysis of any complication. His surgical technique was superb, always anatomical and scrupulously protective of vital structures. This manual felicity transferred readily to a long-time recreational interest, cabinet making, at which he excelled. He worked extraordinarily long hours at the hospital.
His, too, was a most intelligent and enquiring mind. Its rigour – a notable characteristic – found expression in his concern that words, the vehicles of thought, be appropriate and joined in clear, simple, sentences. His intelligence, too, dominated the newly formed Southampton medical executive committee, of which he was the first Chairman, and through it deftly managed the birth of the Southampton Medical School. Tom’s surgical standing was recognised in his presidency of the surgical section of the Royal Society of Medicine. His presidential address was constructed from his large personal series of parathyroidectomies.
He retired in 1981 to fish, make beautiful desks for each of his grandchildren and to interest himself in almost anything; it seemed, as with Dr Samuel Johnson, that there was no fact so trivial that he would rather not be in possession of it. Two weeks before he died he won the *Times Literary Supplement* crossword puzzle. On top of all this it should be added that Tom was a fair man, a good companion and had a lovely sense of humour. In short, he was quite a chap. He died on 26 February 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000350<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Salz, Michael Heinz (1916 - 2005)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725372025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372537">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372537</a>372537<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Michael Salz was an orthopaedic surgeon in Plymouth. He was born in Breslau, Germany, the only child of an eminent lawyer. He was sent to St John’s College, Cambridge, in 1935, and the family moved to England in 1938. From Cambridge Michael went to the Middlesex Hospital for his clinical studies, and qualified with the conjoint diploma in 1940.
He did his house jobs in Exeter under the auspices of Norman Capener, where he met his wife Veronica (‘Bunty’) Hall, whom he married in 1948. He then did his general surgical training in Colchester and, after passing the FRCS, returned to Exeter to continue his orthopaedic training. He was soon appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to Mount Gold Orthopaedic Hospital, Plymouth, and Plymouth General Hospital, where he remained until his retirement in 1981.
He was president of the Plymouth Medical Society in 1977 and a founder member of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Surgical Society, of which he was secretary for many years, well into his retirement. He was a fellow of the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Society for the Surgery of the Hand, as well as an active member of the Orthopaedic Ski Club. He had a very extensive medico-legal practice in which he remained active until the last year of his life. He died on 17 June 2005, and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, and six grandchildren.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000351<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Scott, James Steel (1924 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725382025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372538">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372538</a>372538<br/>Occupation Obstetrician and gynaecologist<br/>Details James Scott was professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Leeds University. He was born in Glasgow on 18 April 1924, the elder son of Angus McAlpine Scott and Margaret Scott. He was educated at Glasgow Academy and then studied medicine at Glasgow University, gaining his obstetric experience at the Rotunda, Dublin. After qualifying he completed his National Service in West Africa.
Following his demobilisation he trained in obstetrics and gynaecology at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, London, and then in Birmingham, before moving to Liverpool in 1954 as an obstetric tutor. He became a lecturer and then senior lecturer, at a time when Sir Thomas Jeffcoate was head of the department. Here Scott carried out research into placental abnormalities.
He was appointed to the chair of obstetrics at Leeds in 1961, becoming dean of medicine in 1986. His main interest was fetoplacental function, and he was the first to recognise that transplacental passage of harmful maternal antibodies could lead to hyperthyroidism and shortage of platelets in the newborn. He had a particular interest in pre-eclampsia, which he discovered was more common and more serious in pregnancies where the mother had a new male partner, and carried out research into repeated miscarriage. He was much in demand as a visiting professor.
Always hyperactive, he detested golf, though he wrote a biography of Alister McKenzie, a designer of golf courses. He was a keen skier, was passionate about opera, the arts in general and his house in Scotland. He died from prostate cancer on 17 September 2006, and is survived by his wife Olive (née Sharpe), a consultant paediatric cardiologist, and two sons.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000352<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Till, Anthony Stedman (1909 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725392025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372539">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372539</a>372539<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Anthony Stedman Till, known as ‘Tim’, was a consultant surgeon in Oxford. He was born in London, on 5 September 1909, the eldest son of Thomas Marson Till OBE, an accountant, and Gladys Stedman, the daughter of a metal broker in the City. Tim was educated at Ovingdean Hall, Brighton, and Marlborough, before winning a scholarship to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from which he went to the Middlesex Hospital to do his clinical training as a university scholar. After he qualified he was house physician, house surgeon, casualty officer and registrar, and then became an assistant to Sir Gordon Gordon-Taylor, who was a large influence on him. Tim also studied in Heidelberg and became fluent in German.
In 1940 he joined the RAMC, and in the same year married Joan Burnyeat, the daughter of Colonel Ponsonby Burnyeat, who had been killed in 1918. Tim was posted to the Middle East, via Cape Town and Suez. He was taken prisoner during the battle for Lemros and was shipped, via Athens, to Stalag 7A. While a prisoner-of-war he operated not only on his fellow prisoners but also on the local civilians, and later, possibly as a result of his services to the local population, he was repatriated to the UK. He was soon back on the continent with the 181st Field Ambulance, and was with the first medical group to enter Belsen. He was always reluctant to talk about the sights he saw, which made a huge impression on him, but did remember how he picked a flower there, finding this a symbol of hope.
Shortly after demobilisation in 1945 he was appointed as a registrar in Oxford and, soon afterwards, consultant surgeon. His special interests were thyroid and abdominal surgery, where he made notable contributions in both fields. He was President of the section of surgery of the Royal Society of Medicine, President of the Association of Surgeons, and a member of the Court of Examiners of our College.
Outside the profession, he served as a magistrate. He hunted with the Heythrop, and when he gave up riding he bought himself a mountain bike so that he could ‘ride out’ every morning. In retirement he was the District Commissioner – an onerous task. He was also a skilled fisherman and an accomplished artist in oils and watercolour. He had a long and happy retirement in the Cotswolds with his wife Joan, who gave him stalwart support. He died on 31 August 2006, leaving his widow, three daughters (the eldest predeceased him), ten grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000353<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Walt, Alexander Jeffrey (1923 - 1996)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725402025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10 2022-02-03<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372540">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372540</a>372540<br/>Occupation General surgeon Trauma surgeon<br/>Details Alexander Walt was a former president of the American College of Surgeons. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1923 and went to school and university there.
After qualifying in 1948 he completed his house jobs at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, before winning a Dominion studentship to Guy’s Hospital in 1951. He then completed a surgical residency in the USA, at the Mayo Clinic, from 1952 to 1956. He returned to the UK, as a surgical registrar at St Martin’s Hospital, Bath, where he remained until 1957. He then went back to Cape Town, to the Groote Schuur Hospital, as an assistant surgeon for the next four years. He was subsequently appointed to Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, USA, where in 1966 he became professor and chairman of the department of surgery.
He was recognised by his peers by his election to the presidency of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma in 1997, the presidency of the Western Surgical Association in 1987, and the presidency of the American College of Surgeons in 1995.
**See below for an additional obituary uploaded 8 October 2015:**
Alec Walt was born in Cape Town in 1923, the son of Isaac Walt, a wholesale grocer who had emigrated to South Africa from Lithuania to escape the pogrom. When only two and a half years of age, his mother, Lea, née Garb, and two sisters were killed in a train crash, but his father was determined that all three sons be educated – and all three became doctors. At Grey High School in Port Elizabeth he distinguished himself as a sportsman and formed a lifelong friendship with Bill (later Sir Raymond) Hoffenberg. Together they entered the University of Cape Town as medical students in 1940, but an acute sense of patriotism led them to volunteer for service with the army medical corps – which was approved only at the third attempt. They served for three and a half years with the 6th SA Armoured Division and 5th US Army in Egypt and Greece, and throughout the whole of the Italian campaign, during which time they spent many hours planning how to fail trivial army examinations so that they could remain together as privates in the same unit. It was service with a surgical team in the field which instilled a long-abiding interest in trauma and served him well in later years during his time in Detroit. He played rugby for the Mediterranean forces, and was disappointed that circumstances did not allow him to accept a place in the army team in London where he hoped to see his brother after a 25 year absence. With army planning at the time, he also missed the appointment for an interview for a possible Rhodes scholarship.
On demobilisation in 1945, Alec Walt returned to medical school, graduating in 1948 and serving his internship in Groote Schuur Hospital. In 1947 he married Irene Lapping, with whom he had been close friends since boyhood, and they went abroad for his surgical training, firstly to attend the basic science course for the primary fellowship of the College, and then to undertake residency training at the Mayo Clinic. While there he qualified FRCS Canada in 1955 and MS Minnesota in 1956. Returning to England as surgical registrar at St Martin’s Hospital, Bath, he took his final FRCS in 1956 before returning to Groote Schuur with his wife and three children – John Richard, born in 1952, Steven David, born in 1954, and Lindsay Jane, born in 1955 – as an assistant surgeon and lecturer. However, he became increasingly concerned that his family should not be brought up in the political climate of South Africa and in 1961 left a flourishing practice to return to the United States and an appointment with the Veterans Hospital in Detroit. His abilities were clearly recognised, for in 1965 he was appointed Chief of Surgery at Detroit General (later Receiving) Hospital, and the following year Chairman of Surgery and Penerthy Professor of Surgery of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, from which he retired in 1988. He was assistant and, from 1968 to 1970, associate dean of the medical school.
As Professor of Surgery, Alec Walt gained recognition as a superb teacher and distinguished academic. He was designated ‘clinical teacher of the year’ on no fewer than three occasions and in 1984 received the Lawrence M Weiner award of the Alumni Association for outstanding achievements as a non-alumnus. On his retirement in 1988, he was a visiting fellow in Oxford with his old friend Bill Hoffenberg, then President of Wolfson College and also of the Royal College of Physicians. He was elected to the Academy of Scholars and was designated Distinguished Professor of Surgery of Wayne State University.
Alec Walt’s avid thirst for knowledge made him an active and prolific clinical investigator, his 165 published papers and reviews concentrating on the surgery of trauma and of hepatobiliary disease which, along with breast cancer, were his prime interests. His army experience, which endowed him with unusual skills in the organisation of trauma services, stood him in good stead during the Detroit riots in 1967, when his paper on the anatomy of a civil disturbance and its impact on disaster planning was a classic. On four occasions he took surgical trauma teams for training in Colombia, whose government presented him with the Jorge Bejarano medal in 1981 Principal author of the first paper describing the prognostic value of oestrogen receptors in breast cancer, he was an active participant in therapeutic trials in this disease and latterly became a strong proponent of the need for multidisciplinary care. His final contribution to Detroit surgery was his development of the Comprehensive Breast Center in the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, now named the Alexander J Walt Center.
Alec Walt had a distinctive clarity of writing and speaking which led to his appointment to the editorial boards of several medical journals, including the <i>Archives of surgery</i> and the <i>Journal of trauma</i>. He was in great demand as a lecturer, honouring numerous prestigious national and international commitments. He was Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1969 and Moynihan Lecturer in 1988, and in 1995 gave a keynote address at the 75th Anniversary Meeting of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. He held leadership positions in many North American surgical organisations, including the Presidency of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the American Board of Medical Specialties and was Vice-President of the American Surgical Association. He was elected an honorary Fellow of the College of Surgeons of South Africa in 1989, and of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Australasia in 1993 and 1995 respectively.
A keen contributor to the affairs of the American College of Surgeons, Alec Walt served as a Regent from 1984 to 1993 and as Chairman of the Board of Regents from 1991 to 1993. He was elected 75th President in 1994, an office to which he immediately brought great panache. Unfortunately, during his presidential year he developed a massive recurrence of a bladder cancer, first treated twelve years previously. With typical courage he elected to have chemotherapy ‘spaced’ so that he could preside over the Annual Clinical Meeting, at which his successor was to be inaugurated.
The attributes which contributed to Alec Walt’s great distinction as an academic surgeon were a keen intelligence, capacity for hard work, absolute integrity, a deep concern for all people, particularly the young, and, greatest of all, a deep and sincere humility. He did not suffer fools gladly and had no hesitation in attacking the uncritical, unscientific or badly presented paper with a characteristic irony; but he would always have a kind congratulatory word for those who had given of their best. A top sportsman – champion hurdler at school, captain of cricket and an athletic Blue at university – he led by example, not dictate. Realising a boyhood dream of climbing to 17,000 feet in Nepal with one of his sons and his daughter at the age of 62 while recovering from treatment of his bladder cancer, he took with him Tennyson’s Ulysses, a favourite poem, passages from which he would loudly declaim. He was devoted to his wife Irene, his three children, his son-in-law and his 20 month old granddaughter Eve Lenora, all of whom gave him the love and respect which nourished him throughout his professional life, and supported him during his final illness. Alec described his mother as a ‘homemaker’, and his wife had been no less. From the earliest days of his marriage Irene provided a home with an ever-open door, a kindness which endeared her to impoverished and hungry British fellows at the Mayo Clinic, of which I was one.
Vivid personal memories of Alec Walt are firstly early days together in Rochester, Minnesota when, as the deluded captain of the first and only Mayo Clinic cricket team which lost their match in Chicago he chastised us for our dismal performance and undisciplined behaviour on the previous night; later, when as visiting professor to his department in Detroit, joint discussions with his students revealed the depth of his feelings for the inequalities of care for women with breast cancer which, later on at midnight in the emergency room, was extended to all of those others whom society had deprived; then at the Asian Association of Surgeons when, as President of the American College of Surgeons he gave a masterly address on surgical training, during which his deep sense of responsibility for the future of young surgeons was only too evident; and finally, on the beach in Bali, when we shared our feelings of good fortune to have had a job in life which had provided us both with such great fulfilment, pleasure, and even fun. Shortly before his death he advised his son John to ‘work hard, be honest, and the rest will take care of itself’ – advice which is exemplified by the life he led.
He died on 29 February 1996 aged 72, survived by his wife Irene and his children – John, a lawyer, Steven, a professor of law, and Lindsay Jane, a sculptress.
Sir A Patrick Forrest with assistance from Mrs Irene Walt<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000354<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Smith, Rodney, Baron Smith of Marlow in the County of Buckinghamshire (1914 - 1998)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725412025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372541">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372541</a>372541<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Lord Smith was one of our great presidents. Successive holders of that office have faced many and various challenges, but by any measure the confrontation between the Labour government and the BMA from 1974 to 1975 was a major crisis that threatened the future of consultant practice. Rodney Smith, as he was then, was equal to the occasion; by behind the scenes diplomacy he played a vital part in the resolution of the conflict. Yet this was only one of the many tasks he successfully undertook on behalf of the College in a long and ambitious career. In parallel, he developed a formidable surgical skill, combined with a bold and innovative approach, which made him a world leader in the field of pancreatico-biliary surgery.
Surgery was not however his only skill – he was endowed with an enviable array of talents which would have enabled him to succeed in any career of his choice. In his youth, he was an accomplished violinist and had contemplated music as a profession. He stayed with surgery because, he was wont to remark, a surgeon could enjoy music, but a musician could hardly undertake surgery as a hobby. As a medical student he still found time to play cricket for Surrey second XI and on a memorable occasion scored a double century at the Oval while working for the primary. Golf came easily to him, chess was a fascinating contest, but bridge was a more serious business, which brought him into contact with both sides of the political divide. In retirement, he took up painting with his customary success, maintaining at the same time his expertise in numismatics and opera. In all these fields he was driven by the urge to excel and, although in public his ambition was decently cloaked, it was never entirely concealed.
His father, Edwin Smith, was a south London coroner, his mother, Edith Catherine née Dyer, a professional violinist, and it is hardly surprising therefore that medicine and music engaged his early interests. After schooling at Westminster, which he left early after a row with the headmaster, Dr Costley-White, about an intended performance at the Chelsea Music Festival, he crossed the river to St Thomas’s for his medical training, conceiving there an admiration for Philip Mitchiner, a forthright and plain spoken surgeon whose earthy sense of humour was to provide an endless source of anecdotes for later after dinner speeches.
Rodney qualified in 1937, but the sudden death of his father precluded him from taking the unpaid resident posts at St Thomas’s to which his student achievements would have entitled him. After a spell of general practice in Wimbledon, he passed his FRCS examination and in 1939 was appointed surgical registrar at the Middlesex Hospital, then staffed by an outstanding group of general surgeons. Senior amongst these was Sir Alfred, later Lord, Webb Johnson, shortly to become the long-serving President of the College and chief architect of our post-war reconstruction. It was Webb Johnson who first impressed upon Rodney the importance of the College to the profession and the prestige which attached to those who attained high office in it. Thereafter the College was to be the focus of his ambitions and a determination to fit himself for its service was to be the mainspring of his working life.
In the meantime, war provided for him, as for so many surgeons, invaluable opportunities. He joined the RAMC in 1941 and with both the MS and FRCS was recognised as a surgical specialist. He served in North Africa, Yugoslavia and Italy, being wounded at Anzio. War surgery gave him the necessary practical experience required for the development of technical excellence in the operating theatre and shortly after demobilisation, in 1946, he was appointed as consultant surgeon to St George’s Hospital. Rodney Smith made it the most famous centre in Britain for the treatment of major biliary and pancreatic disorders, with a reputation which rivalled that of his friend Cattell in Boston.
He was a prolific author, writing books and contributing to surgical journals, and was a hard working editor of multi-volume standard texts. His *Operative surgery* (London, Butterworths, 1960), which ran to many editions, written and edited in co-operation with Charles Rob of St Mary’s, was particularly successful. His popularity as a lecturer brought him many invitations to centres abroad. A spell as a visiting professor in Sydney gained him an honorary Fellowship in the Royal Australasian College, the first of many such honours.
The busy life of travel and practice left him little time to devote to his own medical school, but it did not divert him from the Royal College of Surgeons, which he was determined to serve, first in the humble, later in the most prestigious capacity. He gained the Jacksonian prize in 1951, he delivered Hunterian Professorial lectures in 1947 and 1952. In 1957, he took the post of Penrose May tutor and successfully organised clinical surgery courses for postgraduates. In 1962, he was appointed to the Court of Examiners and in 1965 was elected to the Council. In the following year, he became Dean of the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, an enterprise run jointly by the College and the University of London and in need of revitalising. He proved to be popular with both the staff and students, and the Institute thrived under his administration. There could never be any doubt that he would become President, but due to the death in office in 1973 of Edward Muir, he achieved that position earlier than expected.
Rodney Smith came to the presidency fully prepared: he combined management skills with a proper regard for the ceremonial and had an agreeable affability on social occasions. He could of course be a hard task-master and intolerant of weakness or failure, but his zeal in the promotion of the high status of the College, paralleling his own ambitions, was unfaltering. His influence on the profession was far reaching, he had a wide circle of acquaintances, but few friends. His position and his acknowledged technical prowess brought him numerous invitations to be guest professor or eponymous lecturer, he received gold medals and no less than nine honorary fellowships, all of which he received with aplomb.
In 1975, he was awarded the KBE and was clearly marked out for a role in national affairs, meanwhile the state of the NHS was causing a crisis of morale in the profession. Barbara Castle, Minister of Health in the incoming Labour government, was determined to create a whole-time salaried hospital service, eliminating private beds in NHS hospitals, which Bevan had allowed in 1948 to secure the co-operation of the consultants. The matter came to a head with a strike by hospital domestic staff unions, aimed at ousting private practice from the NHS, and the BMA reacted by calling for a work to rule by consultants. This was a strategy the College could not condone, even though its objectives were agreed. Overt political action was of course ruled out by the College’s charitable status and direct opposition to the BMA would clearly not unite the profession. Rodney Smith effectively used his diplomatic skills to help resolve the impasse, and emerged with great credit and with his leadership of the profession recognised by both government and opposition.
Rodney Smith married Mary Rodwell in 1938 and they had four children – Martin, Andrew, Elinor and Robert. He divorced in 1971 and married Susan Fry in the same year. There are six grandchildren. He died on 1 July 1998 at the age of 84.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000355<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Cook, Charles Alfred George (1913 - 2003)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725422025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372542">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372542</a>372542<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Charles Cook was an ophthalmic surgeon in London. He was born on 20 August 1913. His medical education was at Guy’s Hospital, where he qualified in 1939.
During the war he served in the RAMC with great distinction. In 1944 he was awarded the George Medal for rescuing two gunners, pulling one from a burning truck, and leading another out of a minefield. Within four months he was again commended for his courage, gaining the Military Cross for his bravery in treating and evacuating the wounded under heavy shellfire during the March 1945 break into Germany.
After the war he turned to ophthalmology and was initially appointed consultant ophthalmic surgeon to West Middlesex Hospital, Isleworth. He was subsequently appointed consultant ophthalmic surgeon to Moorfields and Guy’s hospitals, and for many years was vice-dean of the Institute of Ophthalmology.
He was married to Edna. An intensely private man, he died on 24 December 2003.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000356<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Dunstone, George Hargreaves (1925 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725432025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372543">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372543</a>372543<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details George Hargreaves ‘Steve’ Dunstone was a consultant general surgeon at Dryburn Hospital. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring, county Durham, on 23 October 1925, the son of William Anthony Hargreaves, a jeweller and watchmaker, and Elsie Bailey, the daughter of a schoolmaster. He was educated at the primary and grammar schools in Houghton-le-Spring, from which he won a county scholarship to King’s College, Newcastle upon Tyne, in the University of Durham.
After qualifying, he completed junior posts at Darlington Memorial Hospital and the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton. From 1949 to 1951 he did his National Service in the RAMC in Malaya with the Gurkha Rifles.
On demobilisation he trained as a surgeon at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, where he developed a particular interest in vascular and oesophageal surgery under Kenneth McKeown.
He was appointed consultant general surgeon at Dryburn Hospital in 1964, where his outstanding technical expertise attracted many trainees from Australia. He was postgraduate surgical tutor and college tutor for our College, and an active member of the Vascular Surgical Society and the Hadrian Surgical Club. He was president of the North of England Surgical Society from 1984 to 1985.
In 1955 he married in 1955 Mavis Blewitt, by whom he had two daughters. His many interests included fly-fishing and travel, particularly to France, and the game of bowls. He was a governor of Durham High School for Girls and a member of Hatfield College of Durham University. He died on 15 November 2006 from bronchopneumonia and essential thrombocythaemia, leaving his wife, two daughters and two grandsons.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000357<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hickey, Brian Brendan (1912 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725442025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372544">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372544</a>372544<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Brendan Hickey was a consultant general surgeon and urologist at Morrison Hospital, Swansea, and spent some time as a professor of surgery in Khartoum and as a surgical specialist to the Iraq government. He was born on 20 June 1912 in Newton Hyde, Cheshire, where his father, John Edward Hickey, was a schoolmaster. His mother was Grace Neil née Dykes. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, from which he won an open scholarship to University College, Oxford, where he won the Theodore Williams scholarship in pathology. At the London Hospital he won the Treeves and Lethby prizes.
After qualifying he did house appointments at the London under Sir James Walton and Douglas Northfield, and had passed the FRCS before the war broke out. He joined the RAMC, rising to be lieutenant colonel, and after the war continued as a keen member of the Territorial Army, becoming colonel in charge of Third Western General Hospital and honorary surgeon to the Queen. He was Hunterian Professor in 1958.
He married in 1939 Marjorie Flynn, by whom he had one son, who became a doctor, and two daughters. Brendan Hickey died on 3 August 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000358<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hickinbotham, Paul Frederick John (1917 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725452025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372545">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372545</a>372545<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Paul Hickinbotham was a consultant surgeon in Leicester. He was born in Birmingham on 21 March 1917, the second son of Frederick John Long Hickinbotham, an export merchant and JP, and Gertrude née Ball. He was educated at West House School, Birmingham, and Rugby, and went on to Birmingham to do his medical training, qualifying in 1939. There he was much influenced by H H Sampson, a charismatic general surgeon from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Hickinbotham went on to specialise in surgery, becoming resident surgical officer at Bradford Royal Infirmary from 1941 to 1942, when he passed the FRCS.
He joined the RAMC in 1942 and served in North Africa and Italy. After the war he returned to the Leicester group of hospitals, where he served as a general surgeon on the staff until he retired in 1982.
He married Catherine Cadbury in 1942. They had one son, Roger, and one daughter, Claire, neither of whom went into medicine. They had eight grandchildren. His extra-curricular interests included forestry and Welsh hill walking. He died at his home in Leicester on 22 September 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000359<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Pollock, Alan Victor (1921 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725462025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sir Barry Jackson<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08 2018-05-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372546">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372546</a>372546<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Alan Pollock was a consultant surgeon at Scarborough Hospital, Yorkshire. He was born on 10 September 1921 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and went to school and University in Cape Town, where he graduated in medicine in 1943, winning a medal in surgery along the way. After house appointments he joined the South African Navy and was seconded to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve with the rank of surgeon lieutenant.
Demobilised in 1946, he emigrated to the UK, and initially worked for a year in experimental pathology with Howard Florey's group in Oxford. During this time he was an author of two research papers on antibiotics, both published in Nature. Despite his auspicious beginning in laboratory work, he decided that surgery was more his bent. He obtained a resident appointment at Westminster Hospital, where he was greatly influenced by Sir Stanford Cade, a leading cancer surgeon. Then followed a series of posts at St Peter's and St Paul's Hospital, St Mark's Hospital and the West London Hospital, before he moved north to a senior lecturer's post in Leeds. There he came under the influence of John Goligher, whose teaching of colorectal surgery caused this subject to become a particular interest. In 1958, he was appointed consultant general surgeon to Scarborough Hospital, Yorkshire, where he remained for the rest of his career.
During his consultant years, and after he retired from clinical work, Alan Pollock's early interest and ability in research never left him. Although working in a non-university hospital, together with his research associate Mary Evans, he produced a constant stream of research papers on topics as diverse as pre-operative bowel preparation, surgical incisions, wound drains, approaches to achieving haemostasis, different suture materials and techniques, and anaesthetic techniques. A key interest throughout his career was prevention of post-operative morbidity and to this end he, with Evans, conducted many randomised controlled trials into different antibiotics and antibiotic regimens for reducing post-operative infections as well as trials into different methods of reducing post-operative deep vein thrombosis. He was the author of several books. The dedication in one reads: 'I dedicate this book to all my registrars, who have taught me how little I really know'. Not surprisingly, he was a regular contributor to scientific meetings both at home and abroad, especially in the United States, where he was well known.
He was an active member of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, serving on the council for a period, as well as the Royal Society of Medicine, sections of surgery and coloproctology, as well as with groups interested in infection.
Married to Hilary née Grant, he had two sons and a daughter, none of whom followed him into medicine. He will be remembered by many as a very clubbable man, often wreathed in pipe smoke, who showed how a questioning and determined district general hospital surgeon could contribute top class research at an international level. Sadly, his last years were clouded with progressive motor neurone disease, from which he died on 19 January 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000360<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rihan, Robert Stanley (1927 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725472025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372547">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372547</a>372547<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Robert Rihan was a consultant surgeon at Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield. He was born on 22 October 1927 in Birmingham, the son of Alexander Rihan, a general practitioner, and Ruby Lillian Floyd. He attended Edgbaston preparatory school and, during the war years, Rydal School, Colwyn Bay. In 1945 he gained a place at Birmingham Medical School and qualified in 1951.
He was house surgeon to A L d’Abreu and then joined the RAMC, becoming an acting major and deputy assistant director of medical services to the 7th Armoured Division and, more importantly, also their cricket secretary.
On demobilisation he returned to Birmingham to complete his surgical training, including a spell as a registrar at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. He was appointed consultant surgeon at Good Hope Hospital, one of a team of three general surgeons. His particular interests were in vascular and paediatric surgery.
Robert was a gifted technical surgeon, blessed with considerable insight and good judgement, and thus confident about when to operate and when to treat conservatively. He was extremely thorough and conscientious, always available to his junior staff, and he insisted on reviewing emergency and elective cases himself before management decisions were taken. He always liked to be involved, and sometimes found it difficult to suffer fools gladly, but he was greatly liked and respected by senior colleagues, as well as the juniors he trained, the nursing staff, and his patients. Robert was active in various aspects of hospital life, becoming chairman of the surgical division, where his tenure was marked by quiet, thoughtful and mature decisions. He retired from the NHS in 1990.
Robert married Barbara Potts, a physiotherapist, in September 1957, and they had four daughters. There are eight grandchildren. Following his retirement he moved with Barbara to the Cotswolds. There he threw himself into the local social life, demonstrating his surgical skills by carving the Christmas turkey at the local history society dinner. Sadly his last years were marred by all the problems of cardiac and renal failure, although he bore his ill health with great fortitude. He died at home with his family on 19 February 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000361<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Walker-Brash, Robert Munro Thorburn (1920 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725492025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372549">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372549</a>372549<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Munro Walker-Brash was a consultant general surgeon at Orpington and Sevenoaks hospitals. He was born in London on 15 November 1920, the second son of John Walker-Brash, a general practitioner, and his wife Gloria Lilian née Parker. He was educated privately at Colet Court in Hammersmith and Cliveden Place School, Eaton Square, and then entered Westminster as a King’s scholar, remaining there from 1934 until 1939. He was a chorister for Royal events in Westminster Abbey, including the coronation of King George VI. From Westminster he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, and on to St Bartholomew’s for his clinical training in 1942, spending part of his time in Smithfield during the Blitz, and part at Hill End Hospital, a former mental hospital to which Bart’s students were evacuated.
After qualifying, he was house surgeon to Sir James Paterson Ross and John Hosford, by whom he was greatly influenced. He did his National Service in the RAMC, rising to the rank of major, and returned to Bart’s to be junior registrar to Basil Hume. After six months at Great Ormond Street he returned to the surgical unit at Bart’s under Sir James Paterson Ross, and then went to Norwich as registrar to Charles Noon and Norman Townsley, and the Jenny Lind Hospital for Sick Children.
He returned to Bart’s in 1954 as chief assistant to Rupert Corbett and Alec Badenoch, progressing after one year to senior registrar on the ‘Green’ firm. He was noted for his dexterity, clinical judgment and teaching ability. At this time senior registrars continued their training in Bart’s sector hospitals, in Munro’s case this was at Southend General Hospital, where he worked with Rodney Maingot, who was also at the Royal Free Hospital, and Donald Barlow, who also worked at the Luton and Dunstable and London Chest hospitals. In spite of spending so much time on the road, both were prolific writers and had thriving private practices. During this period Munro was much influenced by his namesake Andrew Munro, who later moved to the Royal Postgraduate Medical School.
Munro’s definitive consultant posts were at Orpington and Sevenoaks hospitals, from 1960 until his retirement in 1984. He used his extremely wide general surgical training and admitted that ‘he was overworked at two peripheral hospitals’. Surgical Tutor at these hospitals for five years from 1970, he said he wrote ‘nothing of importance’.
Despite his sizeable frame, his main hobby was riding: he was a show-jumping judge and an early supporter and helper of Riding for the Disabled.
He married Eva Frances Jacqueline Waite, a Bart’s nurse in 1945. They had two children, Angela, who became a personal assistant in the legal department at Scotland Yard, and Robert, who emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand, to work as an insolvency accountant. Munro’s wife was diabetic and predeceased her husband, dying in 1985. Following her death, he was befriended by Pauline Smeed. Munro had a fall in May 2006 and died in hospital on 15 September 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000363<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, Henry Thomas Gee (1925 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725502025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-06-08<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372550">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372550</a>372550<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Tom Williams was chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Alberta, Canada. He was born in Rhewl, Wales, on 17 April 1925, and spent his childhood and youth in north Wales. He studied medicine in Liverpool, where he completed junior surgical posts, before going to Edmonton, Alberta, in 1956 on a research fellowship to work with Walter McKenzie. There he was offered the post of clinical lecturer and in due course was appointed clinical professor and chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Alberta in 1975, which he combined with being consultant surgeon to two other hospitals in Edmonton and the Seton Memorial Hospital in Jasper, 250 miles away.
His main research interest was in wound healing, but he was highly regarded as a surgical teacher. He was a founder member of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons and served as secretary, archivist and then president.
He married Betty née Shepherd, a pathologist, and had four children (Howell, Dorothy, Anne and David), three of whom became doctors – one a surgeon at Alberta University Hospital. Tom was keen on walking and climbing in the Rockies, and as a hobby repaired and restored vintage motor-cars. He died on 24 March 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000364<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Beck, Alfred (1912 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725512025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372551">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372551</a>372551<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon Trauma surgeon<br/>Details Alfred Beck was a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon in Cardiff. He was born in Uhersky Brod, Moravia (now in the Czech Republic), on 28 January 1912. His father, Ignaz, was a wholesale merchant and councillor, from a prominent family in the Jewish community which included rabbis and businessmen. His mother was Rose Fürst. Alfred qualified at King Charles’ University, Prague, in 1935 and, after six months as a house surgeon at Ruzomberok, he completed two and a half years in the Czechoslovakian Army, before becoming a surgical registrar in Benesov, near Prague.
A year later the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia and Alfred secretly crossed the border into Poland, where he joined a volunteer unit. He first went to France and then to England, where he was accepted at St George’s. He then worked as a doctor at Colindale Hospital, and narrowly escaped death in a bombing raid. After the war he found that his parents, two brothers and several other relatives had been killed by the Germans in Aüschwitz.
He specialised in orthopaedic surgery, was for many years a registrar at St Mary Abbott’s Hospital, and then at Cardiff, where for over 20 years he was consultant in charge of the accident unit at St David’s Hospital. After retirement from the NHS he joined an independent medical group in the City of London, where he continued to work until he was 80. He published on stress fractures, devised an instrument for extracting the femoral neck, and a way of measuring disuse atrophy.
A man of exceptional patience and modesty, he was a keen gardener, specialising in cacti. He died on 24 October 2006, and is survived by his wife Martha, whom he married in 1953, and his son Richard. His daughter Linda predeceased him.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000365<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bell, David Millar (1920 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725522025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372552">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372552</a>372552<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details David Bell was a surgeon at Belfast City Hospital. The son of William George Thompson Bell, a farmer and mill-owner from Cookstown, Northern Ireland, and Emma Jane Bell, he was born on 20 June 1920. A great uncle, cousin and brother were all doctors. From the Rainey Endowed School he went to Queen’s University, Belfast, in 1939, qualifying in 1945. He completed his surgical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Rochester, Guy’s and the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. He spent the year 1956 to 1957 at the University of Illinois Research and Educational Hospital, Chicago, under Warren Cole.
On his return he was appointed consultant surgeon to Belfast City Hospital. There he was involved in the modernisation of the old infirmary, insisting on setting up the casualty department and the intensive care unit. He was an active member of the Moynihan Club and was a former president.
In 1956 he married Sheila Bell, a consultant anaesthetist. They had three daughters (Rosemary Margaret, Kathryn Ellison and Gillian Cecily) and a son (David William). A keen horseman, David Bell hunted with the North Down Harriers. He died suddenly at home on 24 September 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000366<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Blumberg, Louis (1920 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725532025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372553">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372553</a>372553<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Louis Blumberg was a consultant surgeon in Cape Town and a respected medical historian. He was born in 1920 and educated in Cape Town, where he graduated in 1944.
He went to England to specialise in surgery, passed the FRCS, and returned to South Africa, developing a private practice in Cape Town and becoming a consultant surgeon and senior lecturer at Groote Schuur and Somerset hospitals, as well as a part-time lecturer in the department of anatomy at the University of Cape Town. He subsequently became an associate professor at the Medical University of Southern Africa and principal surgeon at Ga Rankuwa Hospital.
He wrote on a number of general surgical topics, including vascular surgery, the anterior tibial syndrome and traumatic pancreatitis, and produced a popular textbook for students *Introductory tutorials in clinical surgery* (Cape Town, Juta and Co., 1986). In the field of medical history he wrote on the war wounds in Homer’s *Iliad* and the diaries of J B S Greathead.
He retired in 1994 to Pretoria, where he continued to pursue his interest in medical history. Towards the end of his life he developed Parkinson’s disease, and died in 2006, leaving his widow Hinda.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000367<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Brock, Bevis Henry (1922 - 2005)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725542025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372554">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372554</a>372554<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Bevis Brock was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Salisbury. He was born in Cambridge in 1922, the son of H M Brock, a well-known cartoonist and illustrator. Bevis attended the Perse School in Cambridge and subsequently Cambridge University, before undertaking his clinical training at King’s College Hospital. After military service in the RAMC he returned to King’s as a registrar, first in general surgery and then in orthopaedics.
After completing his orthopaedic training as a senior registrar at Guy’s Hospital, Bevis was appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to the Salisbury group of hospitals in 1961. He was a highly respected orthopaedic surgeon and a wise and thoughtful doctor.
He married Margaret, the superintendent physiotherapist at King’s. In 1947 their son Christopher was born. During her pregnancy Margaret developed rubella, but declined termination. Sadly, Christopher was born deaf, dumb and blind. Margaret and Bevis later founded the Rubella Group (for which she was awarded an OBE). This developed into the charity Sense. A daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1950, but after qualifying as a physiotherapist she died from multiple sclerosis in her early forties. Following his wife’s death in the early 1990s, Bevis married Mary, a long-serving sister in the Salisbury hospitals and the daughter of a local GP. She also predeceased him. He died on 7 November 2005.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000368<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Evans, Ivan Tom Gwenogfryn (1938 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725552025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25 2009-01-16<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372555">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372555</a>372555<br/>Occupation ENT surgeon<br/>Details Ivan Tom Gwenogfryn Evans, known to colleagues, friends and patients as ‘Og’, was a consultant surgeon in Newport, Gwent. He was born in London on 11 November 1938, in a house between Battersea Power Station and the Dogs Home. His parents Evan Evans and Margaret née Jones were Welsh and kept a family general store. Like many other children living in the heart of the capital at the time of the Blitz, the infant Og was evacuated to an aunt in west Wales and when time and circumstances permitted after the war he was joined by his parents, who returned permanently to Wales to live near Newcastle Emlyn in Cardiganshire. He was educated at the local Aberbanc Primary School and Llandysul Grammar School, and then won a place at the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff in 1957, where for a time he trained with Cardiff City Football Club. He did house officer posts in Cardiff, where he married his childhood sweetheart, Marion, who was a teacher in Cardiff. He trained in general surgery before selection for a training post in ENT in Cardiff.
His mentors in ENT were Hector and Alun Thomas, and he especially enjoyed the variety of surgical skills in this specialty, whether it was the exacting microsurgery of the middle ear or the use of the knife in the head and neck. Also in Cardiff was Stephen Richards who had worked with Hal Schucknecht in Boston. He persuaded Og to take up a fellowship in Detroit in 1974 with Ted McGee, one of the doyens of ear surgery at that time. His appointment was to the Providence Hospital, Southfield, Michigan. This proved to be a very fulfilling professional experience for Og and a happy year for Og, Marion and their young son, Andrew. After a year they returned to Cardiff and Og was appointed consultant surgeon in Gwent with appointments at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, Nevill Hall in Abergavenny, and Pontypool and District Hospital.
At the Royal Gwent he established a first class otological service for the county of Gwent in collaboration with audiology colleagues Gavin Davies and Ann Thomas. Due to his wide training he was an all-round surgeon in his specialty and was as comfortable with delicate ear surgery as with the demands of major head and neck work. He was widely read and meticulously conscientious in his standards and care for patients, and he enjoyed teaching, so that he attracted trainees. He was appointed College surgical tutor for ENT in south Wales. His colleagues elected him chairman of the Gwent Medical Society and he served for several years with distinction as secretary to the Welsh Otolaryngological Society.
He enjoyed family life with Marion, and especially their grandson Dylan, in their favourite location, Newport Pembrokeshire, where they had a second home. Og was passionately proud of his Welsh language and heritage. A practical man, he did all the do-it-yourself jobs around the house and, until the advent of electronics, serviced his cars himself. He had been a keen cricketer and continued to follow soccer. Og had a remarkable gift of communication with people and could speak as easily and kindly to a child as to an old person. He died in September 2006 from metastatic cancer of the pancreas that only revealed itself two months before his death.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000369<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jonasson, Olga (1934 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725572025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372557">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372557</a>372557<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Olga Jonasson was professor of surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a pioneer in organ transplantation. Born in Peoria, Illinois, the daughter of a Swedish Lutheran pastor and a nurse, she was first attracted to medicine by following her father round on his hospital visits. After Lyman Trumbull Elementary School and North Park Academy, she attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate, and won honours for her MD from the University of Illinois, a tough medical school whose practice included the notorious Cook County Hospital.
She did her residency under Warren Cole at the Illinois Research and Education Hospital at a time when the department was devoted to the hunt for cancer cells in the venous blood draining cancers, many of those being actually monocytes. Exceptionally tall and blonde, she stood out from her fellow residents for her fearless and outspoken criticism of her peers and her seniors.
After her residency Olga did a fellowship in immunochemistry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which was followed by a second fellowship in transplantation immunology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1969 she did the first renal transplant in Illinois. She was one of the first to realise the importance of HLA (human leukocyte antigen) matching, setting up a nationwide matching scheme. In 1967 she became chairman of the department of surgery at Ohio State University College of Medicine, the first woman in the United States to become head of a department of surgery. She served as director of education and surgical services at the American College of Surgery from 1993 to 2004.
Her interests were not limited to transplantation: she studied inguinal hernia, pointed out that watchful waiting was appropriate in many cases, and carried out clinical trials comparing open versus laparoscopic repair. She was also a determined advocate of helmets for motorcycle riders.
Despite having a formidable reputation as an ‘ice queen’, she was highly regarded by her peers, and went out of her way to encourage young women to take up careers in surgery, although she warned them not to marry or, if married, to get divorced. However, this did not stop her from being a sympathetic friend to them and their spouses.
She was involved in the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Chicago, raising huge sums of money to repair its fabric, and was an expert cook and a lover of opera. She was made an honorary FRCS in 1988. She died on 30 August 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000371<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Belcher, John Rashleigh (1917 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725582025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372558">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372558</a>372558<br/>Occupation Thoracic surgeon<br/>Details John Rashleigh Belcher was a thoracic surgeon at the Middlesex Hospital, London. Born in Liverpool on 11 January 1917, he was the ninth in a long line of doctors who originally hailed from Bandon in Cork. He was educated at Epsom and St Thomas’ Hospital, where he graduated at the age of 21, having asked for an early viva. At the outbreak of war St Thomas’ was evacuated to Farnham and there he met his wife, Jacqueline Phillips. It was a watershed time in medicine: on one side of the ward leeches were being applied and on the other an early sulphonamide drug (M&B 693) was being prescribed. He joined the RAFVR as soon as possible and was posted to Cottesmore. He became FRCS in 1942 and was posted to Canada. On his return he went to RAF Wroughton, where he gained huge experience from D-day casualties.
After demobilisation, he returned to St Thomas’ as resident assistant surgeon, before becoming interested in thoracic surgery. He worked at the Brompton in 1947 and became senior registrar at the London Chest and Middlesex hospitals. In 1951 he was appointed to the North West Thames region as a thoracic surgeon, a post which included the London Chest Hospital and places as far afield as Arlesey, Pinewood and Harefield. He was appointed consultant thoracic surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital in 1955.
He promoted lobectomy for lung cancer at a time when the conventional wisdom, endorsed by Tudor Edwards, was that nothing short of pneumonectomy was of any use, and he published on the treatment of emphysematous cysts. He performed over 1,000 closed mitral valvotomies, even as fourth operations, and reported on these. He was Hunterian lecturer in 1979. Unfortunately his reputation in this field was less widely acknowledged than his expertise in ‘lung volume reduction surgery’. He was a kind, supportive and tolerant boss who was always ready to praise.
He was president of the Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland in 1980. He travelled extensively with the British Council and set up cardiothoracic units abroad.
A devoted family man, he had wide musical tastes, was a compulsive gardener and an accomplished artist and photographer. Jacqueline died in 2006 and he died on 12 January 2006, leaving a daughter and two sons.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000372<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wilson, Peter Ernest Heaton (1932 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725592025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-07-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372559">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372559</a>372559<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon Trauma surgeon<br/>Details Peter Wilson was a consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon at Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital. He was born in Deptford, London, on 16 October 1932, the son of Joseph Henry Wilson, a housing administrative officer for Bermondsey Borough Council, and Sarah Heaton, a teacher of physical training whose father had owned a brewery. The first of his family to go into medicine, his younger sister also eventually became a doctor. He was educated at several schools, including Upholland Grammar School and Newcastle-under-Lyme High School, where he gained colours in hockey, cricket and rugby, before going on to St Thomas’ Hospital in 1950.
After junior posts he did his National Service in the Royal Navy and then specialised in orthopaedics, becoming a registrar at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, Oswestry and then a senior registrar at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham under Peter London and J H Hicks. He was appointed consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon at Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital in 1970. Peter was particularly interested in the treatment of multiple and major injuries and was a pioneer in the operative fixation of fractures.
Having been chairman of the regional junior hospital staff committee from 1968 to 1970 and a member of the BMA junior group council (from 1969 to 1970), he went on to chair the regional senior hospital staff committee from 1970 onwards, and was medical director of the trust board. He was active in the St John Ambulance Brigade.
He retired in 1994, and continued to play golf, cricket and cultivate his garden. He was married twice. In 1951 he married Sheila Patricia Hansen, who predeceased him. They had three children, a daughter (Sallie Anne) and two sons, Michael John, a solicitor, and David Ian, a plastic surgeon. In 2002 he married Anne Elizabeth Mary Stott née Binnie. Peter Wilson died on 19 November 2006.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000373<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Morrison, Andrew William (1925 - 2006)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725722025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-08-29<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372572">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372572</a>372572<br/>Occupation Otolaryngologist ENT surgeon<br/>Details Andrew Morrison was born on 3 December 1925 in Huelva, southern Spain, where his father, William Andrew Morrison, was a mining engineer. His mother was Violet Mary née Common, the daughter of a dentist. The family returned to Scotland and Andrew attended Stirling High School, where he excelled both academically and in athletics, being victor ludorum several years running. He went on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow.
After qualifying in 1948 he was a house surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, living in on the surgical ward for six months with only two weekends off, but he could watch the ships leaving port from the hospital window. He joined the Merchant Navy as a ship’s medical officer and sailed to South Africa and the Far East. On one occasion he performed an emergency lower-limb amputation on the deck of the ship when a member of the crew had been crushed by heavy equipment, not only operating but giving his anaesthetic.
He did his National Service in the RAMC and was posted to Lubbecke, where he met Maureen Rawlings who was serving in the Control Commission, and they married in December 1950.
On demobilisation he specialised in otolaryngology, and did a series of registrar posts in Carlisle and at the London Hospital, becoming senior registrar in 1956. He was appointed as a consultant to Whipps Cross in 1959 and to the London in 1964. Later he became a consultant at the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, where he worked from 1965 to 1979 as a lecturer at the University of London.
It was a time when the surgery of the ear was evolving exponentially, thanks to precise high-speed drills and the operating microscope. Andrew became one of the exponents of this, thanks to his precise surgical skill. He was a pioneer and refiner of surgical technique for stapedectomy, publishing his series of 1,000 operations with outstanding results, and later made a study of its genetic basis.
In the early 1960s, he visited the House Otologic Institute in California, where he learned the trans-labyrinthine surgical approach to the inner ear, developing this, in collaboration with T T King, the neurosurgeon, into their own technique for removing acoustic nerve tumours. Its superior results soon led it to be adopted throughout Europe and America.
Over the next four decades he became pre-eminent in the surgery of the inner ear, leading on to the earliest multi-channel cochlear implantation. He headed Project Ear in the late 1970s and 1980s, developing purpose-built hardware for speech-processing, and was amongst the first to undertake multi-channel intra-cochlear electrodes. His trainees included many of today’s leading otologists and skull base surgeons. He travelled extensively, forging links with the leading otologists in the Western world, and was one of the few British surgeons to have been made an honorary member of the American Otologic Society.
In his retirement and until his death, he continued his research into Ménière’s disease, determined to locate the gene responsible for this distressing condition, research which is being continued today by his co-workers, Mark Bailey in Glasgow, and his son, Gavin Morrison.
Andrew was one of the first directors and a trustee of the British Academic Conferences in Otolaryngology, being its master in 1995. In the College he was a Hunterian Professor in 1966, on the Court of Examiners for the DLO and the FRCS, and on the SAC for otolaryngology. His interest in medico-legal work took him onto the council of the Medical Defence Union between 1971 and 1996. He was president of the section of otology at the Royal Society of Medicine, and a member of many prestigious organisations, including the Barany and Politzer Societies, the South African ORL, the Prosper Ménière’s Society of the USA.
Ambitious, competitive and successful at work and sport, he was modest about the things he did best and was always a most jovial companion. Outside surgery, golf was his passion. His first hole in one was achieved as a schoolboy in Stirling; his second came some 50 years later. He was well known at St Andrews, Rye and Chigwell golf clubs, and was a member of the R & A for many years, supporting their meetings and enjoying many friendships there.
He died on 6 January 2006, leaving his widow, Maureen, his daughter Claire and son Gavin, who followed him into ENT surgery.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000388<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Callaway, Thomas (1791 - 1848)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725792025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372579">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372579</a>372579<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of Isaac and Alicia Callaway. His parents died young and he was educated by his grandfather, who was Steward to Guy's Hospital and lived within its precincts. He was apprenticed in 1809 to Sir Astley Cooper, and in 1815 he went to Brussels directly after the Battle of Waterloo. He was elected Assistant Surgeon to Guy's Hospital in 1825 at the same time as Bransby Cooper (qv), but was never promoted Surgeon, and resigned his office in 1847 when Edward Cock (qv) was elected over his head. He was chosen a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons on Oct 22nd, 1835, in succession to Sir William Blizard, and delivered the Hunterian Oration on Feb 21st, 1841, in the presence of Sir Robert Peel and a crowded audience. Failing sight and insufficient light – for more candles had to be brought into the theatre during its delivery – marred its effect until the Orator found his spectacles and delivered a eulogium on his master and friend, Sir Astley Cooper, who had died nine days earlier.
He was twice married, having children by both wives. His eldest son was Thomas Callaway, junr (qv). He died at Brighton on Nov 16th, 1848, having made a considerable fortune by private practice. The 'Young' Collection at the College of Surgeons contains a portrait of him drawn on stone by R J Lane, ARA, after a picture by A Morton.
Callaway wrote nothing. He was better fitted for the private practice in which he was successful than for the position of a surgeon to an important hospital with a medical school. He is described by Dr Wilks as being rather under the middle height, somewhat stout, bald on the top of the head with very black hair at the sides. He was clean-shaved and affected the dress and manner of his master, Sir Astley Cooper, whom he adored, wearing a black dress coat tightly buttoned up, with a massive gold chain hanging below; the collar of the coat was narrow, over which appeared a very white cravat. He had piercing black eyes expressive of great discernment and intelligence. When he sat in his large yellow chariot with footmen behind, he was continually looking out first on one side and then on the other, so that he never missed a friend to give him a kindly nod. According to the manners of the time, when the carriage drove up to a patient's house the footman knocked heavily at the door and proceeded to let down the carriage steps to enable his master to alight, who then in a stately manner marched up to the house. His practice was more medical than surgical, and although he was much respected by his brethren in the neighbourhood who frequently met him in consultation, his patients were mostly his own, and this was probably the reason why his fees were small. His rooms in the Borough were thronged every morning, so that stories of his enormous practice were very rife – such as a heavy bag of guineas being taken to the bankers every morning, and the omnibus conductors on the way to the City from the suburbs demanding "Anyone for Dr Callaway's this morning?" He practised in the Borough High Street.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000395<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Babington, George Gisborne (1795 - 1856)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725802025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18 2016-01-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372580">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372580</a>372580<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Fourth son of T Babington, MP, of Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, who was brother-in-law of Zachary Macaulay, father of the historian, Thomas Babington Macaulay.
Babington was attached to St George's Hospital, where he was Assistant Surgeon in 1829-1830, and Surgeon from 1830-1843. He was also at one time Surgeon to the London Lock Hospital. At the Royal College of Surgeons he was a Member of the Council from 1836-1845, and in 1842 delivered the Hunterian Oration.
In 1817 [1] he married Sarah Anne, daughter of John Pearson, of Golden Square. He died at his house, 13 Queen's Gardens, Hyde Park, on Jan 1st, 1856.
Babington was eminent as a surgeon, and made some important contributions to medical literature on the subject of syphilitic diseases.
Publications:-
"Cases Illustrative of the Different Forms of Phagedenic Ulcer." - London Med. and Physical Jour., 1826, lvi, 204.
"Observations on Sloughing Sores." - Ibid., 1827, Iviii, 285.
Hunterian Oration, 8vo, London, 1842.
Several contributions in the Lancet and Med.-Chir. Rev.
Was one of the editors of John Hunter, more especially the Treatise on Venereal Disease in Palmer's edition of the works, 1837, ii.
[Amendments from the annotated edition of *Plarr's Lives* at the Royal College of Surgeons: [1] '1817' is deleted and '18.9.1816' added]<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000396<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Liston, Robert (1794 - 1847)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725812025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372581">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372581</a>372581<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on Oct 28th, 1794, in the Manse of Ecclesmachan, Linlithgowshire, the eldest child of Henry Liston (1771-1836) by his wife Margaret, daughter of David Ireland, Town Clerk of Culross. Henry Liston was the inventor of the ‘Euharmonic’ organ designed to give the diatonic scales in perfect order, and had a natural bias for mechanics; his younger son, David, became Professor of Oriental Languages at Edinburgh. Robert Liston spent a short time at a school in Abercorn, but was chiefly educated by his father. He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1808 and gained a prize for Latin prose composition in his second session: in 1810 he became assistant to Dr John Barclay (1758-1826), the Extra-academic Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology, and continued as his prosector and assistant until 1815. In 1814 he became ‘Surgeon's Clerk’ or House Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary, first to George Bell, afterwards to Dr Gillespie, holding office for two years.
He came to London in 1816, putting himself under Sir William Blizard and Thomas Blizard at the London Hospital, and attending the lectures of John Abernethy at St Bartholomew's Hospital. He then returned to Edinburgh and taught anatomy in conjunction with James Syme. In 1818 he was admitted a Fellow of the Edinburgh College of Surgeons on his thesis – “Strictures of the Urethra and Some of their Consequences”.
He worked in Edinburgh from 1818-1828, gaining a great reputation as a teacher of anatomy and as an operating surgeon. During some years of this period he was constantly engaged in quarrels on professional subjects with the authorities of the Royal Infirmary, which culminated in 1822 in his expulsion from the institution. He was, however, appointed one of the Surgeons in 1827, apparently by the exercise of private influence, and in 1828 he was made the Operating Surgeon. He failed in his application for the Professorship of Clinical Surgery in 1833, when James Syme (qv), his younger rival and former colleague, was preferred before him.
In 1834 Liston accepted an invitation to become Surgeon to the newly founded hospital attached to the University of London (now University College). He accordingly left Edinburgh and settled in London, where in 1835 he was elected Lecturer on Clinical Surgery in the University of London. On the death of Sir Anthony Carlisle in 1840 Liston became a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, and in 1846 he was chosen a Member of the Court of Examiners. He was also Consulting Surgeon to the Hospital for Diseases of the Chest.
He died on Dec 7th, 1847, of aneurysm of the arch of the aorta, at his house, 5 Clifford Street – subsequently occupied by Sir William Bowman (qv).
Liston was not a scientific surgeon, neither was he a good speaker nor a clear writer. His claim to remembrance is based upon the marvellous dexterity with which he used the surgeon's knife, upon his profound knowledge of anatomy, and upon the boldness which enabled him to operate successfully on cases from which other surgeons shrank. Living at a time immediately antecedent to the introduction of anaesthetics, he appears to have attained to a dexterity in the use of cutting instruments which had probably never been equalled and which is unlikely to be surpassed. When chloroform was unknown it was of the utmost importance that surgical operations should be performed as rapidly as possible. Of Liston it is told that when he amputated, the gleam of his knife was followed so instantaneously by the sound of the bone being sawn as to make the two actions appear almost simultaneous, and yet he perfected the method of amputating by flaps. At the same time his physical strength was so great – and he stood over six feet in height – that he could amputate through the thigh with only the single assistant who held the limb. He excelled, too, in cutting for stone, but his name is best known by ‘Liston's straight splint’, which has now been replaced by better methods of treating fractured thighs. The first successful operation under ether by a surgeon in a London hospital was performed by him at University College on Dec 21st, 1846. Liston, like many contemporary surgeons, was rough and outspoken to rudeness, but he had many sterling qualities and was devoted to outdoor sports, especially to yachting.
A bust by Thomas Campbell (1790-1858) was presented to the Royal College of Surgeons of England on Dec 23rd, 1851, by a ‘Committee of Gentlemen’. An oil painting by A Bagg was engraved by W O Geller and published on Jan 25th, 1847.
Publications:-
*The Elements of Surgery*, in three parts, Edinburgh and London, 1831 and 1832; 2nd ed. in one volume, 1840.
*Practical Surgery*, London, 1837; 2nd ed., 1838; 3rd ed., 1840; 4th ed., 1846.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000397<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Morgan, John (1797 - 1847)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725822025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372582">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372582</a>372582<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Stamford Hill on Jan 10th, 1797, the second son of William Morgan, the noted Actuary to the Equitable Life Assurance Office and a native of Glamorganshire, where the family had been landowners for centuries. His father began life as a medical student and is said to have come from Glamorganshire to London “with sixpence in his pocket and a club foot”.
After education at home, John Morgan became an articled pupil of Sir Astley Cooper at the School of St Thomas's and Guy's Hospitals, having as a fellow-pupil Aston Key. He showed an intense interest in natural history, and began to stuff birds and small animals almost as soon as he could use a knife and his fingers. After his pupilage he became Demonstrator of Anatomy at the private school near to the Hospital. He was elected Assistant Surgeon to Guy's Hospital in 1821, and in 1824, at the early age of 27, he was elected (together with Aston Key) Surgeon to Guy's Hospital on the retirement of Forster and Lucas. He thus became a colleague of Sir Astley Cooper, who on his retirement was succeeded by his nephew, Bransby Cooper. For many years Morgan was joint Lecturer on Surgery; latterly he only gave a course of ophthalmic lectures in the Eye Infirmary attached to the Hospital. He suffered himself from iritis, and was instrumental in establishing a ward at Guy's Hospital for the treatment of diseases of the eye.
On the death of Frederick Tyrell, Morgan was elected a Member of the College Council on June 9th, 1843. Much interested in comparative anatomy, he dissected ‘Chum’ the elephant, whose skeleton is in the College Museum. Many of his anatomical preparations are there, others are in Guy's Hospital Museum. His remarkable collection of stuffed British birds is preserved at Cambridge.
As a surgeon Morgan was distinguished by the attention he paid to the medical state of his patient previous to operating, whilst he became one of the best operators in London. On two or three occasions he removed considerable portions of the lower jaw. He tied the external iliac artery successfully on a very stout patient who was suffering from a large inguinal hernia on the same side as the aneurysm. For a highly vascular naevus – an aneurysm by anastomosis – occupying one entire side of the face which had been previously treated by the crucial ligature under crossed pins and by the actual cautery, he followed the similar case operated upon successfully by F Travers, and ligatured the common carotid artery. The patient recovered, but was not benefited. Morgan was one of the first, and certainly one of the most energetic, originators of the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park.
He practised early at Broad Street Buildings, later in Finsbury Square, and for seven or eight years before his death he lived at Tottenham. After suffering with albuminuria, he died at Tottenham on Oct 14th, 1847. He married in 1831 Miss Anne Gosse, of Poole, sister of William Gosse (qv); he left two sons: the eldest succeeded his grandfather and uncle in the Equitable Life Assurance Company, the younger entered the medical profession.
In person Morgan was of middle height and a thick-set heavy man, very different from his colleagues Key and Bransby Cooper, the one striding in the hospital with head erect waiting for everyone to do him reverence, the other in a jaunty manner greeting those around him in familiar and pleasant tones; whilst Morgan walked straight in with a white impassive face, went to work without a word of gossip, taking heed of nothing or nobody, gave his opinion of the case in a few words, and then went on to the next bed. His work was done well and in a business-like manner, his colleagues highly respecting his opinion and his pupils being much attached to him. As it was the habit of surgeons to take snuff, so did Morgan to excess; it was often possible to mark his traces in the wards by the snuff he let fall. He practised in Finsbury Square and had a country house at Tottenham.
Publications:-
*Lectures on Diseases of the Eye*, 8vo, London, 1839; 2nd ed., 1848, by JOHN F. FRANCE; this contains a life of Morgan.
*Essay on the Operation of Poisonous Agents upon the Living Body* (with THOMAS ADDISON), London, 1829.
Contributions to *Guy's Hosp. Rep.* and *Trans. Linnean Soc*.
He communicated to the *Transactions of the Linnean Society* (1833, xvi, 455) an interesting paper on the mammary organs of the kangaroo, and the Museum of Guy's Hospital contains two preparations made by him, one “the pouch of a young and virgin kangaroo showing the teats in an undeveloped state, one of them artificially drawn out: the second, the mammary gland of an adult kangaroo, showing the marsupial teat in an undeveloped state, the ducts filled with mercury.” The specimens were perhaps prepared from animals sent to him by his brother-in-law, William Gosse (qv).<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000398<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Pennington, Robert Rainey (1766 - 1849)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725832025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372583">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372583</a>372583<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied under Percivall Pott at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and Pott was one of his eight examiners for Membership of the Corporation. He practised in Lamb's Conduit Street, and was President of the National Institute of Medicine, Surgery, and Midwifery. For the last two years he practised in Portman Square, where he died on March 8th, 1849.
The following by J F C appeared in the *Medical Times and Gazette*, 1869, i, 361;-
“SOMETHING ABOUT ONE OF THE OLD SCHOOL
“The late Mr Pennington, who was a fellow-student at St. Bartholomew's with Mr Abernethy, related to me the following anecdote in the course of a conversation at a very advanced period of his life. He and Abernethy were dressers at the same time to the celebrated Percivall Pott, and each claimed precedence. Pennington was certain that he was entitled to be first, but for some time, in order to avoid a quarrel, gave way to the ‘pretension’ of Abernethy. On one occasion, however, ‘Johnny’ carried his presumption a little too far. Pott was crossing the quadrangle of the Hospital, followed by the students. He was giving a kind of ‘running clinique’ on a case in which Pennington was deeply interested, and, anxious to hear all that was said, he stuck close to the teacher. Abernethy came up and absolutely elbowed me out of my position. I then found it was time to put a stop to his impertinence, particularly as the insult was given in the presence of so many of our fellows. I took no notice of it at the moment, though the circumstance did not escape the observation of Mr Pott. Immediately on the conclusion of “the round”, I made up my mind to act, and accordingly, in the presence of a number of students, I addressed Abernethy: “Jack, this won't do; I have given way to you too long, and for the future you must be content to play second fiddle.” Abernethy began to bluster, and said, “I'll be d—d if I do!” At that time disputes of the kind were settled in a summary way, and I immediately prepared to assert my right by an appeal to the fist. The place of combat was in the corner of the ground which is near to the anatomical theatre, and thither we repaired, followed by our anxious and admiring confrères. I took off my coat and prepared for action. Jack did not follow suit, and began, like Bob Acres, to show unmistakable symptoms of not coming to the scratch. In fact, he declined the ordeal of battle, and I was for the future first. We were closely associated for nearly fifty years afterwards, but we never had an angry word. Dining with him some forty years after in Bedford Row, the old quarrel between us accidentally cropped up. “Well,” said Abernethy, “the truth of the case was this – the moment I saw you uncover your biceps, I was certain I should be thrashed, and so, my boy, I surrendered at discretion.”’
“Pennington was a great physicker, and has often been called the originator of ‘homeopathy’. However this may be, he was in the habit of ordering three, four, or more draughts a day, to be ‘continued’ until further orders. These repetitions amounted, on an average, to one hundred a day, and his dispensary in Keppel Street, behind his house in Montagu Place, was a regular manufactory of physic. The boys who ‘took out the medicine’ were furnished with a string and hook, and the parcel was let down into the area by this simple mode. When orders were given by the patient that no more medicine was required, the fact was duly announced in a book kept for the purpose. ‘Ah,’ said Pennington, ‘I see I must change the medicine; I will call to-morrow.’ He did so, changed the colour of the dose, and the repetition was ordered for three weeks. In those days this was regarded as orthodox; but chiefly in respect to the ‘tip-top apothecary’. But then Pennington attended eleven out of the twelve judges, and could do pretty much as he liked. In proof of this I may mention a circumstance which was related to me by a gentleman who at one time was one of his dispensing assistants in Keppel Street. This gentleman some years since retired from general practice on account of ill health, and is now deservedly high in the profession as a dentist.
“The late Lord Wynford, then Serjeant Best, was subject to severe attacks of the gout. The serjeant was irritable, and Mrs Best anxious and nervous. When she wished to see Pennington about her husband, she used to lie in wait for him in Keppel Street, and follow him into his dispensing establishment. Here she would stay with wonderful patience until he had finished his entries. On one occasion, says my informant, Mrs Best looked up imploringly to ‘the great man’. ‘The serjeant is very bad,’ said his wife, ‘in great pain.’ ‘Well,’ said Pennington, ‘what am I to do? I saw him yesterday; let him go on with his medicine.’ ‘But do tell me when you will kindly see him again.’ ‘Well,’ said he, ‘I will tell you to a minute. I will see him this day six weeks at 25 minutes to 12.’ But Pennington, however much he enjoyed a joke, did not carry this one out. He was at Best's house the next morning before breakfast.
“Pennington boasted that he had never worn a great-coat in his life; nay, in the coldest weather you might see him in his pumps and silk stockings, for to the last he was proud of his ‘leg’. ‘Ah,’ said he to me on one occasion, ‘I am not such a fool as to neglect my creature comforts. I am clothed in flannel underneath, and have a pair of lamb's-wool stockings under the silk.’ I may mention here, en passant, that the late Dr Clutterbuck, who lived to nearly 90 years, and then succumbed to an accident, used to boast that nobody had ever seen him wear an outer coat, but he wrapped up almost like a mummy underneath.
“Pennington's practice was large and laborious, and, in addition to seeing patients in town, he was frequently called upon to pay visits in the country. These he always managed to make at night. He would, after a hard day's work, take a warm bath, and travel in a post-chaise all the night, getting back in the morning sufficiently early to see his home patients. He had a vigorous constitution, and could sleep almost anywhere. It is said that Pennington made £10,000 a year for many years by physic. At all events he accumulated a very large fortune. He sold his practice to Mr Hillier, who, however, did not succeed in keeping it together. Pennington was a thorough man of business, and did not attend the societies. He was, however, very sociable and hospitable. When the National Association of General Practitioners was instituted, he was elected President, but he was then an octogenarian and did not display any of his former energy or ability. He was not a man of much acquirement, but he was possessed of a large amount of good common sense, had considerable power of diagnosis, and was most successful as a prescriber. He was a remarkably handsome man, with a fine presence and a manner which inspired confidence. He was in harness to the last.”
A fine mezzotint in the College collection (Stone) represents Pennington as a quaint-looking old man with a humorous expression. It is from a painting by F R Say, and was engraved by W Walker in 1840.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000399<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Steel, Richard H H (1767 - 1856)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725852025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000400-E000499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372585">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372585</a>372585<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in 1767, and thus the earliest born among the Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons. The “Examination Book” of Sept 2nd, 1790, has entries that “Diplomas were granted to John Curtis, Richard H H Steel of Marlowe, William Hodgson and Richard Harrison”. The examiners were Messrs Hawkins, Lucas, Pitts, Pyle, Grindell, Minors, Watson, and Gunning. At the same Court others were superannuated for ‘failure of eyesight’, ‘incapacity’, etc.
He practised at Berkhamsted, where for many years he was Surgeon to the West Hertfordshire Infirmary. He died at Berkhamsted on Feb 1st, 1856.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000401<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nixon, Thomas ( - 1853)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725862025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000400-E000499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372586">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372586</a>372586<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was commissioned Assistant Surgeon to the 1st Foot Guards on Dec 25th, 1796. This, says Colonel Johnston in a note, is “the earliest date of a Regimental Assistant Surgeon's commission, though not the first to be gazetted”. The first to be gazetted was Robert Lawson, Assistant Surgeon to the 4th Dragoons, Feb 2nd, 1797. Nixon was gazetted Surgeon to the same Regiment on March 20th, 1799, being styled Battalion Surgeon after 1804. On June 9th, 1814, he was promoted to Surgeon Major, and on Nov 10th, 1824, was made Inspector of Hospitals, and later Inspector-General of Hospitals. He served in the Peninsular Campaign in 1812-1814, and held the local rank of Deputy Inspector of Hospitals in Spain and Portugal only, from Sept 10th, 1812. He retired on half pay on Nov 11th, 1824, and resided or practised at Papplewick, Notts, where he died on April 13th, 1853.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000402<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Annesley, Sir James H [1] (1774 - 1847)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725952025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18 2016-01-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000400-E000499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372595">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372595</a>372595<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Son of the Honourable Marcus Annesley, born in County Down, Ireland, about 1774, and educated at Trinity College and the College of Surgeons in Dublin, also at the Windmill Street School in London. On April 29th, 1799, he received a nomination in the medical service of the HEIC on the Madras side from Sir Walter Farquhar, and arrived in India in December, 1800. He was at once appointed to the Trichinopoly Corps and saw hard fighting with the field force in Southern India during the whole of the year 1801. He served with a battalion of native infantry at various stations from 1802-1805, when he was invalided home. Two years later he returned from England and was appointed Garrison Surgeon at Masulipatam, where he made himself well acquainted with native diseases and their treatment. He took careful notes of every case which came under his care, recording the symptoms, the remedies used, and the results.
Annesley was placed in medical charge of the 78th British Regiment during the Java expedition in 1811. He had the satisfaction of landing 1070 men fit for duty out of a strength of 1100, and the field hospital at Cornalis being in an unsatisfactory condition, Annesley, although the junior officer, was ordered to take command, and it is on record that in ten days he had the hospital in proper order, with its 1400 or 1500 patients clothed, victualled, and treated.
He was soon ordered back to Madras to superintend a field hospital established by Government for the native troops who had lost their health in the expedition to the Isle of France and Java. His administration proved so successful that he was publicly thanked by the Commander-in-Chief for "the ability, exertion and humane attention displayed by Surgeon Annesley, equally honourable to his professional talents and public zeal, which His Excellency trusts will entitle him to the good opinion and favourable notice of government". Native troops had been employed upon foreign service, and as a result of Annesley's treatment the Madras Sepoys were said to be willing to volunteer for any service in any part of the world.
In 1812 Annesley joined the Madras European Regiment, with which he remained until 1817, when the last Mahratta and Pindaree War began. Annesley was appointed Superintending Surgeon to the advanced divisions of the Army and served in the field until the end of 1818, being repeatedly mentioned in general orders for his zeal and ability. He was appointed Garrison Surgeon at Fort St George on his return to Madras, and placed in charge of the General Hospital, where he remained until he was invalided home in 1824. On leaving India on furlough the Admiralty presented him with a piece of plate of the value of one hundred guineas "as a mark of the sense their Lordships entertained of his gratuitous medical attendance on the officers and men of His Majesty's ships in Madras Roads, 1823".
Annesley returned to India in 1829, and was immediately appointed to examine the Medical Reports of former years with the view to selecting such cases as might tend to throw light upon the diseases of India. He made a digest of the Reports from 1786 to 1829, and also reported upon the climate, healthiness, and production of the hills in the Madras presidency. The digest occupied twelve volumes and was accompanied by four volumes of medical observations, all of the highest value. The digest had been made without cost to the Government, but on its completion the Court of Directors of the HEIC voted Annesley an honorarium of 5000 rupees.
He was appointed a member of the Medical Board in 1833, and in 1838 was permitted to retire from the Honourable Company's service on the pension of his rank, having served in India for the long period of thirty-seven years. On his return to England he received the honour of knighthood in [2] 1844; he was also elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
During his later years he lived at 6 Albany, Piccadilly. He died at Florence on Dec 14th, 1847.
Annesley did good service to the medical profession by his zeal, tact, and administrative ability, for he founded the tradition upon which was built the high reputation afterwards gained by the Indian Medical Service both amongst the Europeans and the native population of India.
Publications:-
Sketches of the Most Prevalent Diseases of India, Comprising a Treatise on Epidemic Cholera of the East, London, 1825, 2nd ed., 1828 [3]. Annesley discusses cholera with extensive first-hand information and makes some inquiries on the historical side in regard to the disease. The sketches include "Topographical, and Statistical Reports of the Diseases most prevalent in the different stations and divisions of the Army under the Madras Presidency", and "Practical Observations on the Effects of Calomel on the Mucous Surface and Secretions of the Alimentary Canal; and on the Use of this Remedy in Disease, more Particularly in the Diseases of India". For these sketches he received the Monthyon Prize, and the section on cholera was translated into German by Gustav Himly, Hannover, in 1831.
Researches into the Causes, Nature and Treatment of the more Prevalent Diseases of India, and of Warm Climates Generally, 4to, 2 vols., with 40 coloured engravings, London, 1828. The work is rendered unwieldy by its wealth of detail. [4]
[Amendments from the annotated edition of *Plarr's Lives* at the Royal College of Surgeons: [1] The 'H' is deleted and the following added - *Crawford's Roll of I.M.S;* Madras list no 435; [2] Crawford says knighted 13 May 1844 'F.R.S. 1840'; [3] 3rd edition 1841; [4] *Digest of Madras Medical Reports* 1788-1829 (Crawford) & ? above p.29; Portrait in College Collection]<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000411<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Albert, George Frederick (1771 - 1853)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725962025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18 2016-01-15<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000400-E000499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372596">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372596</a>372596<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born Dec 18th 1771, and became an army surgeon. He was gazetted Staff Surgeon on Aug 30th, 1799, was placed on half pay in 1802, and restored to full pay on March 17th, 1803, when he exchanged to the cavalry depot at Maidstone. He was promoted Deputy Inspector of Hospitals on Nov 4th, 1813, and was put on half pay on Nov 25th, 1815. Practised at Cheltenham and at various times at St George's Terrace, Hyde Park, and in the Isle of Wight. He died on April 5th, 1853. Albert's thesis for the Edinburgh MD may have been [1] *Quœdam de Morbis Ætatum* (8vo, Edinburgh, 1823), but he is not given credit for it as a thesis in the Index Catalogue, USA Army.
[Amendment from the annotated edition of *Plarr's Lives* at the Royal College of Surgeons: [1] 'may have been' deleted and 'was' added]<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000412<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parkin, Henry (1779 - 1849)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725972025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000400-E000499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372597">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372597</a>372597<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Became a Surgeon in the Royal Navy (Royal Marines), and for upwards of fifty years was Inspector of Fleets and Hospitals. In 1843 his address was at the Marine Barracks, Woolwich. He seems afterwards to have practised as a physician at Woolwich, and latterly to have resided at Cawsand, Cornwall. He died at Woolwich on March 24th, 1849. In his brief obituary in the *Medical Directory* (1850, 469) he is described as “of Cawsand, in Cornwall”. *The Death Book* of the Royal College of Surgeons (vol. i) refers to him as of “the Royal Marines, Woolwich”.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000413<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Kidd, Thomas (1777 - 1849)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725982025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-10-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000400-E000499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372598">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372598</a>372598<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on Aug 25th, 1777. He was Regimental Mate in the 49th Foot from June 17th, 1796, to Jan 23rd, 1797, and Surgeon's Mate on the Hospital Staff, not attached to a regiment, from Jan 24th to April 5th, 1797. He was gazetted Assistant Surgeon to the 13th Regiment of Foot on April 6th, 1797, was transferred to the 14th Dragoons on March 15th, 1799, and became Surgeon to the 4th Battalion of the 60th Foot on April 25th, being transferred to the 63rd Foot on July 25th. He became Staff Surgeon on Aug 27th, 1803, and Deputy Inspector of Hospitals, afterwards Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals (Brevet), on July 17th, 1817. The last-mentioned grade was abolished from 1804-1830, but the rank Deputy Inspector-General (Brevet) seems to have been conferred during that period. Kidd was again gazetted Deputy Inspector-General on Jan 27th, 1837, and became Inspector-General of Hospitals on Dec 16th, 1845, on which date he retired on half pay. He had served in the Peninsular War in 1810-1813, and had devoted his life to the service of his country in various parts of the globe, being stationed at one time at Corfu. He was held in high esteem by his brother officers. He died from bronchitis after a few hours’ illness on Dec 24th, 1849.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000414<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Cutler, Geoffrey Abbott (1920 - 2000)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3725292025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2007-05-10<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E000000-E000999/E000300-E000399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372529">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/372529</a>372529<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Geoff Cutler was a surgeon in New South Wales, Australia. He was born on 29 February 1920 in Manly, a suburb of Sydney. He was the second of the three sons of Arthur and Ruby Cutler. Their father was a sales representative for Remington, who had been a crack shot and twice winner at Bisley. He was killed in a car accident in 1935 and Geoffrey left school at 17 to work in a bank, whilst studying for a degree at night.
When the war came he was keen to enlist, but his mother would not sign the papers as his elder brother, later to become Sir Roden Cutler, future diplomat and Governor of New South Wales, had been seriously wounded in Syria, winning the VC, but losing his leg. Geoff joined the RAAF when he was 21. While he was learning to fly he became bored during a long formation flight to Goulbourn and decided to slip away to do a few loops and rolls, and then found to his consternation that he was quite alone and not sure where he was. He landed his Tiger Moth in a suitable field, but was quickly surrounded by a group of men in uniform, who told him that he was in the middle of a prison farm. Undeterred, on getting directions for Goulbourn, he persuaded them to hang on to his plane’s tail until he had sufficient power to take off. (He kept this story secret for many years.) Later he became a test and ferry pilot, and saw enemy action in Burma and New Guinea.
After the war he was able to enrol in medicine, his first love, through the repatriation arrangements provided for ex-servicemen. Enrolling with 726 other students, they were warned that 50 per cent of their year would be failed at the end of the year. He graduated with honours in 1952 and did his house appointments at Manly Hospital, having been attached to the Royal North Shore Hospital as a student.
He went to England in 1954, intending to specialise in gynaecology and obstetrics, but changed to surgery, and did junior jobs in Middlesex, Northampton, Guildford and Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, as well as attending courses at the College.
After passing the FRCS he returned to Australia in 1957 to a registrar position at the Royal North Shore Hospital, and started in private practice in 1958.
Among his other interests were reading history, and breeding Hereford cattle on his farm, which he owned for 25 years. He had met Dorothy Arnold, another Australian, when she was nursing in London. They married in 1959 and had three children, two boys and a girl. Stephen, the eldest, represented Australia at rugby for ten years, before going to the USA to work for the pharmaceutical firm Quintiles. Anne became a physiotherapist and Rob became a solicitor in Sydney. Geoff Cutler died on 20 October 2000 from carcinoma of the colon.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E000343<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ormerod, William Piers (1818 - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750462025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-12<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375046">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375046</a>375046<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in London on May 14th, 1818, the fifth son of George Ormerod, DCL, FRS (1785-1873), the historian of Cheshire, and Sarah, daughter of John Latham, MD, President of the Royal College of Physicians from 1813-1819. William Ormerod's younger brother was Edward Latham Ormerod, FRS (1819-1873), Physician to the Sussex County Hospital, a well-known entomologist.
William Ormerod was educated at Laleham under the Rev John Buckland, where he was treated harshly, and afterwards at Rugby under Arnold, where he was neglected. He entered the school in 1832, and in 1835 became a medical student at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was articled to Edward Stanley (qv), distinguished himself as a prize-winner in 1839, and was appointed House Surgeon to Sir William Lawrence for the year 1840-1841. He won the Jacksonian Prize at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1842 with an essay "On the Comparative Merits of Mercury and Iodine in the Treatment of Syphilis". In 1843 he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Medical School of St Bartholomew's Hospital, and published for the use of the students a collection of *Questions in Practical Anatomy*. His health began to fail in 1844 and he retired to his father's house, Sodbury Park, Gloucestershire. He employed himself in arranging the surgical material that he had collected in the hospital during the years 1835-1844, and published the results in 1846 under the title, *Clinical Collections and Observations in Surgery made during an Attendance on the Surgical Practice of St Bartholomew's Hospital*. Included in the volume are six chapters dealing with the employment of mercury and iodine in venereal disease, an epitome of his Jacksonian Prize Essay. It is a record of great interest as showing what knowledge of surgery a student may get without recourse to books if he were conscientiously to follow the daily clinical practice of a large general hospital.
At this time Ormerod showed no signs of active disease, but suffered loss of weight and strength, and Sir James Paget wrote suggesting that he might become a candidate for the Assistant Surgeoncy at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Ormerod declined the suggestion and settled in practice at Oxford. He was admitted 'privilegiatus' by the University on October 19th, 1846, and was elected Surgeon to the Radcliffe Infirmary on Dec 4th in the same year, retaining office until June, 1850. In 1847 he acted as local Secretary of the Oxford Meeting of the British Medical Association.
He lived happily and usefully in Oxford until December, 1848, when "after a period of great hurry and anxiety" he had an epileptic fit and was obliged to retire wholly from practice. He left Oxford in 1849 and settled finally at Canterbury in 1850. Here he began to collect facts about structure and disease in the Medical Museums of London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Glasgow, and entertained hopes of becoming a medical missionary. His mind failed gradually, and he died at Canterbury on June 10th, 1860, from a fracture of the skull caused by a fall in one of the epileptic fits, and was buried in St Martin's Churchyard. The tomb is the first on the left after passing the lich-gate. It is easily overlooked in the presence of more conspicuous and elaborate memorials.
Ormerod won golden opinions. His moral character was evidence for good in the dissecting-room, and he was one of those in whose presence few men would have done or spoken a wrong thing. He was a surgeon equally learned, scientific, and practical; he was both cautious and bold in all he said. He was far-sighted enough to grasp at principles through punctilious attention to detail. Sympathetic and gentle, he was made to be the friend of all, the bosom friend of some. It is noteworthy that ill health deprived St Bartholomew's Hospital of the services of two brilliant brothers - William and Edward Ormerod - the one as a surgeon, the other as a physician.
Publication:
Ormerod published in 1848, under the auspices of the Ashmolean Society, an essay "On the Sanatory Condition of Oxford", directing special attention to the insanitary state of the different parts of the city where there had been outbreaks of zymotic disease.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002863<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ingram, Edward ( - 1880)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745072025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374507">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374507</a>374507<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Guy's Hospital and practised first at Boston, Lincolnshire, where he was Surgeon to the Boston District Great Northern Railway, and to the 'Lock-up' and House of Correction, Shirbeck; next at 34 King Street, Holborn; after that at Ketton in Rutlandshire, where he died on May 11th, 1880.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002324<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Innes, Sir John Henry Ker (1820 - 1907)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745082025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374508">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374508</a>374508<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on January 27th, 1820, and belonged to the Scottish family of Innes-Kers. He studied at University College Hospital, London, and joined the Army Medical Service as Assistant Surgeon to the 78th Foot. He was gazetted to the Dragoon Guards in January, 1846, to the 83rd Foot in May, 1847, to the Staff on October 7th, 1851, and to the 56th Foot as Surgeon on March 11th, 1853. In 1854 he volunteered from his regiment stationed in India to the Crimea and was present at the Siege of. Sebastopol and the attack on the Redan, for which he was awarded the Turkish Medal, and a Medal with Clasps. He was gazetted to the 60th Foot on January 12th, 1855, and served with his regiment through the Mutiny. At the action on the Hindun he was wounded and had his horse shot; he was present at the Battle of Bundli-ke-Serai, at the storming of the heights before Delhi and its capture. He was Principal Medical Officer under Sir John Jones through the Rohilkund Campaign, and with Brigadier Troup's Column in Oudh. He was often mentioned in dispatches, received a Medal with Clasp, was decorated CB in 1858 and promoted Deputy Inspector-General on December 31st, 1858.
He was appointed British Medical Commissioner on the staff of the Crown Prince of Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and was given by the German Emperor the steel War Medal and the Iron Cross. On July 24th, 1872, he was promoted Inspector-General and Surgeon General Army Medical Department, and from 1876-1880 was Principal Medical Officer to the Forces in India. In 1878-1879 he was the Principal Medical Officer of the Afghanistan Expeditionary Force, was present at the capture of Ali Musjid and the advance up the Khyber Pass, being mentioned in dispatches and receiving the Medal and Clasp. In 1877 he was made Hon Surgeon to Queen Victoria.
He retired on January 27th, 1880, was granted a Reward for Distinguished Service in 1885, and promoted KCB at Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887; at the time of his death he was Senior Hon Surgeon to King Edward VII. To the end of his life Sir John Ker-Innes lived in Florence as the leading spirit among the English colony, actively interested in the Anglo-Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity and its reconstruction in the Via Lamarmora. He died at his house on the Piazza Independenza on March 12th, 1907, of pneumonia following upon influenza, then epidemic. A memorial commemorating him was set up in the form of an inner porch of the Holy Trinity Church. (His name is spelt Innis in the Fellow's *Register*.)<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002325<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ireland, Richard Stanley (1787 - 1875)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745092025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374509">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374509</a>374509<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was for many years Surgeon to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, and gained such a reputation that older members of the Force were accustomed to ask to see their old doctor after his retirement. At one time he was Lecturer and Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Females and Children, also of Physiology, at the original Protestant School of Medicine in Peter Street, Dublin. He was too a member of the Royal Dublin Society and contributed many papers to the medical journals. He died at 121 Stephen's Green West, on March 14th, 1875.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002326<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Irving, William ( - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745102025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374510">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374510</a>374510<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at the University of Edinburgh, also at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and practised in Crown Square, Penrith, Cumberland. He died in Barrett's Hotel, Cecil Street, Strand, London, on May 21st, 1870, having apparently already retired from practice.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002327<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Isbell, Warren John (1813 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745112025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374511">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374511</a>374511<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Belonged to a family prominent through several generations at East Stonehouse between Plymouth and Devonport, where for many years his father was in practice. He, too, practised at East Stonehouse for some twenty years until 1859. From 1856 he was in partnership with Christopher Bulteel, who was Surgeon to the Royal Albert Hospital. Owing to the large increase in his practice, Isbell moved into Plymouth in 1859. As a practitioner he was very highly and deservedly respected; he refused to become a candidate for municipal office, but served as JP for Plymouth and was zealous and efficient. He continued in practice at St Andrew's Lodge, Lockyer Street, also as Surgeon to the Royal Western Yacht Club, until 1870, when he fell ill for three months. About three weeks before his death he travelled to London and consulted Sir James Paget, Sir Spencer Wells, and Dr Habershon, but nothing could be done for him, and he died of pyaemia at Hampstead on July 18th, 1870. He was survived by his widow, but left no issue.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002328<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jackson, Arthur (1855 - 1921)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745122025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374512">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374512</a>374512<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of Daniel Jackson, of Chadwell Place, Grays, Essex. After school at Brentwood he studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and was Clinical Assistant at St Luke's Hospital, London, and House Surgeon at the Beckett Hospital, Barnsley. In 1884 he joined in partnership, J R Humphreys, who was then the Senior Surgeon to the Shrewsbury Infirmary. In 1890 Jackson was himself appointed Surgeon to the Shrewsbury Infirmary, having as colleagues Henry John Rope, FRCS, and W Eddowes, MRCS. The Listerian methods were in general being but tardily accepted; Jackson adopted them with enthusiasm, and later copied the practice of Horsley, the Mayos, Freyer, and Moynihan. He thus attained to high esteem as a surgeon in Shropshire and Mid-Wales, and held other posts, such as Surgeon to the New Town Infirmary, Montgomeryshire, to the Lady Forester's Hospitals, Much Wenlock and Broseley, to the Bicton Asylum, and to the Tuberculosis Sanatorium at Shirleet.
During many years he was an active member of the British Medical Association, was President of the Shropshire and Mid-Wales Branch in 1900, and read a paper "On Diseases of the Breast". He had reached the retiring age but continued active work at the Infirmary during the War (1914-1918) up to November, 1919. He was much distressed at the sudden death of his only son, Arthur H Conway Jackson, ICS, in India in December, 1920. He fell ill of influenza, complicated by pneumonia, died at 13 College Hill, Shrewsbury, on January 9th, 1921, and was buried in the General Cemetery. He was survived by his widow, Florence Eleanor, daughter of the Rev S Sunderland, of Penistone, Yorkshire, and by a daughter.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002329<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rouch, James Ryall (1838 - 1873)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753382025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375338">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375338</a>375338<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The third son of the Rev W W Rouch, Wesleyan minister, of Bristol; after going to the Wesleyan School, Kingswood, he studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he gained the Junior and Senior scholarships, as well as the Gold Medals of the Society of Apothecaries in botany and in materia medica and therapeutics in 1867. He was House Surgeon at the Bradford Infirmary during the years 1869 and 1870.
In 1871 he was elected Surgeon to the Metropolitan Free Hospital, but within a few months moved to Coventry and was elected Surgeon to the Warwickshire Hospital. In a short time he began to show signs of kidney disease and went on a voyage to Queensland. He became rapidly worse on the voyage, and died after the arrival of the vessel, at the Queen's Hotel, Rockhampton, on April 7th, 1873.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003155<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Reece, Richard (1772 - 1850)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752392025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375239">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375239</a>375239<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Cardiff and was Surgeon to the Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire Infirmary. He was held in great respect, was an Alderman and twice Mayor of Cardiff. He was also Surgeon to the Royal Glamorganshire Militia. He died at Cardiff on July 18th, 1850, being then one of the oldest members of the College.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003056<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Reed, Frederick George (1818 - 1892)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752402025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375240">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375240</a>375240<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Was an articled pupil of James Luke (qv), who in 1853 and again in 1862 was President of the Royal College of Surgeons. Reed studied at the London Hospital, then practised at Hertford and acted as Physician and Surgeon to the Hertfordshire County Infirmary from 1843-1856. Sir Benjamin Brodie and Sir William Fergusson were his friends; he had polished manners and an agreeable address. In 1857 he became a MRCP London and set up in Hertford Street, Mayfair. He was well known as a fellow and member of Medical Societies, and as a member of the Athenaeum and Union Clubs. He retired from practice some fifteen years before his death, which occurred, after a period of failing health, at his house in Hertford Street on March 11th, 1892. He married in 1866 and was survived by his widow, a son, who had already distinguished himself at Harrow and Cambridge, and a daughter.
Publications:
Reed published various papers in medical journals, including:
"On Some Affections of the Caecal Portion of the Intestines with Cases." - *Med- Chin Trans*, 1862, xlv, 77.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003057<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hoare, William Parker (1807 - 1888)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744202025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374420">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374420</a>374420<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St George's Hospital, and practised at Faversham, Kent, where he was Union Medical Officer, Surgeon to the Workhouse and to the 2nd Company of the Kent Volunteer Artillery. Later he practised at Lowfield House, Dartford, and was Surgeon to the 1st Brigade, Kent Artillery Volunteers, and Certifying Factory Surgeon. He retired to Water Newton, Northamptonshire, and died there on May 12th, 1888.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002237<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hobbs, John (1806 - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744212025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374421">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374421</a>374421<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was apprenticed to Mr Sawrey, Bloomsbury Square; studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital in the time of Abernethy and Lawrence, and afterwards in Paris. He practised in Southampton Row, Russell Square, and was an ardent phrenologist, collecting casts of living and dead celebrities, himself convinced of the entire truthfulness of phrenology to nature. He died from acute pleural effusion at 35 Southampton Row on April 17th, 1860, leaving a widow and two daughters.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002238<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hobbs, William (1806 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744222025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374422">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374422</a>374422<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Became Surgeon in the Royal Navy. On retiring he lived at 6 Windsor Terrace, Douglas, Isle of Man, and died there on February 4th, 1884.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002239<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hobkirk, William Hamilton ( - 1888)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744232025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374423">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374423</a>374423<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was for many years Inspecting Medical Officer at Charlottetown, Prince Edward's Island. For the last three or four years of his life his duties were performed by Dr J Warburton, Acting Quarantine Officer. Hobkirk died in October, 1888.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002240<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hodder, Edward Mulberry (1810 - 1878)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744242025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374424">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374424</a>374424<br/>Occupation General surgeon Gynaecologist<br/>Details Born on December 30th, 1810, at Sandgate, Kent, the son of Captain Hodder, RN. He entered the Navy as midshipman in 1822 under his father, but stayed on board only a year. He then went to school in Guernsey and at St Servans, France. He was next a pupil for five years of Mr Amesbury in London. Having qualified in 1834, he spent two years in Paris studying medicine and afterwards attended hospital practice in Edinburgh. He began practice on his own account, first in London for two years, and then at St Servans in Brittany. He paid a visit to Canada in 1835, and after a return to St Servans definitely left for Canada and began to practise in the neighbourhood of Queenstown, near Niagara Falls. In 1843 he removed to Toronto, where he gained a practice as a surgeon and gynaecologist.
In concert with Dr Bovell he started in 1850 the Upper Canada School of Medicine, which for several years represented the Medical Department of Trinity College. Hodder became a Member of the Faculty and in 1870 Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, which he held until his death. An Act incorporating the Medical School was passed in 1877. From 1852-1872 Hodder was a leading member of the acting staff of the Toronto General Hospital as well as of the Burnside Lying-in Hospital. He was especially known for his experience in ovariotomy and ovarian cysts, and in 1865 he was elected a Fellow of the Obstetrical Society of London. He was a member of the Ontario Medical Council and of the Canada Medical Association, of which he was elected President at the Halifax Meeting in 1875.
He had been ailing for some time before his death, and showed signs of cerebral degeneration of which he was fully aware. Soon after Christmas, 1877, he was seized with paralysis of speech and deglutition, with rigidity of the right arm; aphasia persisted, he gradually became weaker, and died at his house in Toronto on February 20th, 1878.
Publications:
Hodder was joint-editor of the *Upper Canada Med Jour* in 1851, to which he contributed a number of articles.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002241<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hodges, Richard (1820 - 1895)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744252025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374425">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374425</a>374425<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Thomas's Hospital, and practised first at Maidstone, next at Rochford, Essex, then in London successively at 1 Montagu Street, Portman Square; 16 Orchard Street; 36 Harewood Square, NW; and 358 Camden Road N, where he died on November 28th, 1895. He was awarded the Fothergillian Gold Medal of the Medical Society of London in 1851 for his "Essay on Uterine Haemorrhage". His photograph is in the Fellows' Album.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002242<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hodgson, Thomas (1807 - 1854)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3744262025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-04-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002200-E002299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374426">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374426</a>374426<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised in Halifax. He is described in the obituary notice as firm and decisive in manner, indefatigably industrious. As a surgeon he excelled, and of nine cases of strangulated hernia upon which he operated, eight were successful. He was a member of the Halifax Literary and Philosophical Society and of the West Riding Geological and Polytechnic Societies. He had been ill for some time, and died on April 24th, 1854, when at the post-mortem examination held at his own request, an advanced state of heart disease was found.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002243<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Schofield, Robert Harold Ainsworth (1851 - 1883)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754302025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375430">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375430</a>375430<br/>Occupation Missionary surgeon Missionary doctor<br/>Details The third son of Robert Schofield, of Heybrook, Rochdale, by his second wife, Mary Ainsworth Taylor. His eldest brother was Alfred T Schofield, MD, MRCS Edin, well known as a general practitioner and writer. Robert was educated at the Old Trafford School, near Manchester, and at Owens College, where he obtained the Victoria Scholarship in Classics. He took the degrees of BA and BSc London, and was then elected an Associate of Owens College. He obtained an Exhibition at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he entered in October, 1870, matriculating on the 18th of the month as a Member of the University. His college career was brilliant. He took a 1st Class in Natural Science in 1873, and the same year won the Junior Greek Testament Prize.
He was elected Burdett-Coutts Scholar in 1874 and obtained the Radcliffe Travelling Fellowship in 1876. After graduating BA in 1878, he acted as Demonstrator in the Museum of Comparative Anatomy under Professor George Rolleston. The same year, 1873, he gained the Open Scholarship in Natural Science at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and so vigorously prosecuted his medical studies that he won successively the Foster Scholarship in Anatomy, the Junior and Senior Scholarships in their respective years, the Brackenbury Medical Scholarship, and the Lawrence Scholarship and Gold Medal.
As Radcliffe Travelling Fellow he proceeded to Vienna and Prague in 1877, to follow his studies. During the war between Servia and Turkey he volunteered to serve as a surgeon in the Red Cross Society (National Aid Society), and was put in charge of the Hospital at Belgrade while the campaign lasted, and the year after he served in a like capacity on the Turkish side during the Russo-Turkish War. Returning to St Bartholomew's on the expiration of his Fellow¬ship, he was successively House Surgeon and House Physician.
He now announced his intention of entering the medical mission field, and to that resolve, in spite of all opposition, he steadfastly adhered. After his marriage he embarked for China in the spring of 1880. He was associated as a medical missionary with the China Inland Mission under J Hudson Taylor, MRCS. He first took up his residence at Chefoo, and later was sent to Tai-Yuen-Fu, in Shansi, far to the north-west of China. There, labouring in his vocation at the mission station, now the Schofield Memorial Hospital, he died of typhus on August 1st, 1883, and his brother states that 'his astral body' appeared on the same night to his sisters at the foot of their bed, though they were a thousand miles away and had no knowledge of his death until some months afterwards.
Schofield was respected by all who knew him. The charm of his personal character was very great; transparent simplicity of thought and speech, a gentleness and amiability almost feminine, and a power of sympathy that was practically unbounded, were united to abilities of the highest order, a clear judgement, and a determination of unswerving firmness.
He was a Fellow of the Obstetrical Society, London, and his London address was 28 Cambridge Gardens, W.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003247<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Schroeder, Henry Sacheverel Edward (1827 - 1867)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754312025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375431">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375431</a>375431<br/>Occupation Military surgeon<br/>Details Born in the East Indies on January 1st, 1827. He was gazetted Staff Assistant Surgeon on March 1st, 1859, and Staff Surgeon on December 2nd, 1862. He was placed on half pay on March 14th, 1865. He died at Halstead Hill, Cheshunt, Herts, on September 6th, 1867.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003248<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Scott, Edward John (1812 - 1857)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754322025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375432">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375432</a>375432<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Began the study of his profession very early in life. He practised at Portsmouth, and was one of the Surgeons to the Portsmouth Dispensary. At the time of his death he was Senior Medical Officer of the Portsmouth, Portsea, and Gosport Hospital and of the South-East Hants Eye Infirmary. A talented surgeon, an ardent supporter of his profession and of his colleagues, a man of great kindness and benevolence of disposition, he attained early success and greatly enhanced the prosperity of the Hospital. As an operating surgeon he occupied a deservedly high position.
He published a paper upon the division of the rectus internus muscle of the eye in strabismus, and was one of the first surgeons to perform oesophagotomy with success. He operated for stone in twenty successive cases without a failure, and performed various other serious operations such as amputation of the shoulder-joint, etc. (This was written in May, 1857.) In March of that year his paper of recommendation for election as FRCS was signed by eminent men such as Professor Fergusson. The fact of his election was chronicled in the Portsmouth papers, which spoke of it as an unsolicited honour conferred upon Dr Scott. His colleagues were much scandalized at this apparent self-advertisement, and some forwarded inquiries to the College without first ascertaining who wrote the paragraph. The College published a reply to the effect that the Fellowship had been conferred in the ordinary way "in accordance with the by-laws". Scott furnished a similar explanation in the offending newspaper, the editor of which took all blame upon himself. Scott was ill of heart disease, and the irritation of these events aggravated his symptoms. He died suddenly on May 4th, 1857, at his house, Portland Lodge, Southsea, leaving a widow about to become a mother, and eight children.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003249<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Power, James Joseph (1807 - 1866)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751702025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375170">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375170</a>375170<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Maidstone, and died there on October 5th, 1866.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002987<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Power, Sir William Henry (1842 - 1916)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751712025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375171">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375171</a>375171<br/>Occupation Physician<br/>Details Born at Bosworth on December 15th, 1842, the eldest son of William Henry Power, MD, who was himself fifth in a medical line of descent. He was educated at University College, London, and was apprenticed to his father, who was a well-known and successful medical coach. He was then apprenticed to Frederick Wood, Apothecary to St Bartholomew's Hospital, and in due course served as House Surgeon to Holmes Coote (qv). He became Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Albert Hospital, Devonport, and afterwards at the Victoria Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, where he acquired the intimate knowledge of tuberculous disease which he used to such good purpose at the Local Government Board. He was appointed a temporary Medical Inspector under the Local Government Board in 1871 when the medical staff of the Privy Council was transferred to that newly created body. Sir John Simon (qv) held the senior post and had as his colleagues Seaton, Buchanan, Thorne-Thorne, Netten Radcliffe, and Ballard.
Power proved extraordinarily good as an Inspector. He observed the small-pox epidemics of 1871-1872 and 1881 in London, and formulated the theory of the aerial conveyance of the disease. In 1886 he reported upon the "Statistics of Small-pox Incidence in the Registration Districts of London relatively to the Operation of Small-pox Hospitals in the Metropolis", and this led to the removal of all small-pox cases to hospitals outside the metropolis instead of treating them in the neighbourhood of densely populated areas as had been the custom hitherto.
In 1876 and 1877 he reported upon outbreaks of diphtheria at Brailes in Warwickshire and at Radwinter in Essex, showing, before bacteriological evidence was available, that the disease was transmitted through mild sore throats in school-children. He also drew attention to the spread of diphtheria by contaminated milk, as a result of his observations during the diphtheria epidemic of 1878 in Kilburn and St John's Wood, and did useful work at Sheffield in showing the effects of different kinds of water on leaden pipes.
His knowledge of natural history was usefully applied in 1887 when eels began to appear in the water supplied by the East London Water Company, and he showed that they gained access to the reservoirs during their autumnal migrations, when they travelled overland and entered the manholes. Two years later he investigated the outbreak of 'fever' on the Reformatory ship Cornwall and showed it to be due to *Pelodera*, a parasite which had not hitherto been recognized as invading the human body.
Power was appointed Assistant Medical Officer to the Local Government Board in 1887, and became Senior Medical Officer on the death of Sir R Thorne-Thorne in 1889; in both these positions much of his time was occupied in the training of a succession of very efficient subordinates. In 1905, chiefly on his recommendation, the Local Government Board established a department to exercise supervision over food and to advise as to the administration of all Acts relating to the sale of food and drugs. He also kept in close touch with the Proceedings of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis (Human and Bovine) which was appointed in 1901, and published a report upon the subject in 1908 and a final report in 1912. He had acted as Chairman of the Commission from 1907 after the death of Sir Michael Foster. He resigned the office of Principal Medical Officer to the Local Government Board in 1908.
He was the recipient of the Jenner Medal of the Epidemiological Society of London in 1898, the Bisset Hawkins Medal of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Stewart Prize of the British Medical Association, and the Buchanan Medal of the Royal Society in 1907. He acted as Crown nominee at the General Medical Council until he retired from the office of Medical Officer of the Local Government Board. He was decorated CB in 1902 and promoted KCB in 1908.
He married in 1876 Charlotte Jane Godwin, the third daughter of Benjamin Charles Godwin, of Winchester, by whom he had two daughters, the elder of whom, Mildred Olive, married in 1916 Mervyn Henry Gordon, CMG, CBE, MD, FRS. He died at his residence, East Molesey, on July 28th, 1916, after a long illness, and was buried at Brookwood Cemetery.
Power was a man of fine physique, standing 6 feet 5 inches in height, an athlete in his younger days and a keen cricketer. He was a good shot and had an exceptionally fine collection of English birds. Extraordinarily shy, he had an almost morbid dread of notoriety. As an official he was ideal, being full of ideas, a good judge of men, and generous to his subordinates, always giving them full credit for their work. He had thus raised his department to a high pitch of excellence when it became a part of the Ministry of Health.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002988<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Poyser, Thomas ( - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751722025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375172">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375172</a>375172<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was for fifty years the leading practitioner in Wirksworth and in the adjoining district of Derbyshire. He was highly cultivated, well read, and had wide experience. He had seen much and thought much, and his kindness of heart, cheerful disposition, and warmth of friendship endeared him to a wide circle. He died at Wirksworth after a very short illness on June 11th, 1860.
Publications:
"Cases and Dissections, chiefly in Reference to the Uncertainty of Diagnosis."-*Trans Prov Med and Surg Assoc*, 1837, v, 295.
"Illustrations of the Difficulties which beset some Cases of Disease."-*Lond Jour Med*, 1851, iii, 785.
"An Account of the Establishment of Compressed Air Baths at Lyons."-*Assoc Med Jour*, 1853, 797.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002989<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Pozzi, Samuel Jean (1846 - 1918)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751732025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375173">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375173</a>375173<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Bergerac, Dordogne, on October 3rd, 1846, the son of a pastor of Italian origin who had twelve children. He was educated at the *lycées* of Pau and Bordeaux, and in 1869 studied in Paris, becoming a favourite pupil of Broca. He graduated MD in 1873, and obtained the position of Agrégé in 1877. In 1876 he visited Lister in Edinburgh, returned a convinced Listerian, and, with Lucas Championnière, introduced Listerism into France. In 1883 he was appointed Surgeon to the Hôpital de Loureine, afterwards the Hôpital Broca. Directing his attention to gynaecology, he was appointed in 1901 to the Professorship of Gynaecology founded by the City of Paris. In the meantime he acted as Secretary-General of the French Congress of Surgery from 1885-1894; in 1895 he was elected to the Académie de Médecine, and in 1898 was elected Senator for his native Department, and retained the position for the ensuing nine years. On July 25th, 1900, he received the honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, where his striking presence was noticeable among the leaders of Continental surgery.
He was for many years President of the Surgical Society of Paris, and, in addition to his position as a general surgeon, was the leader of French gynaecologists, President of the Marseilles Congress of Gynaecology in 1898, Vice-President of the International Congress of Gynaecology in Paris in 1900, the representative of the French Government on visits to Germany, Italy, England, Austria, and the United States. In 1909 he returned from the United States and described the work and entourage of the Mayo Brothers, as well as the transplantation of organs of tissues by Carrel at the Rockefeller Institute.
He was a keen student of the history of medicine, and added one more guess at the cause of the death of Princess Henrietta, celebrated by Bossuet in an "Oraison Funèbre". Pozzi's theory was that she died of a ruptured extrauterine pregnancy in the first or second month, but there is no precise description either of the acute abdominal attack or of what was seen at the post-mortem examination.
At the age of 72 Pozzi was murdered by a lunatic on June 13th, 1918, in his consulting-room, the murderer firing four revolver shots into his abdomen at close quarters. Pozzi had operated on this man two years before, and the madman's complaint was that he would not operate upon him again. Pozzi behaved with calmness and great presence of mind; he instructed his removal to the Astoria Hospital, where he ordered spinal anaesthesia that he might follow the laparotomy performed for twelve perforations of the intestine and a wound in the kidney. He died a few hours later.
His portrait is in the Honorary Fellows' Album; one accompanies his biography in the *Lancet*; one forms the frontispiece of the *Livre d'Or, offert au Professeur Pozzi*, 1906. There is a coloured caricature among those of French physicians and surgeons in Paris early in the twentieth century.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002990<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Prall, Samuel (1835 - 1881)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751742025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375174">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375174</a>375174<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospital. He was at one time Surgeon to the Rochester and Chatham Dispensary. He practised at West Malling, Kent, and died there on August 23rd, 1881.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002991<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Prankerd, John (1814 - 1896)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751752025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375175">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375175</a>375175<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Langport, Somersetshire, on June 5th, 1814. He was educated at Langport Grammar School, and was there apprenticed to a practitioner, Mitchel, in the town. Later he studied at University College Hospital, and practised for nearly forty years at Langport. He became known in the county as a sterling, trustworthy, and intelligent practitioner, whose opinion and assistance were sought in emergencies. He was District Medical Officer for Langport, and represented the West Somerset Branch on the Council of the British Medical Association, and at one time was its President. He retired in 1878, went to Bath and elsewhere, and finally to Briarfield, Torquay, where he died on July 21st, 1896. He left a widow and three sons - one a clergyman, one a medical man, and one a barrister.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002992<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Pratt, William (1831 - 1882)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751762025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375176">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375176</a>375176<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Aberdeen, Montpellier, and Charing Cross Hospital, and at Liège, where he acted as House Surgeon and House Physician, after examination, in 1863 and 1864. For the greater part of his life he practised at Newtown, Montgomeryshire, where he was Medical Officer to the Newtown and Llanidloes Union, Surgeon to the Montgomeryshire Infirmary, the establishment of which he assisted by an Infirmary Saturday collection in the town. He lived for his profession, exhibited a versatility of talent, was an honourable friend, wise in counsel, a good scholar, and wide reader. He had been attending a severe case of pneumonia in a badly drained part of the town, when he himself was attacked by double pneumonia, and he died on May 6th, 1882, at the age of 51.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002993<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Preston, Charles Henry ( - 1923)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751772025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375177">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375177</a>375177<br/>Occupation Dental surgeon General surgeon<br/>Details Was educated at Owens College, at the Royal Infirmary, Manchester, and at the Victoria Dental Hospital. He was House Surgeon both at the Royal Infirmary and at the Victoria Dental Hospital, and also for a time at the British Seamen's Hospital, Royal Albert Dock.
Intense deafness led him to take up dentistry. He practised at 16 Lynwood Grove, Broad Road, Sale, Cheshire, held the posts of Tutor and then of Surgeon to the Victoria Dental Hospital, and Lecturer on Dental Anatomy at the Victoria University, Manchester. He died on June 15th, 1923.
Publications:
*Handbook of Surgical Anatomy* (with Professor G F WRIGHT), 1903; 2nd ed., 1905.
Several odontological papers.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002994<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Price, David (1787 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751782025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375178">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375178</a>375178<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of a Welsh clergyman, probably one of the Radnorshire family. He studied at the united hospitals of Guy's and St Thomas's, where he was a pupil of Cline and a prime favourite of Sir Astley Cooper. After qualifying he practised in the East End of London, but his health giving way he removed in 1826 to Margate. Here he was a leading practitioner, and as Margate began to grow into an important health resort, became extensively known to the general public. When the town was incorporated in 1857 he was the first Mayor, and at the time of his death was an Alderman and Consulting Surgeon to the Hospital for Scrofula - now the Royal Sea Bathing Hospital - besides holding other important local offices. He practised in Margate for some forty-four years, devoting some hours twice a week to gratuitous attendance on the poor.
He was the very type of the gentlemanly general practitioner, and was remarkably good-looking even in old age. He was painstaking, earnest, and able, inspiring confidence by his manly bearing and pleasing manners, and extracting from all who knew him much reverence for his thorough honesty and uprightness.
He laboured with little-diminished energy to within a few months of his death, and died on May 30th, 1870, in the house he had bought and resided in since 1826. He was buried in the Margate Cemetery. He had many children, some of whom were distinguished - Peter Price, author of a well-known essay on *Surgery of Diseased Joints, with Special Reference to the Operation of Excision* (8vo, London, 1859), was a rising surgeon at the time of his death (1864), which occurred before that of his father; another son, David Price, was a man of high scientific attainments; and Dr William Price carried on his father's practice.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002995<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Price, James (1792 - 1867)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751792025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375179">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375179</a>375179<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Died at Effra Road, Brixton, on November 23rd, 1867.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002996<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Price, William (1785 - 1867)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751802025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375180">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375180</a>375180<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was a Surgeon in the Royal Navy, and died in retirement at 26 St Paul's Street, Leeds, on September 20th, 1867.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002997<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Prichard, Augustin (1818 - 1898)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751812025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10 2014-07-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375181">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375181</a>375181<br/>Occupation General surgeon Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born at 39 College Green, Bristol, on July 16th, 1818, the second son of James Cowles Prichard, FRS, a physician, famous as the author of *The Natural History of Man*. His mother was the daughter of Dr Estlin, Unitarian Minister and Co-Pastor at Lewin's Mead Chapel, a scholar and friend of Coleridge, Southey, and Robert Hall. Prichard's eldest brother and his two younger brothers were distinguished Fellows of their College at Oxford.
The Prichards were a family of Welsh origin, having a marked facial type, of strong individuality and intellectual distinction. Augustin Prichard went to a private school, then to Bristol College, where Francis Newman, brother of Cardinal Newman, was an Assistant Master. In 1834 he was apprenticed at the age of 16 to his uncle, John Bishop Estlin, founder of the Dispensary for the Cure of Complaints of the Eyes. He served his apprenticeship at the Bristol Infirmary and Medical School under John Harrison, entering St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1839, where he was Dresser to Sir William Lawrence, studied medicine under Latham and Burrows, and midwifery under Rigby. He caught scarlet fever when attending the Fever Hospital under Dr Tweedie, and might have succumbed had he not been nursed by his fellow-student, Dr Goodeve. He went to Berlin and studied under Johannes Müller, Schönlein, and Dieffenbach, who was operating for strabismus by a new method. He took the MD Berlin with a Thesis on "Iritis". Next in Vienna he attended the pathological teaching of Rokitansky and of Jaeger, the best operator for cataract. Prichard learnt the value of, and always used, Baer's triangular knife, and never employed a speculum or caught hold of the conjunctiva with forceps; nor did he adopt the assistance of an anaesthetic. In the spring of 1842 he attended in Paris the lectures of Cruveilhier, Civiale, and Claude Bernard, and in the autumn he began to practise in the old Elizabethan house, Red Lodge, which his father had vacated on being appointed a Commissioner in Lunacy.
Prichard joined his uncle, Estlin, as Surgeon to the Eye Dispensary, and gained a wide reputation for his operative skill on the eye. In 1843 he was appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at the Bristol Medical School and continued until 1854; in 1850, after a severe contest, he was elected Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary. He lectured on Surgery from 1849-1864. In 1857 he read to the Bristol Branch of the British Medical Association a paper on the membrana pupillaris and the persistence of a small central portion as the cause of anterior central capsular cataract. In 1853 he delivered the address in surgery at the Annual Meeting of the Association on the extirpation of a blind and diseased eye in the interest of the remaining eye, and he did much in this country to establish the procedure. In his Address at the Bristol Meeting in 1863 he recommended the insertion of potassa fusa into a carbuncle, followed by pressure.
An expert lithotomist, he popularized the use of the wrist and ankle buckle and straps for holding the patient in the lithotomy position. He developed the custom of publishing a collection of cases: *Ten Years' Operative Surgery in the Provinces - being the Record of 875 Operations performed between* 1850 *and* 1860 - Parts I and II (12mo, London, 1862, 1863). For lithotomy he recommended Allarton's median operation. His cataract operations were done with great dexterity in the fashion mentioned, but in a haphazard way, regardless of surroundings, as described by anecdotes in his *Some Incidents in General Practice*.
Prichard acquired a large private practice in Bristol and Clifton, and in 1853 removed to 4 Chesterfield Place, Clifton, where he continued in active practice after retiring from the Infirmary under the rule, after twenty years' service. He was a man of great natural gifts, improved by untiring industry, tall and handsome, with a firm expression. He was well read in the classics, a fine draughtsman, devoted to sketching, and a pioneer in photography.
He was President of the Surgical Section at the Worcester Jubilee Meeting in 1882, and for the last time was present at the Annual Meeting in 1894 and able to entertain friends although affected by increasing deafness. He was taken ill before Christmas, 1897, underwent three operations with some temporary relief, but died on January 5th, 1898.
He married in 1845 Mary Sibellah, daughter of the Rev Thomas Ley, Vicar of Rame, Cornwall, by whom he had four sons and three daughters. Mrs Prichard died in 1892, aged 73. Two of their sons were in the medical profession, one being Surgeon to the Bristol Infirmary.
A portrait accompanied his biography in the *British Medical Journal* (1898, I, 250), and the "In Memoriam", *Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal* (1898, xvi, 1), in addition to reminiscences by contemporaries, included a bibliography of 71 entries. He wrote two books of permanent interest, the first being *Some Incidents in General Practice*, with portrait and autograph (Bristol, 1898), the second being a series of reminiscences with the title, *A Few Medical and Surgical Reminiscences* (12mo, Bristol, 1896).
**This is an amended version of the original obituary which was printed in volume 1 of Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows. Please contact the library if you would like more information lives@rcseng.ac.uk**<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002998<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Prichard, John (1800 - 1867)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751822025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375182">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375182</a>375182<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was Surgeon to the Warneford Hospital, Leamington. He died at Aspley Guise, Bedfordshire, on March 25th, 1867.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002999<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Prior, Charles Edward ( - 1907)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751832025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375183">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375183</a>375183<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied in Birmingham, London, and Paris. He practised at St Peter's Green, Bedford, was Coroner for the Borough, Surgeon to the Bedford Dispensary, Medical Assistant to the Royal Humane Society, Medical Officer of the Bedford, Biggleswade, and Woburn Unions, and at one time President of the South Midland Branch of the British Medical Association. He published articles on medicine, surgery, and sanitation, and in 1856 gave a lecture on "The Object and Advantages of Literary and Scientific Association". He died at Goldington Road, Bedford, on October 9th, 1907.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003000<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Newbolt, George Palmerston (1863 - 1924)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749812025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002700-E002799<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374981">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374981</a>374981<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Came of a naval and military family; was born at Weymouth, and was educated at Weymouth College. He was intended for the Army, but an attack of rheumatic fever left him with aortic stenosis and he decided to enter the medical profession. He entered St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1881 and in due course served the office of House Surgeon, passing his final Fellowship examination at the age of 23 and graduating at Durham University in 1884. Here he acted as Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy, and in 1896 won the Heath Scholarship with an essay on "Diseases of the Jaws".
Newbolt was elected Senior House Surgeon at the Stanley Hospital, Liverpool, in 1887, and when the Manchester Ship Canal was begun he was appointed Surgeon to the Ellesmere Port Hospital with Sir Robert Jones as his colleague. In due course he became Surgeon to the Stanley Hospital, a post he resigned in 1897 on his election as Surgeon to the Royal Southern Hospital at Liverpool. At the time of his death he was Lecturer on Clinical Surgery in the University of Liverpool, Consulting Surgeon of the Clerical Union NW District, and Surgeon of the Leasowe Hospital for Children, where a brass tablet recalls his services.
He early took an interest in the Liverpool Central Division of the British Medical Association, of which he became Chairman, and was again elected Chairman when the Divisions were amalgamated. He was also President of the Liverpool Medical Institution in 1924, and was for many years churchwarden of his parish.
He acted as Operating Surgeon at the Myrtle Street Auxiliary Hospital, Liverpool, during the European War, and at the Officers' Hospital, Croxteth Hall. For his services he was decorated CBE. He married twice, leaving two daughters and a son by his first wife, and a daughter by his second wife, and lived at 5 Gambier Terrace, Hope Street, Liverpool. He died suddenly on March 9th, 1924.
Newbolt was distinguished both as a diagnostician and as an operating surgeon; silent and somewhat taciturn, his friends knew that he was kind of heart and ever ready to help when occasion required.
Publications:-
Several papers in the *Liverpool Med-Chir Jour* and in the *Liverpool Southern Hosp Rep*.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002798<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Page, Frederick (junior) (1840 - 1919)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750642025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-12<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375064">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375064</a>375064<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Son of Frederick Page, senr (qv). He was educated at a private school and at the University of Edinburgh, being for a time Resident Physician at the Royal Infirmary. He then went out to Western Australia, and held office at the Colonial Hospital, Perth.
In 1870 he was appointed House Surgeon at the old Newcastle Infirmary, and on quitting this post in 1874 was the recipient of many presents from patients and friends. He became associated with Septimus Raine, Surgeon to the North-Eastern Railway Company, whose jurisdiction was a wide one, extending from Berwick to Yorkshire. He was thus frequently brought into public notice. In a few years' time he was appointed Surgeon to the Newcastle Infirmary, where he found the opportunities for which he had waited. He shone as a skilful and quick operator, whose results were excellent, and as a successful teacher both in the wards of the Infirmary and in the College of Medicine, where for several years he was Lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence. He prepared his lectures carefully, basing them on experience. On the death of Professor G Yeoman Heath (qv), he and Professor William C Arnison were appointed joint Professors of Surgery. Page was nothing if not dogmatic, and to this circumstance he owed much of his success as a teacher, but it sometimes brought him into conflict with his colleagues.
He acted as an Examiner in Surgery in the University of Edinburgh, and at the time of his death was Consulting Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; of the Thomas Knight Memorial Hospital, Blyth; of the Borough Lunatic Asylum; the Fleming Memorial Hospital for Children; the Hospital for Diseases of Women, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat and Ear; and the Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye. He was also Emeritus Professor of Surgery at the University of Durham; Chairman of the Visiting Committee of Justices, HM Prison, Newcastle; Chairman of Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society; Registrar of the University of Durham College of Medicine; and Representative of the College of Medicine in Armstrong College, Newcastle. He was a member of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh.
In private life Page's tastes were literary and dramatic; in Newcastle and the North of England he was widely known as a distinguished surgeon.
After a few years of indifferent health he died at his residence, 20 Victoria Square, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on July 3rd, 1919, and was buried in Jesmond Old Cemetery, being predeceased in 1876 by Mrs Page, who was the daughter of Mr John Graham and niece of Professor Graham, FRS, the well-known chemist, at one time Master of the Mint. They were survived by a married daughter in Australia and by one son, Colonel Cuthbert Page, RA.
Publications:
Page contributed frequently to the medical journals, his articles, like his lectures, being concise and to the point. As he was House Surgeon in the Infirmary in the early days of Listerism he was able to compare old with new methods, and published:-
*The Results of the Major Amputations Treated Antiseptically in the Newcastle Infirmary*, 1878-98.
*Surgery of the Thyroid Gland*
"Case of Dislocation without Fracture of the Ilium." - *Lancet*, 1870, ii, 202.
"Successful Case of Pyloroplasty" (with J Limont). - *Ibid*, 1892, ii, 84.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002881<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Page, Herbert William (1845 - 1926)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750652025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-12<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375065">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375065</a>375065<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on December 22nd, 1845, the eldest son of William Bousfield Page (qv), of Carlisle. He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1864; then went to Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in Arts, and later received his medical education at the London Hospital, under the guidance of Hughlings Jackson, Gawen Sutton, and Jonathan Hutchinson. The influence which these inspiring teachers had upon Page is illustrated by the fact that, whilst he decided early to follow the career of a consulting surgeon, in all his institutional and public and private work he displayed general familiarity with the problems of medicine. He served as House Surgeon to Jonathan Hutchinson, and on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War obtained a commission in the German Army and acted as an Assistant Surgeon all through the campaign, being attached to the Hessian Division and located at the Princess Alice Hospital at Darmstadt. After the war he joined his father in practice at Carlisle in 1872, but soon made up his mind to practise surgery in London. He was later Consulting Surgeon to the Cumberland Infirmary.
He was appointed Surgical Registrar at the London Hospital in 1875, and in 1876 became Assistant Surgeon to St Mary's Hospital, on the staff of which he served as Surgeon and teacher for thirty years, until he was elected Consulting Surgeon.
As a surgeon Page was earnestly conscientious and very cautious. He was the first surgeon at St Mary's to rely on instruments and dressings sterilized by heat rather than by antiseptics, and while he was essentially conservative, he was not reactionary; indeed, in 1887 he performed for the first time at his hospital the operation of gastro-enterostomy. The patient was a man of 48 who had suffered from malignant obstruction of the pylorus for several months; the operation gave much relief and the patient lived for seventy-two days. In a paper read at the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society Page reviewed the results of thirty-eight cases in which the operation had been done. It was, he said, an operation distinctly justifiable and to be recommended, for it was capable of bringing relief to the distressing symptoms caused by pyloric obstruction and was thereby in all probability the means of prolonging life. Such arguments were greatly in advance of the time at which they were put forward.
As a teacher Page was seen at his best in his informal clinical lectures. His formal lectures, scholarly, profound, and stated in polished phrase, did not arrest the attention of students as did these models of clear thinking and of lucid exposition, which remained in the memory and were acted upon in after-practice. He possessed great power of speech. A wonderful choice of words, a clear diction, and a melodious voice gave to his speeches a distinction which was still further enhanced by his clarity of thought and by a touch of whimsical humour. A speech from Page decorated any occasion, however prosaic.
Possessed of these qualities, Page made his mark as a railway witness at a time when the railway companies considered it necessary to contest excessive claims against them for damages as the result of accidents. Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, summing up in the case of Milsom v the London and North-Western Railway Company in 1879, remarked:-
"This I will say, that whereas it is most difficult very often to follow the reasons and to apply the ordinary rules of common sense to the evidence given by Dr R and Mr G, I do not think any man of the most ordinary common sense would have the least difficulty in following the evidence of Mr Page and in ascertaining exactly and definitely what Mr Page meant to say. Whether you believe Mr. Page is another matter, but he is such a comprehensible and intelligible witness as I very seldom have heard in the witness box. A child might understand him, and he gave his evidence with lucidity and firmness; a more cool and intelligent man, a person who seemed to estimate the value of the words he is using, it has seldom been my good fortune to see before a judge and jury."
Suave but accurate, Page, in fact, was soon busy maintaining a new position in regard to the so-called injuries due to railway accidents. In his work on *Injuries of the Spine* (1883) he was able to account for many of the symptoms following such accidents, which had been previously regarded as of a particularly malign character, inasmuch as they were thought to illustrate degeneration of the spinal cord following traumatism to bones or muscles. Having no such sinister expectations, Page consequently came into conflict with Erichsen's followers, who had evolved a complete pathology for the condition named 'concussion of the spine'. Page's position regarding 'railway' spine was that it was a mental condition caused partly by the pain due to a definite injury to ligamentous and muscular structures of the spinal column, and partly by the apprehension of the unknown consequences which might flow from this. He held that the condition was maintained and augmented by auto-suggestion and by the fear that all this suffering would not be sufficiently compensated. He was careful not to use the word 'malingering'. His conception displaced the view that the symptoms of which the sufferers complained were due to a 'concussion of the spinal cord' analogous to the condition known as 'concussion of the brain'. Page set forth these views in his Boylston Prize Essay and showed high courage in doing so, for he ran counter to the authority of his seniors.
His connection with the Royal College of Surgeons was a close one. He was a Member of the Council from 1899-1907, and a Member of the Court of Examiners from 1894-1902. He was also an Examiner in Surgery at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Birmingham.
After the first publication of his chief work in 1883 he served as President of the Neurological Society, an office which had rarely been held by a surgeon. At the Carlisle Meeting of the British Medical Association in 1896 he was Vice-President of the Section of Surgery, having been Hon. Secretary to this Section at the Ryde Meeting in 1881. His main activity as a railway case expert occurred whilst he was Surgeon to the London and North-Western and Great Western Railways.
Retiring as long before his death as 1906, and living for twenty years at his country seat, Sedgecombe House, The Bourne, Farnham, he had become an unfamiliar figure at the Royal College of Surgeons, when, a very few years before his death, he called there, bringing with him a medallion portrait of himself executed by Lady Harris, in 1920; it is not a striking likeness.
He died, after a long illness, at Sedgecombe House, on September 9th, 1926, being survived by his widow (m 1905), daughter of Canon Houghton, and by two daughters by his first marriage to a daughter of the Rev Christopher Parker, of Skirwith Abbey, Cumberland. One of his brothers was the Recorder of Carlisle, and another became the Dean of Peterborough. After his death Mr V Warren Low, as executor, gave two silver cups to the College early in 1927. The cups had been presented to Page when he left St Mary's Hospital, and were bequeathed "in happy remembrance of my one-time connection with the College as a Member of Council and also of the Court of Examiners, to be used as loving-cups at College banquets, the same to be suitably engraved."
Publications:-
*Injuries of the Spine and Spinal Cord without Apparent Mechanical Lesions and Nervous Shock, in their Medico-legal Aspects*, 8vo, London, 1883; 2nd ed., Philadelphia, 1885.
*Railway Injuries: with Special Reference to those of the Back and Nervous System, in their Medico-legal and Clinical Aspects*, with bibliography, 8vo, London, 1891.
"Abdominal Section for Intussusception" (with C HANDFIELD JONES). - *Med-Chir Trans*, 1878, lxi, 301.
"Subperiosteal Haemorrhage." - *Ibid*, 1883, lxvi, 221.
"Case of Tabetic Arthropathy." - *Clin Soc Trans*, 1882-3, xvi, 158.
"On the Abuse of Bromide of Potassium in the Treatment of Traumatic Neurasthenia". - A Clinical Lecture, 12mo, London, 1885; reprinted from *Med Times*, 1885, i, 437.
*Clinical Papers on Surgical Subjects*, 12mo, London, 1897.
Contributions to *Lancet*, *Brit Med Jour*, *Brain*, etc.
In 1881 the Boylston Prize was awarded to Page by Harvard University for his Essay on "Injuries to the Back, without apparent Mechanical Lesion, in their Surgical and Medico-legal Aspects". This was embodied by him in his other important works on spinal and railway injuries.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002882<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Sampson, James King (1817 - 1902)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752622025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375262">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375262</a>375262<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Received his professional training at Guy's Hospital. He practised throughout his long life at Lower Moira Place, Southampton, and was at first Surgeon to the Dispensary, and then for many years Ordinary Surgeon to the Royal South Hants Infirmary, of which he was Extraordinary Surgeon at the time of his death. He was also at one time an Admiralty Surgeon. He is described as a man of culture with refined taste, who made his life useful to his generation and honourable to himself. After his retirement he died at his residence, Abbotsfield, Shirley, Southampton, on September 10th, 1902.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003079<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Samwell, Francis Peter Ballard ( - 1890)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752632025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375263">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375263</a>375263<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Received his professional training at St George's Hospital, where he was entered as a twelve-months pupil to Sir Everard Home in October 1818. He practised as a surgeon at 52 Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, W where he was Senior Surgeon to the St Marylebone General Dispensary till about the year 1847. He died in or before 1890.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003080<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Sanders, John William (1859 - 1889)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752652025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375265">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375265</a>375265<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon, First Prizeman in Medicine, Surgery, etc (1879), and Prizeman in Anatomy, etc (1877). He was for a time Medical Officer of the Croydon Fever Hospital, and then became Resident Medical Officer of the Bethnal Green Infirmary. At the time of his early death he was Medical Superintendent of the St George-in-the East Infirmary, Princes Street, E, as well as Surgeon to the St John Ambulance Brigade. He was also a Fellow of the British Gynaecological Society and a Member of the British Medical Association. His death occurred on January 7th, 1889.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003082<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Sandifer, Henry Stephen (1866 - 1917)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752662025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375266">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375266</a>375266<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at King's College, London, where his career was most distinguished. He gained, besides a number of prizes, the Warneford, Rabbeth, and Junior scholarships, was Sambrooke exhibitioner, and then held a number of offices at King's College and Hospital, being Curator of the Anatomical and Medical Museum, and Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy and Physiology at the College, as well as House Surgeon, House Physician, and Assistant House Physician at the Hospital.
He practised in Canonbury, N, whence he removed to 11 Porchester Gardens, W, and finally (early in the twentieth century) to 29 Dawson Place, Bayswater, W. He was Medical Officer to the Ladies' Home, Westbourne Park, and for a time Hon Physician to Cheshunt College. He died at Dawson Place on January 28th, 1917.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003083<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parker, Charles Lewes (1810 - 1848)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750762025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375076">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375076</a>375076<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The second son of Joseph Parker, the bookseller, of St Michael's, Oxford. He matriculated at Wadham College on December 8th, 1827, in which year he attended the lectures of Dr C G B Daubeny (1795-1867), took a pass degree in 1831, and is remarkable as being the first Oxford graduate among the Fellows and the first member of the University to be elected Surgeon to the Radcliffe Infirmary.
After studying in London he settled in practice at Oxford, where his father allowed him £750 to buy a house and £4,400 for the purchase price of his partnership. He was elected Surgeon to the Radcliffe Infirmary on January 27th, 1836, receiving 152 votes as against 51 votes cast for his competitor, William Fisher. He treated Dr Routh, President of Magdalen, when he was bitten by his gardener in a fit of madness.
He died on December 19th, 1848, at his residence in St Aldate's, leaving a wife, five sons, and two daughters. His surgical instruments were presented by his father to the Radcliffe Infirmary. Parker seems to have had considerable skill as a surgeon, and his opinion was always valued. He was instrumental in bringing about improved sanitary conditions in the wards of the Radcliffe Infirmary.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002893<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Leggatt, Alfred (1815 - 1880)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3746912025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374691">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374691</a>374691<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Apprenticed early in 1832 to Mr Watson, in Berners Street, who was for many years Secretary to the Court of Examiners at Apothecaries' Hall. Entering as a student at University College, London, he obtained Dr Linley's Silver Medal for Botany in 1833 or 1834, and Dr Edward Turner's Gold Medal for Chemistry in 1835. Appointed House Surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital in 1836, he held the post for one year before qualifying. In 1838 he settled in practice in Ebury Street, where he remained till 1850, when he removed to 13 William Street, Lowndes Square, where he died suddenly on March 15th, 1880, survived by a widow and large family. He enjoyed a very large, lucrative, and fashionable practice, numbering among his patients more than one Cabinet Minister.
Publications:
"Fatty Degeneration of Voluntary Muscles." - *Trans Pathol Soc*, 1856-7, viii, 1.
"Spontaneous Laceration of the Femoral Artery." - *Ibid*, 1857-8, ix, 159.
"Dissecting Aneurism of the Arch of the Aorta." - *Ibid*, 1865-6, xvii, 52.
"Intestinal Concretion." - *Trans Clin Soc*, 1876, ix, 163.
"Yellow Fever in London." - *Ibid*, 1877-8, xi, 187.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002508<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ring, Thomas Edward ( - 1856)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752842025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-07<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375284">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375284</a>375284<br/>Occupation Naval surgeon<br/>Details Was a Surgeon in the Royal Navy; he died on or before June 5th, 1856.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003101<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Risk, James George ( - 1905)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752852025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-07<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375285">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375285</a>375285<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Trinity College, Dublin; in 1847 he was second Assistant Surgeon at Greenwich Hospital. He retired from the position of Staff Surgeon in the Royal Navy before 1871, and lived at Gorphwysfa, Penmaenmawr, and Ty Mawr, Beaumaris. He died on January 4th, 1905.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003102<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Risk, Keats Robinson (1816 - 1873)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752862025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-07<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375286">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375286</a>375286<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Trinity College, the Royal College of Surgeons, and at the Meath and Richmond Hospitals, Dublin. He first served as Surgeon in the Royal Navy, then practised at Albert Terrace, Blackpool, afterwards at 3 Brighton Parade, and died there on May 28th, 1873.
Publication:
"A Case of Strangulated Inguinal Hernia on the Two Sides, within Eighteen Days of Each Other, in a Patient aged 73, Successfully Operated upon." - *Lancet*, 1841-2, 630.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003103<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Legrand, Frederick William (1805 - 1874)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3746932025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374693">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374693</a>374693<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Dublin. He joined the Navy, and at the time of his death was Deputy Inspector-General, etc. He died at his residence, 27 Manor Road East, Deptford, SE, on November 4th, 1874. There is a photograph of him in the College Collection. [His name is LE GRAND in the Fellows' Register.]<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002510<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rundle, Henry (1845 - 1924)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753602025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375360">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375360</a>375360<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Apprenticed to W J Square (qv) at Plymouth and studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital. On the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, he was one of six surgeons selected and sent by the British Red Cross Society to aid the wounded. In company with W E B Atthill and J C Galton, he first proceeded to Berlin, then to the 'Alice' Hospital at Darmstadt founded by Princess Alice (known in Germany as Princess Louise of Hesse Darmstadt) as a reserve hospital for the Hessian wounded. He passed on to military hospitals near Metz and Strasbourg, and entered the latter after the capitulation. He received the War Medal of the Hessian Cross, also, thirty years later, the French War Medal.
On his return he was for two years (1871-1873) House Surgeon at the Royal Hampshire Hospital, Winchester. He then settled in practice at Southsea and was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the Royal Portsmouth Hospital, where he was Surgeon from 1882-1908. He acted as Hon Medical Adviser to the Royal Seamen and Marines' Orphan Home from 1877, and was also Surgeon to the Southsea Home for Sick Children. At the Portsmouth Meeting of the British Medical Association in 1899 he was the very energetic Secretary of the Surgery Section.
During the last fifteen years of his life he was in feeble health, but enjoyed entertaining a large circle of young men, medical, clerical, and others, until the death of his sister, Miss Emma Rundle, who predeceased him by about five years.
He had great attractions for and influence over young men, and kept up a correspondence with his former House Surgeons. He was a strong Churchman, but with wide and tolerant views. His chief recreation was reading the literature of the day. He was a courteous gentleman who wrote charmingly. He died at 13 Clarence Parade, Southsea, on March 19th, 1924.
Publications:
Besides medical cases Rundle also published:
*With the Red Cross in the Franco-German War, AD* 1870-1. Some reminiscences. With an Introductory Note by F Howard Marsh, with portrait, 4to, London, 1911.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003177<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Russell, George Ireland (1798 - 1883)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753612025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375361">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375361</a>375361<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and practised at The Terrace, Gravesend. He acted as Surgeon to HM Customs, as Quarantine Officer, and Surgeon to the Royal Humane Society for the Gravesend District, also to the Gravesend and Milton Dispensary. He died at Gravesend on March 30th, 1883. His son, George Ireland Russell, MRCS, was then in practice at 40 Harmer Street, Gravesend.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003178<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Weddell, Thomas (1792 - 1862)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756372025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375637">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375637</a>375637<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Scarborough for many years in partnership with Richard Cross, MRCS, and Henry Wright, MRCS. He acted as Surgeon to the Northern Sea-Bathing Infirmary, to the Ordnance, Scarborough, to a detachment of the 6th Foot, and to the Royal Artillery. He was active in local affairs as an Alderman of the Borough and was twice Mayor of Scarborough. He died there on October 28th, 1862.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003454<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Weekes, Francis Henry (1854 - 1919)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756382025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375638">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375638</a>375638<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Thomas's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon and Resident Accoucheur. He was next House Surgeon at the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire General Hospital, and after that at the County Hospital, York. He settled in practice at York, first at 3 St Leonard's Place, then at 16 and afterwards at 28 Gillygate, in partnership with Arthur Badcock, MRCS, and acted as Surgeon to the York Industrial Boys' School, and to the Dispensary. At one time he was President of the York Medical Society. After 1905 he travelled, and died at Malvern on July 31st, 1919.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003455<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jacobson, Walter Hamilton Acland (1847 - 1924)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745222025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-16<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374522">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374522</a>374522<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The second son and sixth child of the Rev William Jacobson, sometime Scholar of Lincoln and Fellow of Exeter, then Public Orator and Vice-Principal of Magdalen Hall, soon afterwards Professor of Divinity, and later Bishop of Chester. He was born at the little red-brick house in New College Lane, Oxford. His mother was a daughter of Dawson Turner, banker, of Great Yarmouth. His eldest sister married Sir William Hooker, the botanist; and another, Sir Francis Palgrave, the historian. Walter Jacobson was the godson and namesake of Sir Henry Acland, then Regius Professor of Medicine, and the promoter of the study of Natural Science at Oxford. The classical atmosphere which surrounded him at Oxford was continued at Winchester and again on his entering Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He graduated with first class honours in the School of Natural Science in 1869, entered Guy's Hospital, qualified MRCS in 1872 and FRCS in 1875. Twelve years later, on the establishment of the MCh degree at Oxford, he considered it his duty to sit for it, and was the first to take the degree in March, 1887.
At Guy's Hospital he became Demonstrator of Anatomy, Assistant Surgeon in 1876, and Teacher of Operative Surgery, but did not become full Surgeon until twenty-four years later, in 1900. He was then full Surgeon for five years and Consulting Surgeon for nearly twenty. It was as Assistant Surgeon that he rapidly developed into a wonderful and unrivalled teacher of anatomy and surgery. Much of his experience as an operator was gained as Surgeon to the Hospital for Women and Children in the Waterloo Road. From 1893-1898 he was Examiner in Anatomy, and from 1900-1905 a member of the Court of Examiners in Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, which he conscientiously resigned on ceasing active work at Guy's. He also examined in Surgery for the University of Oxford.
His work at Guy's came before everything; living in Great Cumberland Place, near the Marble Arch, he was accustomed to walk the four miles to Guy's; he would visit as early as 7 o'clock new and urgent cases, and make long preparation by drawing on the blackboard before his lectures. He had a fascinating personality and a scintillating wit, linked with numerous oddities. 'Pom's' personal ascendancy permitted the exercise of blunt truth and sarcasm upon students, but he never meant harm, and natural kindness, sympathy, and generosity made his out-patient class attendances both instructive and amusing. He was the hero of numberless tales, retold whenever Guy's men met, some of which are related in his memorial notices. He retired to Lordine Court, Ewhurst, Sussex, where there was a large garden and a pond.
He married in 1891 Miss Edith Mary Sturgis, of Ewelme, Oxfordshire, who survived him. They had one son, Burton, who in 1905, at the age of 4, fell into the pond and was drowned. This cast a shadow over Jacobson's later years and brought about complete retirement. "The loss of this never-failing sunshine, morning and evening, a solace and encouragement in my very hard work, has led me to lay it down. And I am not only fifty-eight, but fifty-eight plus many years of habitual want of sleep." This was in allusion to persistent insomnia.
At Ewhurst he devoted himself to gardening, sending fruit and vegetables up to Guy's; to the poor of Ewhurst he also made weekly gifts of supplies. During the War he gave Ambulance Lectures in the neighbouring villages. On Sundays he taught the village children Scripture, and after Sunday School encouraged them to play games. His last illness began insidiously; for many months he passed blood at intervals from the bladder, he also passed a small fragment of a papilloma, but he considered himself too old for surgical intervention. He died on September 16th, 1924, at the age of 77.
Publications:
Jacobson's *Operations in Surgery* (1st ed, 1888) aimed at being more comprehensive in scope and fuller in detail than similar works, and at once became the textbook for all higher examinations in surgery.
*Diseases of the Male Generative Organs*, 1883.
He revised several editions of John Hilton's classic *Rest and Pain*.
He contributed to Holmes's *System of Surgery* and Heath's *Dictionary of Surgery*. He was the English editor of the *Annals of Surgery* from 1896-1903.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002339<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Weir, Arthur Nesham (1869 - 1902)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756422025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375642">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375642</a>375642<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne on June 12th, 1869, at the house of his grandfather, William Nesham, Surgeon to the Newcastle Lying-in Hospital and Out-Charity. He was taken out as a baby to Singapore, where his father, James Weir, was a merchant. After two years his family returned to Scotland and he was sent to Kelvinside Academy, next to a private school. He entered Merchant Taylors' School in January, 1883, where he was on the classical side; at the age of 16 he was the youngest boy in the Sixth Form and was in the School XV playing forward, and rowing bow in the School VIII. He left in 1886, and entered St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1887, gaining the Entrance Scholarship; in 1888 the Junior Scholarship, and in 1892 the Brackenbury Surgical Scholarship.
As a keen athlete he would begin the day in summer by a swim in the Serpentine. He was Captain of the Hospital Rugby Football Team in 1890-1891, playing also for the United Hospitals and for Middlesex. He acted as House Surgeon to Sir Thomas Smith, and was extern Midwifery Assistant. For three years he was Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy. In 1899, after a holiday in Italy, he was for eight months Medical Inspector, Burials Act Department at the Home Office. He then went out to South Africa as Civil Surgeon to Princess Christian's Hospital, arriving just when the hospital was moved from Cecil Rhodes' garden at Cape Town to Princetown, ten miles from Durban. Here he worked in harmony with Colonel Matthias, RAMC, and his friend, Dr G V Worthington. On one occasion Weir set out to bring in the wounded after an engagement twenty-four miles away at 4 pm, and got back at 8 am the next morning, forty-eight miles in sixteen hours with horsed ambulance.
In January, 1901, he returned to England in charge of transport, and after a fortnight's stay returned to No 19 Stationary Hospital, Harrismith, where, with Colonel Matthias, he with two others had charge of 300 beds - mostly typhoid cases.
With all his hard work he found time to lay down three dust tennis-courts, which were well patronized. He again came back to England in charge of the convalescent transport *City of Vienna* with about 750 patients under three surgeons, in July, 1901. After holidays in Wales and Switzerland he was appointed in October, 1901, Medical Officer of Health for Tottenham, and had already devised a scheme for an Isolation Hospital, when on Jan 24th, 1902, whilst travelling in a train between Brockley and New Cross, a woman saw him fall out of the train on the wrong side. The train was stopped and Weir was taken at once to Guy's Hospital. He was conscious on arrival and told the House Surgeon that his right humerus was fractured. He became unconscious, was trephined, but died on January 25th, 1902, when it was found that the base of the skull had been extensively fractured. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned at the inquest, and he was buried at Kensal Green. The funeral was attended by many medical representatives, including representatives of athletic clubs.
The President of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society, Dr F W Pavy, referred to Weir as "a man of great natural refinement, with an unusually keen sense of honour. These two factors combined to make a most lovable character. He was a man of considerable ability, of sterling qualities, and a highly promising member of our profession."<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003459<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Russell, Henry (1801 - 1854)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753622025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375362">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375362</a>375362<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born at York, the son of a much-respected solicitor; he was the pupil of G G Brodie (qv), living in his house for five years, and studying at St George's Hospital, where he became House Surgeon. He was also House Surgeon to the Lock Hospital. Meanwhile he attended Lawrence's lectures on ophthalmic surgery at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital. He returned to practice in York, in 1834 was appointed Surgeon to the York County Hospital, and in 1842 Lecturer on Surgery in the Medical School. He was subsequently instrumental in establishing a special Ophthalmic Hospital, which gave him a widespread reputation as an Ophthalmic Surgeon.
He suffered for some years with a chronic infection, 'osteo-necrosis with purulent secondary deposits', and died on July 27th, 1854, owing to asphyxiation following upon the bursting of an extensive pulmonary abscess. A man of much simple piety, his funeral was attended by the medical men of York, as a spontaneous and grateful tribute of respect to his unblotted memory.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003179<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Russell, James (1786 - 1851)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753632025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375363">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375363</a>375363<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on November 19th, 1786, at 1 Newhall Street, Birmingham, the son of George Russell by his wife Martha, daughter of John Skey. His father, a Birmingham merchant, ruined at the outset of the American War, was a Unitarian and a prominent member of the congregation of Joseph Priestley (1733-1804).
Russell was educated at a private school near Warwick, and was apprenticed to Mr Blount, the Birmingham surgeon, on Nov 17th, 1800. He entered Guy's Hospital about 1806, and obtained the post of 'Visiting Apothecary' to the Birmingham Dispensary as soon as he had qualified. He resigned this post on Sept 30th, 1811, and spent the winter session 1811-1812 in London, attending the lectures of John Abernethy, although he had to borrow the money to pay his expenses.
He returned to Birmingham in 1812 and settled in practice first at 67, and afterwards at 63, Newhall Street. On January 18th, 1815, he was elected Surgeon to the Birmingham Dispensary, and resigned on November 9th, 1825. He was also Surgeon to the town Infirmary, but was defeated, probably on account of his Unitarian principles, when he was a candidate for election as Surgeon to the General Hospital. For many years he acted as Sanitary Inspector for Birmingham, and organized important improvements in the condition of the town, more especially in regard to drainage and ventilation. In 1851 he wrote an elaborate report on the "Sanitary Condition of Birmingham" and gave evidence before the Parliamentary Committee on the Birmingham Improvements Bill. He was also especially interested in midwifery statistics, and left behind him notes of 2700 midwifery cases which he had attended. He took an active part in the establishment of the Medical Benevolent Society and of the Geological Museum in Birmingham, and was for many years Treasurer of the Philosophical Institution. He was a Liberal in politics, and publicly enrolled himself in 1831 as a member of the Birmingham Political Union under the leadership of Thomas Attwood.
He died suddenly on December 24th, 1851, and was buried in the family vault under the old meeting-house. He married on May 5th, 1817, Sarah Hawkes, and by her was the father of three children, of whom the eldest, James Russell (d 1885), was Physician to the Birmingham General Hospital. An oil painting, which has been engraved, was in the possession of James Russell, of Edgbaston.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003180<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nicholson, Brinsley W Hewitson (1769 - 1857)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749892025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374989">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374989</a>374989<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Joined the Army as Staff Assistant Surgeon on April 29th, 1813. He was gazetted Surgeon to the 42nd Foot on November 5th, 1829, and joined the staff on June 19th, 1835. On June 1st, 1838, he was promoted Assistant Inspector of Hospitals, and on January 26th, 1841, Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals. He retired on half pay on December 30th, 1845, and had seen active service in the Peninsula 1813-1814.
Hewitson Nicholson died at his residence in Red Hill, Surrey, on March 15th, 1857. His son, sometime Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, Brinsley Nicholson, MD (1824-1892), the Elizabethan scholar, died in 1892.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002806<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nichols, William Peter (1801 - 1878)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749902025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374990">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374990</a>374990<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised in Norwich, where in 1850 he was elected Surgeon to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in the place of John Greene Crosse (qv) without having served as Assistant Surgeon. He resigned the post in 1872 and was elected Consulting Surgeon. He was also Consulting Surgeon to the Norwich Bethel Hospital and proprietor of Heighan Hall Private Asylum, and was at one time Surgeon to the City Gaol and Police Force. He served as Mayor of Norwich in 1865. He died at his residence in Surrey Street, Norwich, on December 22nd, 1878.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002807<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nicolas, Thomas (1823 - 1865)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749912025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374991">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374991</a>374991<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals. During the Crimean War he was Staff Surgeon to the British Military Hospitals at Scutari, and became a member of the Imperial Medical Society of Constantinople. He was afterwards Surgeon to the Battersea Dispensary and to the Royal Humane Society. At the time of his death he was Physician and Surgeon to the Royal Portland Dispensary, Registrar of Births and Deaths, Isle of Portland, Medical Referee to several Insurance Societies, and Medical Officer to several Benefit Societies. He died at Portland, Dorset, on January 27th, 1865.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002808<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nicolaysen, Julius (1831 - 1909)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749922025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374992">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374992</a>374992<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Bergen, Norway, on July 31st, 1831. Studied medicine in Christiania and graduated in 1856. Soon afterwards he was appointed Medical Inspector of the Herring Fishery. He was a Compagnie-Chirurg from 1857-1867, being resident in Stockholm up to 1860. From 1863-1866 he was 'Reservearzt' on the surgical side of the Norwegian State Hospital, and in 1867 became Stipendiary ('Stipendiat') of Surgery. In 1870 he was appointed Professor of Medicine, and later on Professor of Surgery, at the University of Christiania, and in 1872 became a Chief Surgeon at the State Hospital (head of a surgical department). From 1866 onwards he undertook a number of scientific journeys to various countries in Europe and to North America. He was the first Norwegian surgeon to perform ovariotomy and to operate on the intestines with success. He received the diploma of Hon Fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on July 25th, 1900, having then been for many years the leading surgeon in Norway. His portrait is in the Hon Fellows' Album.
His death occurred on December 25th, 1909. He was succeeded in his professorship of surgery at the University of Christiania by his son, Dr Johan Nicolaysen, Hon FRCS, July 31st, 1913, who presented a portrait medallion of his father to the College in 1923.
Julius Nicolaysen was co-editor of the *Norsk Magasin for Laegevidenskapen* (Norwegian Medical Magazine) from 1869-1871, and in this publication from 1857 onwards appeared most of his writings, which were mainly on surgical subjects.
Publications:-
"Optequelser fra Vaarsildefiskeriet i nordre Bergenhuus. Amt i 1857." - *Norsk Mag f Laegevid*.
"Om Ovariotomi, dens Historie Berettigelse og Udfocrelse." - *Ibid*.
"Om Astigmatisme." - *Ibid*.
"Ovariotomi med heldigt Udfald." - *Ibid*.
"Beretninger om 7 udfoerte Ovariotomier." - *Ibid*.
"Beretninger om Rigshospitalets chirurgiske Afdeling fra Novbr. 1864 til Octbr 1866." - *Ibid*.
"Incarceratio interna intestini ilei." - *Ibid*.
"Fra Udlandet." - *Ibid*.
"Om Anvendelsen af nogle Antiseptica, i den nyere Tids Chirurgi." - *Ibid*.
"Doedelighedsforholdene efter de stoerre Amputationer i Norge." - *Ibid*.
"Om Massage som Helbredelsesmiddel." - *Ibid*.
"Fra den chirurgiske Afdeling paa Rigshospitalet." - *Ibid*.
"Tilfdelde af Lamhed bevirket ved arsenikholdigt Tapetpapir." - *Ibid*.
"Beretning fra Rigshospitalets kirurgiske Afdeling for Aaret 1872" (with TH EGEBERG). -*Ibid*.
"Staerk Synkning aft Legemsvarmen som Foelge af Forfrysning." - *Ibid*.
"Synkning af Legemsvarmen." - *Ibid*.
"Trende Tilfaelde af Pseudohypertrophia Muscularis." - *Ibid*.
"Kliniske Meddelelser," Nrs 1-12, fra Rigshospitalets kirurgiske Afdeling A" - *Ibid*.
"Tumor Cysticus Abdominis, Laparotomi, Exstirpation." - *Ibid*.
"Tumor Cysticus Ovarii, Ovariotomi, Helbredelse." - *Ibid*.
"Om Hofteledsygdommen." - *Nord Med Arkiv*, i, 1869, ii.
"Aneurysma Aortae Ascendentis." - *Ibid*.
"Traumatisk Luxation af Hofteleddet." - *Ibid*.
"Carcinoma Recti et Ani." - *Tidsskr f praktisk Medicin*, 1881.
"Ovariotomi, senere Svangerskab." - *Ibid*.
"Om nogle nyere Behandlingsmetoder for Equino-varus." - *Klinisk Aarbog*, 1884, of which journal he was co-editor.
"Fire irreponible Luxationer, operativt behandlede." - *Ibid*.
"Strictura Urethrae behandlet med Urethrotomi." - *Ibid*.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002809<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Thorburn, Sir William (1861 - 1923)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754502025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20 2017-05-22<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375450">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375450</a>375450<br/>Occupation General surgeon Neurosurgeon<br/>Details Born in Manchester on April 7th, 1861, the son of John Thorburn, Professor of Obstetric Medicine at Owens College, Manchester, and Physician to the Manchester Royal Infirmary. He was educated at Owens College, and received his professional training at the Infirmary and in London, where his passage through the examinations of London University was brilliant. In 1884, on passing the BS, he obtained the gold medal in surgery, and on passing the MB he obtained the scholarship and gold medal for medicine and obstetric medicine. After admission as FRCS in 1886, he brought out the posthumous *Treatise on the Diseases of Women*, which his father, then recently dead, had already begun to pass through the press.
In 1883 he became House Surgeon to James Hardie (qv) at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, and so stimulated that rather retiring surgeon that his classes at once became famous. On obtaining the Surgical Registrarship at the Infirmary he came under the influence of Dr James Ross, who inspired him to investigate the distribution of the spinal sensory roots. His first articles, dealing with the cervical roots, were published in *Brain* in January, 1887, and October, 1888. Subsequently, in the *Medical Chronicle* of April, 1889, he dealt with the lumbosacral roots and first described the anaesthetic 'saddle-shaped' area on the buttocks and thighs caused by lesions of the lowest part of the spinal cord and its roots. In June, 1889, a tumour of the cauda equina was investigated by him, confirming his previous views. Subsequently, as years went by and clinical opportunities arose (for he never did animal experiments), he was able to map out the whole body in the sensory areas proper to each sensory root. Although slight correcting modifications in these areas have been made by others, yet Thorburn's work on this all-important part of neurology was not only pioneer work, but was a complete work.
Thorburn had already ventured a prediction which his own investigations and successful operations did much to verify - namely that, acting under strict antiseptic precautions and aided by modern knowledge, surgeons would probably, in the near future, open the spinal cord with as little danger and as little hesitation as they operated upon the cavity of the cranium. All of which has come to pass, but under the proviso laid down by Thorburn that the accuracy of diagnostic methods must be increased.
Thorburn also early investigated the nervous symptoms following accidents of various kinds - what was called 'traumatic hysteria', especially in relation to railway accidents, and in which no organic changes had been produced or were observable. The terms 'railway spine' and 'concussed spine' were then common, but are now assessed at their true clinical value (*see* PAGE, HERBERT WILLIAM). These early observations led directly to his great life work, and resulted in his reaching one of the highest positions as a sagacious, reliable, and successful surgeon, and he became well known as an authoritative referee in railway cases.
He won the Jacksonian Prize in 1890 with his essay on "The Nature and Treatment of Injuries of the Spinal Column and the Consequences arising there from". In 1894, as Hunterian Professor of Surgery and Pathology, he delivered a masterly course of lectures at the College entitled, "The Surgery of the Spinal Cord and its Appendages". In December, 1922, as Bradshaw Lecturer, he summed up his operative experience during thirty years and the modifications in his views thereby entailed.
After serving as House Surgeon in the Manchester Royal Infirmary, Thorburn filled various offices, and in 1889 was elected Assistant Surgeon, and succeeded Walter Whitehead (qv) as Surgeon in 1900. He retired in 1921 and became Consulting Surgeon. In the University of Manchester he was Professor of Clinical Surgery (Emeritus at the time of his death), and in the Council and Senate a trusted adviser.
At the Royal College of Surgeons his career was distinguished. He was a Member of Council from 1914-1923, and a Member of the Court of Examiners from 1913-1923. He was at one time Examiner in Surgery at the University of London. As President of the Manchester Medical Society he brought the Library of that body and the Medical Library of the Manchester University into closer touch. As a Member of the British Medical Association he was Vice-President of the Section of Surgery at the Manchester Meeting of 1902, and at the Cambridge Meeting of 1920 he opened the discussion on the end-results of injuries to the peripheral nerves treated by operation.
On the outbreak of the Great War he was placed in charge of the Surgical Division at the 2nd Western General Hospital. In 1915 he went out as Consulting Surgeon to the Expeditionary Force in the Mediterranean, and saw service in Malta, Gallipoli, and Salonika. At a later date he was Consulting Surgeon to the Forces at Le Treport, in the Rouen area, and proved a source of strength to the officers about him. For these services he was decorated in 1919 a Knight Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
In 1890 he married Miss Augusta Melland of Manchester (d1922), by whom he had three sons and three daughters. All his sons were killed in the Great War, the last in Gallipoli in 1915. Thorburn died at his London address, York Gate, Regent's Park, on March 18th, 1923, and was survived by three daughters.
He was a precise thinker and speaker who would probably have done equally well had he chosen the Bar as his profession. He possessed the faculty of summing up the points of a difficult subject and could crystallize the ideas expressed in a debate in a few well-chosen and clear words.
Publications:
*A Contribution to the Surgery of the Spinal Cord*, 8vo, illustrated, and a bibliography, London, 1889; American edition, 1889.
"The Nature and Treatment of Injuries to the Spinal Column, and the Consequences
arising therefrom" (Jacksonian Prize Essay, 1890), MS, 4to, plates, 1890.
*Course of Instruction in Operative Surgery in the University of Manchester*, 12mo, Manchester, 1906.
*The Evolution of Surgery*, 8vo, Manchester, 1910.
"Operations upon the Spinal Cord" in Burghard's *System of Operative Surgery*, iii.
"On Injuries of the Cauda Equina." - *Brain*, 1887-8, x, 381.
"Spinal Localizations as illustrated by Spinal Injuries." - *Ibid*, 1888-9, xi, 289.
"Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteo-arthropathy." - *Brit Med Jour*, 1893, i, 1155.
"Symptoms due to Cervical Ribs." - *Med Chronicle*, 1907-8, xiv, 165.
"The Sensory Distribution of Spinal Nerves." - *Brain*, 1893, xvi, 355.
"Cases of Injury to the Cervical Region of the Spinal Cord." - *Ibid*, 1886-7, ix, 510.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003267<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Thornton, William Henry (1826 - 1881)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754512025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375451">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375451</a>375451<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Manchester, where he was at one time Physician's Assistant at the Royal Infirmary. He then practised at Springfield Terrace, Dewsbury, in partnership with John Sykes (qv). He was a Justice of the Peace for Dewsbury, Union Medical Officer, Surgeon to the Police, a Certifying Factory Surgeon, and Medical Referee to several Assurance Societies. Removing to Scarborough, he practised there at Bank Lodge, South Cliff. He died at Scarborough on March 4th, 1881.
Publication:-
"Successful Case of Caesarean Section." - *Lancet*, 1857, i, 313.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003268<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Akiyama, Hiroshi (1931 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752152025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby R M Kirk<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-17 2012-12-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375215">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375215</a>375215<br/>Occupation Gastro-oesophageal surgeon General surgeon<br/>Details Hiroshi Akiyama was professor of surgery at Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, and an internationally renowned gastro-oesophageal surgeon. He was born on 2 July 1931 in Chiba, Japan, the son of Dr Mizuki Akiyama. He studied medicine at the University of Tokyo, qualifying in 1955.
He then spent a year on a rotating internship at the United States Army Hospital, Camp Zama. From 1956 to 1957 he was a surgical intern at Buffalo General Hospital, New York, on a Fulbright scholarship. He then returned to Japan, as a surgical resident in Tokyo.
His postdoctoral research extended from 1975 to 1986. He investigated tumour types in oesophageal cancer, appropriate dissection of gastrointestinal cancer and techniques of gastrointestinal anastomosis. He also studied problems in bile duct reconstruction. Further research followed into improving the results of surgery for gastrointestinal malignancy in terms of survival. Some of this work was concentrated on oesophageal cancer, but gastric cancer was also incorporated. Within these studies, he looked at techniques of filming the deep surgical field, adjuvant immunochemotherapy and reconstruction techniques.
Akiyami held a number of hospital appointments during his training and as a consultant surgeon. He was a clinical instructor and member of the surgical staff of Tokyo University Hospital from 1963 to 1972, consultant to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Hospital, lecturer at the University of Tokyo and University of Tsukuba schools of medicine, and visiting professor at the Tokyo Medical College from 1986 to 2003. He was a member of 10 Japanese medical societies devoted to various gastroenterological and other cancers, and also on the editorial boards of 10 journals.
Hiroshi Akiyama was an honorary member or fellow of 22 institutions in the USA, South America, Asia and Europe. He was an honorary visiting professor at 14 centres outside Japan.
His writings were in Japanese and English, based on results obtained at the Toranonom Hospital in Tokyo. As far back as 1980 Richard Earlam at the London Hospital had reviewed reports of 83,783 patients with squamous oesophageal cancer and concluded that of 100 patients presenting, 58 were explored. Of these, 39 had resections performed and 26 of them left hospital. After a year, 18 had survived, but only four survived for five years. The very next year, Akiyama reported his personal series of 354 similar patients, of whom 210 had had resections. Operative mortality was 1.4% and 34.6% survived for five years! His pathological examination of the meticulously resected, plotted and studied specimens demonstrated the wide spread of cancer to glands, irrespective of the primary location. Hiroshi's attitudes ran very parallel with those of Norman Tanner, the doyen of British gastric surgeons - obsessive clearance of cancer and glands, followed by perfect apposition during reconstruction.
Two young surgeons were sent from the Royal Free Hospital in London to observe him. They returned full of admiration: one was allowed to participate in the procedures. He particularly appreciated the commitment to the highest standards of performance. The second was invited to remain and help with the editing of the famous book, *Surgery for cancer of the esophagus* (Baltimore, Williams and Wilkins, c.1990). He reported that Hiroshi was as determined to achieve full and accurate reporting as he was to achieve exemplary performance of the operations. During the extended visit he found Akiyama and his wife to be wonderfully hospitable hosts. In particular, Hiroshi was quiet, unassuming, conducting himself with humility and willing to listen and to teach juniors.
Those of us who had the privilege of knowing Akiyama acknowledge him as a master clinician and operator, and a major contributor, committed to excellence. He dedicated himself to his patients, to surgery and to science. Those of us who became aware of his achievements late in our careers recognised that we had been dinosaurs.
Outside medicine, his hobbies were the violin and tennis. He married Kazuko Morimoto in 1958 and they had three children: daughters Mariko and Yoko, and son Futoshi, who is a plastic surgeon. Akiyama died on 21 September 2012.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003032<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ashford Hodges, William Anthony (1922 - 2011)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752162025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby N Alan Green<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-17 2013-09-02<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375216">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375216</a>375216<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Anthony Ashford Hodges was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Great Yarmouth, Gorleston-on-Sea and Lowestoft. Very general in his approach to orthopaedic conditions, he particularly enjoyed performing joint replacements. He was a unique character, and had an unusual upbringing and an eventful life.
He was born in Vienna on 24 July 1922, the only child of William Ashford Hodges, an architect, and Anna (Nitza) Bonna. William had trained in the UK, but was sent to Alexandria, Egypt, to advise on the rebuilding of Victoria College and then stayed on as chief architect to the Egyptian government. Anthony's mother was born in Turkey, the daughter of an Austrian diplomat. She was a gifted pianist and studied music at the Vienna Conservatoire, before moving with her family to Alexandria after the death of her father. There she met and married William, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.
Anthony's father died of pneumonia in 1925, and Nitza decided to move to Switzerland with her son. Anthony went to the English school at Chateau d'Oex, where the headmaster introduced him to lepidoptery, which remained a lifelong passion. He collected butterflies and moths from various parts of the world, particularly Tanzania. Hundreds of specimens are preserved in cabinets, still in the possession of the family. From Switzerland he went to Downside School, where his academic record was good.
Although he contemplated a career as an entomologist, he went into medicine, first as an undergraduate at Downing College, Cambridge, and then for his clinical studies to the London Hospital, which bore the brunt of the German bombing of the East End. Some of his clinical training took place at Billericay Hospital, followed by stints at Brentwood and Chase Farm hospitals. He took the MRCS and LRCP examinations when he was still only 21.
In 1943, while still a student, Anthony met his future wife, Joan Halliday, when they both were working at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield. She was a student nurse from the London Hospital. They married in 1944 when both were back working at the London.
After house appointments at Chase Farm and Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, Anthony then moved to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in May 1945 as a house surgeon to Herbert Alfred 'Tommy' Brittain and Ken McKee, later expressing his gratitude to both of these pioneering surgeons. He saw Brittain's work in treating the fractured neck of the femur with a trifin pin, and was able to witness his new methods of arthrodesis of the hip joint in tuberculosis as he perfected the ischiofemoral variety of fixation. McKee, on the other hand, designed a pin and plate for fixation of pertrochanteric fractures of the femur, as well as a lag screw used in arthrodesis of the hip joint. Based on his enthusiasm for taking motor-cycles and car engines to pieces and then rebuilding them, Ken McKee conceived the notion that worn out human joints could also benefit from 'spare parts', hence his original concept of metal to metal artificial hip joints that heralded a new era in the surgical treatment of disabling osteoarthritis.
National Service then called, and Anthony served on a hospital ship from 1945 to 1948 as a captain in the RAMC. When demobilised he returned to the London Hospital as an orthopaedic registrar under Sir Henry Osmond-Clarke. He also did periods at Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton, and St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey. He passed the FRCS in 1950 and decided to specialise in general trauma and orthopaedics.
In 1952 Anthony took a job with the Colonial Service in Tanganyika. He was called a special grade medical officer and was expected to do everything from general medicine to general surgery. He became involved with two leprosy hospitals and published a paper on 'The treatment of deformities of the foot in leprosy' (*East Afr Med J* 1956 Aug;33[8]:301-3). After various postings to provincial towns around the country, he ended up in 1963 as surgical specialist in the country's then capital, Dar es Salaam. Here he was instrumental in creating and running the Muhimbili Rehabilitation Centre.
In 1964 Anthony and Joan decided that they must come home for the sake of their children (Hugh, Anne, Nicholas and Gabrielle), who were all at school in England. Being out of touch with the NHS after so many years abroad, Anthony wrote to his former chief at the London Hospital, Sir Henry Osmond-Clarke, and also to Sir Herbert Seddon of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, seeking their advice. They told him to wait another year, by which time he would be in a position to apply for consultant posts and they would give their support.
In February 1965, Anthony and Joan returned to the UK. Eschewing the more conventional sea voyage, they decided to travel by car, a distance of around 5,000 miles. They were accompanied by a Czech nursing sister, Jari Kolar, and travelled in two cars. For much of the time Anthony drove a small Peugeot without an operative clutch. Along the way they also had 42 punctures.
The journey initially took them through Kenya, Uganda and into the Sudan, where they discovered a civil war was raging. Their visa for Sudan was torn up at the border, but they managed to persuade the authorities to let them through and drove 250 miles to Juba. On route they encountered villages with charred houses, and no sign of human or animal habitation. But they did link up with some rebels, who were very friendly, even going so far as to construct a makeshift ferry for them to make a river crossing.
From the Sudan they travelled through the Central African Republic, Chad, Cameroon, northern Nigeria and Niger, and then across the Sahara to Algeria. They had various adventures on the way, including being stuck in sand for two days, being rescued and then helping to rescue a trans-Sahara expedition. The trio also spent some time with the French Foreign Legion in the Arak gorges.
In 1966 Anthony Ashford Hodges' began his NHS consultant orthopaedic post at Great Yarmouth, Gorleston-on-Sea and Lowestoft, and continued until he retired in 1983. For much of his time working for the Great Yarmouth and Waveney Health Authority, orthopaedics was carried out at Gorleston Hospital, which was half way between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Gorleston Hospital had originally been built at the end of the 19th century, but in 1965 a new operating suite was installed and the following year the hospital became the orthopaedic unit for the district with 23 beds. Orthopaedic emergences were treated at the main hospitals in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
Prior to Anthony's appointment to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, orthopaedics was overseen by consultants from Norwich. David Burgess joined him in 1972 and together they started to build a department of orthopaedics. Anthony was always full of enthusiasm, cheerful and keen to listen and learn. He was good at DIY and on one occasion when an instrument was not available for an operation, he left the theatre, drove home and obtained the necessary part from his workshop!
He had monocular vision for much of his later adult life, having had surgery for a melanoma in 1972 at Moorfields Hospital, somewhat delayed in its diagnosis. This did not impair his handling of bones and joints, nor his energetic outside pursuits of sailing in the North Sea and further afield, and gardening.
Presumably short of excitement in the NHS, in 1974 Anthony took a two-year sabbatical to work as surgeon superintendent at the Vila Base Hospital in the New Hebrides, a small Melanesian country in the South Pacific, now called Vanuatu. Joan and Anthony bought a 46 ft ferro-concrete ketch, in which they had many enjoyable and hair-raising trips around the islands, until the end of Anthony's tour, when they decided to sail the boat back to the UK. They got as far as Papua New Guinea and were in the process of negotiating the Torres Strait, a well-known hazard, when they holed the vessel on the edge of a reef and had to paddle ashore to a nearby island, where they were rescued.
After the loss of his boat in the Torres Strait, Anthony immediately bought a 45 ft ketch (with a steel hull this time) and worked on it in his garden in Norfolk until he retired from the NHS in 1983. He and Joan then set sail for the Bahamas and spent a year living on the boat in the Caribbean. The return journey was extremely hazardous: they ran into a hurricane and only narrowly escaped.
For several years following his retirement, he did a number of locums around the country, as well as some medico-legal work, but it did not dim his adventurous spirit.
In 1986, now aged 64, he and Joan embarked on their final sailing adventure. They planned to sail back to East Africa via the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Clutch trouble occasioned an enforced stop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they were held at gunpoint by the Saudi authorities, as they had no visa. Fortuitously their son-in-law was just coming to the end of a diplomatic posting in Saudi Arabia and he managed to get them released. Within a day of setting sail though, they had grounded the yacht on an uncharted reef and were stuck for 10 days. After jettisoning almost everything on board, they got the boat afloat and limped into Port Sudan. The boat was shipped back the UK and repaired!
Thereafter, they decided to confine their sailing adventures to the Mediterranean, leaving their boat in Bodrum in the south western region of Turkey: they spent four months each year sailing around the southern Med. When the boat was sold, they decided to settle for a quieter lifestyle, first in Norfolk and then Thaxted in Essex, but this did not stop them travelling to their beloved Tanzania in 2005 and to Australia in 2007, when Anthony went snorkelling on the Barrier Reef.
Anthony Ashford Hodges died on 2 September 2011, aged 89. Perhaps his death notice, published in the national newspapers, best sums up his life: 'Orthopaedic surgeon, sailor, adventurer and friend of Africa and passionate gardener, adored husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather of a family running to keep up.'<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003033<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Noble, Daniel (1810 - 1885)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749962025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374996">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374996</a>374996<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Born at Preston, and received his medical education at the Borough School and Guy's Hospital. He settled in general practice in Manchester in 1834, and in 1847, when an alarming and disastrous epidemic of typhus raged there, was the general superintendent of the extensive arrangements made for checking the progress of the disease. In 1866, when the cholera threatened a renewed visitation, he was once more consulted. In 1859 he declined a County Magistracy offered him by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
He practised at 32 Ardwick Green, after leaving Piccadilly, Manchester, to which latterly he returned. He was Medical Officer of the Manchester Union, Vice-President of the Manchester Medical Society, President of the Manchester Statistical Society, a Member of Council of the Provincial Medical Association, and President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Branch of the British Medical Association. He was also Visiting Physician to the Clifden Hall Retreat and Consulting Physician to the Manchester Ear Institute, and to the Wye House Lunatic Asylum, Buxton. He died on January 12th, 1885. His last address was at 258 Oxford Road, Manchester.
Publications:-
*An Essay on the Means, Physical and Moral, of Estimating Human Character*, 8vo, Manchester, 1835.
*Facts and Observations relative to the Influence of Manufactures upon Health and Life*, 8vo, London, 1843.
"On Mesmerism." - *Brit and For Med-Chir Rev*, 1845, xix, 428.
*The Brain and its Physiology*, a critical disquisition on the methods of determining the relations between the structure and functions of the encephalon, 8vo, London, 1846.
*Wat is waar, wat onwaar in het dierlijk magmetisme? Kritische beschouwing der mesmerische daadzacken en theorien. Uit het Engeloch vertaald door. J N Ramaer*, 8vo, Zutphen, 1847.
"On the Question of Contagion in Cholera," 8vo, London, 1849; reprinted from *Lond Med Gaz*, 1849, ns viii, 141.
*Elements of Psychological Medicine*, an introduction to the practical study of insanity, adapted for students and junior practitioners, 12mo, London, 1853; 2nd ed, 8vo, London, 1855.
"Three Lectures on the Correlation of Psychology and Physiology," 8vo, London, 1854; reprinted from *Assoc Med Jour*, 1854, 586, etc; 2nd ed, 1855.
*The Human Mind in its Relations with the Brain and Nervous System*, 8vo, London, 1858.
"On Certain Popular Fallacies concerning the Production of Diseases," 8vo, Manchester, 1859; reprinted from *Trans Manchester Statist Soc*, 1863-4.
"On Fluctuations in the Death-rate, with a Glance at the Causes, having Especial Reference to the Supposed Influence of the Cotton Famine on Recent Mortality" (read before the Manchester Statistical Society, Oct 26, 1863), 8vo, London, 1863; reprinted from *Trans Manchester Statist Soc*, 1863-4.
"Thoughts on the Value and Significance of Statistics," 8vo, London, 1866; reprinted from *Trans Manchester Statist Soc*, 1865-6.
"Epidemic Fever of 1847." - *Ibid*, 1848, i, 285.
"Cerebrospinal Concussion, with Illustrative Cases." - *Assoc Med Jour*, 1855, 1127.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002813<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, James (1817 - 1862)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757472025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375747">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375747</a>375747<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon, and practised at Southwold, Suffolk. He was Surgeon to the Dispensary, Medical Officer of Blytning Union, and a member of the British Medical Association. He died at Southwold on January 9th, 1862.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003564<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rivington, Walter (1835 - 1897)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752872025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-07<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375287">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375287</a>375287<br/>Occupation Anatomist ENT surgeon General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Highgate in December, 1835, the son of George Rivington, a member of the well-known firm of publishers. His mother had been Miss Ann Finlay. He was educated under Dr G A Jacob at Sheffield Collegiate School, was afterwards apprenticed to a practitioner in Stepney and entered as a student at the London Hospital, where his cousin, Thomas Blizard Curling (qv), was Surgeon. He shared rooms with Morell Mackenzie, whom he especially numbered among his friends. Both young men were frequent speakers at the London Hospital Debating Society. Rivington was an exceptionally brilliant student at the Hospital, and at the same time he gained high honours at the University of London. On taking the Membership in 1859 he was appointed House Surgeon at the London Hospital.
He served for a brief period as Surgeon with the P&O Steam Navigation Company, and in 1863 was elected to the Assistant Surgeoncy and Demonstratorship of Anatomy at the London Hospital on the promotion of Jonathan Hutchinson (qv) to the full staff. He showed great energy in these positions, and his teaching was so much appreciated by the students that they presented him with a testimonial. In 1865 he became associated with John Adams (qv) as Lecturer on Anatomy, and held this post till 1884, John Adams having long ago retired. In 1884 he gave up the lectureship and succeeded James Adams (qv) as Lecturer on Surgery, retaining office till 1890, when he retired from the active staff. He was also teacher of operative surgery. He had become full Surgeon in 1870, and, retiring under the twenty years rule, was appointed Consulting Surgeon.
He devoted himself at one period to the study of aural surgery, and was the first Surgeon to the Aural Department of the London Hospital, but gradually gave up the study of diseases of the ear and resigned his appointment. For a time he lectured on comparative as well as on human anatomy. For some thirty years up to the time of his death he was the Secretary of the London Hospital Club in succession to John Adams. He was the moving spirit of the club, and a link between successive generations of students, ever keeping alive tradition and esprit de corps. He was, in fact, very much of the family at the London Hospital, where two former Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons, Sir William Blizard and Thomas Blizard Curling (qv), were his kinsmen. He was Dean of the Medical School for several years, and as such made great efforts in behalf of entrance scholarships, successfully initiating a movement for their establishment. He was devoted to the School and Hospital in all its aspects, and this was recognized at a dinner given in his honour a few years before his death, when he was presented with a handsome service of plate.
As a lecturer he was able, impressive, and humorous, and exceedingly popular with the students. He was gifted with an extraordinary memory, and upon several occasions - notably that of his introductory address at the opening of the Medical College and his Oration at the Hunterian Society - he committed his addresses to memory, after carefully writing them out, and delivered the whole from beginning to end without hesitation. The former oration was remembered as one of the best so far delivered. As an operating surgeon it must be allowed that Rivington made no decided mark, though he could on occasion be very brilliant; and a certain absent-mindedness, which was characteristic, caused him to be an uneven teacher at the bedside. His enormous experience made him most instructive when his interest was aroused, but there were times when he did not seem called upon to exert his undoubtedly high gifts of exposition and lucid description.
From 1878-1883 he was an Examiner in Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons, and in 1891 was elected to the Council in the interest of the 'Reform Party'. As a Member of the Council he was faithful to his pledges, his voice and vote being immediately exercised towards obtaining for Members of the College a share in the management of their own collegiate affairs. Had he been familiar with the internal government of the ancient Universities, he would have known that, at Oxford at least, none share therein save the 'Regent Masters', who are a moiety of the Masters of Arts, while the great majority of members of the University (ie, Masters, Bachelors, and, of course, all undergraduates) are without votes. In 1896 he offered himself as a candidate for a seat upon the General Medical Council as a direct representative of the profession. In his election address he maintained that Members of the Council of the College of Surgeons were not directly representative of the profession in that Members had not shared in their election; but, presumably, forgot to add that he was in a precisely similar position on the Council of the College so far as regarded his own election thereto. He was not elected.
The cause of R B Anderson (qv) was ardently espoused by him as put forth by the Civil Rights Defence Committee, on which Rivington represented the College of Surgeons. Anderson's rights, professional and civil, were held to have been invaded, and Rivington was bringing forward a motion before the College Council in Anderson's behalf when cut off by his last illness.
For some three or four years before his death Rivington was a Member of the Standing Committee of the Convocation of the University of London, and consistently opposed the scheme for altering the constitution of the University as recommended by Lord Cowper's Commission. He held that by this scheme the real governing body would be a small academic council; that the powers of Convocation would be altogether taken away; that there was danger that the standard of examinations would be lowered and that the Imperial character of the University would be forfeited. In June, 1896, he was nominated for the Fellowship of the University in opposition to Sir Joseph Lister (qv), who strongly supported the scheme for the reconstitution of the University into a teaching body. Rivington was elected by 963 votes against 846.
A man of marked character and singular determination, Rivington in his devotion to reform was quite untainted by selfishness, although at times he appeared too pertinacious. He was deeply aware of the necessity for the amelioration of many of the conditions now existent in the professional life of his poorer brethren, and he spared himself no trouble to make his beliefs shared by others.
His death occurred, after a short illness, at his country house at Epping - his address in London being 95 Wimpole Street, W - on the evening of Saturday, May 8th, 1897. He had suffered a great loss by the death of Mrs Rivington some years previously, and he was survived by a family of eight children.
His friend, Timothy Holmes (qv), writing of him in terms of eloquent eulogy in the *British Medical Journal* very shortly after his death, speaks of him as the mainstay of the Association of Fellows. His death followed closely on that of George D Pollock (qv), its Chairman, to whom he did not yield in his devotion to the interests of the Association. His was an uphill battle at the College, avers his friend, but in its "utter sincerity and manliness" it conciliated even those who most differed from him. At the time of his death, in addition to his other appointments, he was Surgeon to the London Dispensary, Spitalfields.
Publications:
*Address delivered at the London Hospital Medical College, at the Commencement of the Winter Session*, 1865, 12mo, London, 1865.
*Remarks on the Necessity for a Revision of the Medical Curriculum made at the Medical Teachers' Association*, 8vo, London, 1868.
*Remarks on Dislocations of the First and Second Pieces of the Sternum*, 8vo, London, 1874.
"A Case of Pulsating Tumour of the Left Orbit, consequent upon a Fracture of the Base of the Skull, Cured by Ligature of the Left Common Carotid Artery: with a Résumé of Recorded Cases of Intra-orbital Aneurism," 8vo, London, 1875; reprinted from *Med-Chir Trans*, 1875, lviii, 183. A classic paper.
"A Case of Rupture of the Internal and Middle Coats of the Popliteal Artery, and Complete Rupture of the Popliteal Vein, for which Primary Amputation of the Thigh was Successfully Performed: with Remarks," 8vo, London, 1878; reprinted from *Brit Med Jour*, 1878, i, 47. This is his chief contribution to the literature of surgery.
*Medical Education and Medical Organization. Oration before the Hunterian Society*, 8vo, London, 1879. (He was President of the Society in 1883.)
*The Medical Profession*, being the essay to which was awarded the first Carmichael Prize of £200 by the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, 1879, 8vo, Dublin, 1879.
*The Medical Profession of the United Kingdom*. First Carmichael Prize revised 1887, 8vo, Dublin, 1888. These two exhaustive treatises were the best standard accounts of the Profession when they were written.
*Rupture of the Urinary Bladder, based on the Records of more than 300 Cases of the Affection*, 8vo, London, 1884.
"A Case of Encysted Vesical Calculus of Unusually Large Size removed by Supra-pubic Cystotomy," 8vo, London, 1886; reprinted from *Med-Chir Trans*, 1886, lxix, 361.
"A Case of Ligature of the Left Common Carotid Artery Wounded by a Fish-bone which had Penetrated the Pharynx: with Appendix of Forty-five Cases of Wounds of Blood-vessels by Foreign Bodies," 8vo, London, 1886; reprinted from *Med-Chir Trans*, 1886, lxix, 63.
*Neuroma of the Median Nerve removed by Operation*, 12mo, nd.
"Account of a Peculiar Variety of Encysted Hydrocele of the Spermatic Cord combined with Inguinal Hernia." - *Lond Hosp Rep*, 1865, ii, 371.
"Valves in the Renal Veins." - *Jour Anat and Physiol* 1873, vii, 163.
"Clinical Lectures on Varieties of Psoas Abscess." - *Lancet*, 1874, ii, 407, etc.
"Cases of Diseases of the Testis for which Castration was Performed." - *Ibid*, 1877, i, 489, 526.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003104<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williamson, George Edward (1851 - 1900)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757522025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375752">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375752</a>375752<br/>Occupation Ophthalmologist<br/>Details Born at North Shields, and received his professional training at the London Hospital and Moorfields. He held the posts of House Surgeon and House Physician at the London Hospital, and formed friendships with some distinguished members of the visiting staff. In 1876 he was elected Senior House Surgeon to the Newcastle Infirmary, and discharged his duties with great ability and conscientiousness. He became Assistant to Professor George Y Heath, then at the height of his fame as an ophthalmologist, and eventually started in practice on his own account in 1879. He began as an eye specialist and was shortly afterwards appointed Joint Lecturer on Physiology in the University of Durham College of Medicine. This appointment he held until the death of his friend and colleague, Professor W Christopher Arnison, when he joined Professor Frederick Page in the Chair of Surgery.
In 1880 he was appointed Assistant Surgeon at the Newcastle Infirmary, and an outdoor ophthalmic department was then first created and placed under his care. Here much admirable work was done for numerous patients, and a high order of instruction was imparted to students. In 1888 Williamson succeeded Luke Armstrong as full Surgeon.
As a Lecturer in the College of Medicine and at the Infirmary he was clear and terse, and could rebuke an offending student with biting sarcasm as compared with gentler ways. He was a good all-round surgeon. As an operator he was extremely careful as to details. In ophthalmic surgery he showed to the greatest advantage, for he was deft and neat-handed.
He was a man of very even temper and great self-restraint, which gave the impression that he lacked enthusiasm; but under his equable manner lurked extreme tenacity of purpose which enabled him to accomplish much. He shone in debate, never cloaked his meaning, was often severe and prone to contradict, yet fair, reasonable, and persuasive.
For more than twelve years Williamson was Hon Secretary and Treasurer to the North of England Branch of the British Medical Association, and he represented the Branch on the General Council. In 1893 he acted as Hon Secretary to the Branch at the Newcastle Meeting, which he rendered successful, and at the same time he presided over the Section of Ophthalmology and delivered an interesting address. He was, in fact, an excellent and useful Branch Secretary, and did much for the Association and for its members in the North of England. He was a member of the Ophthalmological Society and President of the Northumberland and Durham Medical Society. He was also Examiner in Physiology at the University of Durham.
He died unexpectedly of pneumonia on the morning of June 6th, 1900, at his residence, 8 Eldon Square, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, survived by a widow and five young sons. He was buried close to the grave of his friend, Professor Arnison, in St Andrew's Cemetery, Newcastle.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003569<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williamson, Robert Isherwood (1852 - 1882)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757532025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375753">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375753</a>375753<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The eldest son of Robert Williamson, of Sunny Beech, Ripon, was born on February 8th, 1852. He entered Rugby School under Dr Temple in April, 1866, and left in September, 1870. On October 14th, 1871, he matriculated as a Junior Student of Christ Church, Oxford. He took a 1st class in Natural Science at his BA in 1875. In 1879 he was elected Radcliffe Travelling Fellow. He studied further at St Thomas's Hospital, being Prosector at the Royal College of Surgeons, and was acting as House Surgeon when he died at Florence, of typhoid fever, on January 6th, 1882. Thus an exceptionally brilliant career as a student in his aim to become a surgeon was early cut short.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003570<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, Robert Hankinson ( - 1891)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757542025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375754">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375754</a>375754<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the Manchester Infirmaries, at Westminster Hospital, and at the Hunterian School. He practised at Mulberry House, Great Eccleston, Garstang, Lancashire, where he was District Medical Officer of the Garstang Union. He was a Fellow of the London Obstetrical Society and of the British Medical Association. He died in the latter half of 1891.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003571<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, Richard Lloyd (1792 - 1862)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757552025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375755">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375755</a>375755<br/>Occupation Physician<br/>Details Practised as a physician at Henllan Place, Denbigh, was Physician to the North Wales Asylum for the Insane and to the Rhyl Convalescent Institute, also Surgeon to the Denbighshire Infirmary and General Dispensary. In 1851 he was President of the North Wales Branch of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association. He died on March 14th, 1862.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003572<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, Thomas Watkin (1816 - 1883)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757562025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375756">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375756</a>375756<br/>Occupation General surgeon Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Born at Penllwyn Place, Brecon, on March 4th, 1816, studied at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals, and in 1845 began private practice at 33 Newhall Street, Birmingham, in partnership with William Royden Watts. He was Surgeon to the Birmingham Orthopaedic Hospital, took a keen share in the development of the Birmingham Medical Institute, and was an active member of the local Hospital Saturday Fund. In 1879, as President of the Birmingham Medical Benevolent Society, he succeeded in getting donations exceeding those by his immediate predecessors or successors. He was devoted to the interests of the British Medical Association and its Birmingham Branch, acting as Hon Treasurer and obtaining a membership of nearly four hundred. During a critical period of the history of the Association from 1863-1871 Williams was the General Secretary, before the secretarial department was transferred to London. He was present at the Jubilee Meeting of the Association at Worcester in August, 1882, and was subsequently attacked by progressive cerebral disease. He died, after a long illness, at his house, 33 Newhall Street, on February 11th, 1883, and was described as one of the oldest and staunchest members of the Association and one of the best-known medical practitioners in Birmingham.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003573<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, William (1817 - 1868)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757572025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375757">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375757</a>375757<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Guy's Hospital and practised at Frohenlog, Dolgelly, where he was Surgeon to the County Gaol and Workhouse of Merionethshire, Factory Surgeon, Surgeon to Quarries and Clubs, and to the Cader Idris Rifle Volunteers. He enjoyed a large practice and had a wide reputation for professional skill, being much respected, beloved, and trusted by patients of all ranks. He was returning from a visit to a patient near Talyllyn when be fell from his horse, was found insensible on the road, and died the next day, October 18th, 1868.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003574<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Williams, William ( - 1880)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757582025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375758">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375758</a>375758<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and practised first at Oldbury, Worcestershire, then at 4 Cornwall Crescent, Camden Town, London, N, and finally at 28 Bridge Street, Aberystwyth, where he died on March 2nd, 1880.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003575<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Lennander, Karl Gustav (1857 - 1908)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3746962025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374696">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374696</a>374696<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in Christianstad in 1857, and matriculated in 1875 at the University of Upsala. After he had completed his preliminary studies he went for clinical work to the Carolinska Institut and Serafimer Lasarett in Stockholm. In 1888 he was appointed Docent in Surgery and Obstetrics at the University of Upsala, and in 1891 was named Professor in these subjects and became Chief Surgeon at the Upsala Hospital. Here he reorganized the scientific side of the hospital work, at that time in need of much improvement.
Lennander was an assiduous worker and a voluminous writer. He is best known for his work on the sensory nerves of the peritoneum. In recognition of his researches he was made a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, a much coveted distinction. He was one of the Hon Fellows elected on the occasion of the Centenary of the Royal College of Surgeons, while the University of Edinburgh conferred upon him its Doctorship of Laws, and he was made an honorary member of numerous societies.
From youth up he had suffered from cardiac troubles, which increased as the years went on, so that the performance of his duties often involved much difficulty. He spent long periods in sanatoria, and latterly had to perform operations sitting in a chair. He died at the comparatively early age of 51, on March 15th, 1908.
There is a portrait of him in the Hon Fellows'Album, and the same portrait is the frontispiece to his "Collected Works", published by the University of Upsala in three volumes in 1912. These volumes contain some seventy of his contributions to transactions, etc, illustrated by plates, and many are written in English. The papers forming the contents of the three volumes are his bibliography. The University presented the book to the Royal College of Surgeons' Library. Lennander is best known for his writings on peritoneal innervation and acute peritonitis, but he wrote also on tracheotomy in croup, the relations between croup and diphtheria, operations for myoma and diseases of the bile passages, the treatment of perforated duodenal and gastric ulcers, surgical measures in nephritis, and on local anaesthesia. He was a contributor to German, English, and American text-books and works of reference.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002513<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wilson, Jonathan ( - 1885)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757642025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375764">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375764</a>375764<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at University College and Manchester Hospitals. He practised first at Church Street, Lancaster; by 1854 he had removed to Grosvenor Square, Oxford Road, Manchester, later to 92 Bloomsbury, Manchester. He was Secretary and Vice-President of the Manchester Medical Ethical Association, member of the Medical Section of the Manchester Royal Institution, and a Fellow of the London Obstetrical Society. Subsequently he moved to Newton Villas, Withington; was Surgeon to the 19th Lancashire Artillery Volunteers, a member of the British Medical Association and of the Manchester Medical Society, and a Medical Referee to the Star Assurance Society. He died at Ostroff House, Withington, about 1885.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003581<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wilson, John Bateman (1818 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757652025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375765">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375765</a>375765<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Guy's Hospital and was a member of the Physical Society of the Hospital. He practised at 14 Scotch Street, Whitehaven, where he was Surgeon to the Whitehaven and West Cumberland Infirmary, to the Howgill Division of the Whitehaven Collieries, and to the County Constabulary. He died at Whitehaven, October 26th, 1870.
Publication:-
"Case of Opacity of the Cornea." - *Guy's Hosp Rep*, 1849, vi (ser ii), 53.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003582<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jalland, William Gibson (1813 - 1857)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3745242025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-05-16<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002300-E002399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374524">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374524</a>374524<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was baptized at Nottingham on December 2nd, 1818, the son of Gibson Jalland, wine merchant. He seems to have practised first in Nottingham and then to have entered the Bombay Army, IMS, as Assistant Surgeon on December 3rd, 1844. He was attached to the 24th Native Infantry. Two years after becoming FRCS he died at the Secunderabad Cantonments on November 8th, 1857.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002341<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Weiss, Hubert Foveaux (1855 - 1892)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756442025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375644">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375644</a>375644<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Entered St Bartholomew's Hospital in. October, 1873, was House Surgeon to Sir William Savory, and later at the Lock Hospital, Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital, and Clinical Assistant at the Children's Hospital, Great Ormond Street; he also attended the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin. He was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the West London Hospital in 1883 and was put in charge of the Skin Department. There he made great efforts in the direction of forming a School of Medicine, but without success.
He was an enthusiastic yachtsman, and, possessed of ample means, he retired from practice in 1891, gave up his house at 11 Hanover Square, and removed to Ramsgate to take up an open-air life, apparently in perfect health. But a year later he died whilst yachting at Gosport on July 4th, 1892. He was survived by his widow and one child. He was a thoroughly good fellow, loved by his many friends for his geniality.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003461<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Welbank, Richard (1797 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756452025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375645">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375645</a>375645<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in the Tower of London, where his father was an Ordnance Official. He was educated at the Charterhouse from 1809-1813, where he acquired a life-long taste for the Classics. He was articled to his uncle, John Welbank, practising in Chancery Lane, one of the old class of surgeons who dispensed their own drugs and surgical appliances, but did not attend cases of midwifery as in general practice. Richard Welbank then studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital as dresser to John Abernethy and House Surgeon to John Painter Vincent (qv), where he suggested to Vincent the application of fuming nitric acid to cases of sloughing phagedaena, as used in military hospitals for hospital gangrene. Previously, constitutional treatment had failed, and Abernethy had clasped his hands over a case and passed on to the next bed, exclaiming, "I don't know what to do!" Welbank described eight cases of sloughing phagedaena so treated. As a matter of fact, fuming nitric acid applied was less painful and more effectual in arresting the prevalent sloughing phagedaena in the hospital than the cautery.
Welbank then joined his uncle in practice in Chancery Lane, refusing, so it was said, the offer to become a general assistant to Abernethy in his private practice.
Welbank was the first Fellow elected by the Fellows to the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1843, and on taking his seat said, "I do value it extremely, as it may be the means of enabling me to extend to the younger members of the profession that encouragement which for thirty years of my professional life I have so much felt the disheartening want of myself". In the interests of the Surgeons on the staff of the large London Hospitals the College, by its regulations in 1826, had refused to recognize instruction given at County Hospitals and by private lecturers. Welbank supported Sir William Lawrence in an attempt to induce the Council to revise their regulations and was one of the signatories convening a meeting of Members of the College to consider the question. He retired from the Council in 1849 on account of failing health. He was an active Fellow of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society, then meeting in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and was a Vice-President. During later years he lived at Clarence Place, Kilburn, and died on August 20th, 1870. The sole photograph of him, taken by an amateur, is in the College Collection.
Publications:-
"Observations on Sloughing Phagedaena." - *Med-Chir Trans*, 1821, xi, 361. *Practical Commentaries on the Present Knowledge and Treatment of Syphilis*, 8vo, London, 1825.
"Necessity of Investigating the Distinctions between Syphilis and other Varieties of Venereal Disease." - *Med-Chir Trans*, 1827, xiii, 563.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003462<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Lewis, Edward John (1859 - 1925)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3746992025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374699">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374699</a>374699<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Son of John Lewis, of Llandovery, where he was born on December 5th, 1859. He was educated at Llandovery College and at Christ's College, Cambridge. He graduated BA in 1882, after gaining a 1st class in the Natural Science Tripos, and afterwards entered St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon, being later Senior Resident Medical Officer at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. He practised in Hamilton Terrace for many years, and was chiefly devoted to the diseases of children, his clientele being very large. He was appointed Hon Consulting Physician to the Kilburn Dispensary and the Clergy Orphan School. Of Welsh descent, he had in his younger days distinguished himself as a Welsh International football player. Latterly he played golf very well. He died at 74 Hamilton Terrace, St John's Wood, after a very brief illness, on June 8th, 1925.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002516<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Lewis, James (1817 - 1890)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3747002025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374700">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374700</a>374700<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospital. He practised at Maesteg, near Bridgend, Glamorganshire, where he was Surgeon to the Llynvi Coal and Iron Company's Works, and Medical Officer to the Northern District of the Bridgend and Cowbridge Union and to Messrs Brogdens' Mines and Collieries. Removing to The Rest, Porthcawl, Glamorgan, he was raised to the Bench and was Acting Surgeon to the 1st Adm Battalion of the Glamorgan Rifle Volunteers. He then practised or resided at Oxford, and finally removed to Penarth, where he died on February 25th, 1890.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002517<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wells, John Robinson (1808 - 1904)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756482025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375648">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375648</a>375648<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Guy's Hospital and practised first at 11 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, London, WC, when he was Assistant Surgeon to the Parishes of St Giles-in-the-Fields and St George's, Bloomsbury, also to the Charlotte Street Dispensary. In 1855 he moved to 10 Russell Place, renamed 20 Fitzroy Street, and was Accoucheur to the Charlotte Street and Westminster Dispensaries. After 1887 he retired to 4 Pierpoint Road, Springfield Park, Acton, London, W, and died on February 4th, 1904.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003465<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wells, John Soelberg (1824 - 1879)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756492025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375649">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375649</a>375649<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born at Norwich, and was partly of German extraction. He graduated MD at Edinburgh in 1856, and then studied ophthalmology for four years under von Graefe in Berlin as one of his assistants, under Helmholtz, and under Donders in Holland. On his return to England in 1860 Bowman appointed him his Clinical Assistant at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields.
In 1867 Soelberg Wells was elected an additional Assistant Surgeon to the Hospital, and full Surgeon in 1873. In addition he was for a time Ophthalmic Surgeon and Lecturer on Ophthalmology at Middlesex Hospital, and later Professor of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Surgeon to King's College Hospital.
He practised at 16 Savile Row, was tall, of fine appearance, courteous, genial, with a warm and loyal heart behind a placid exterior. His excellent training combined with undoubted ability won him a high position as an ophthalmic surgeon. Punctual and zealous both as a worker and teacher, he had a rich and select clientele, and by his writings he familiarized English students and practitioners with the clinical and scientific advances made on the Continent. He was amongst the earliest to inculcate the necessity of systematic testing of the sight for errors of refraction.
He enjoyed good health until after 1875; in 1879 he had been compelled to spend some months in France and Italy. When at Cannes, after ten days' illness during a severe mistral, he died of an obscure liver complaint on December 2nd, 1879.
Publications:-
Wells's writings were amongst the best of his day:-
*A Treatise on Diseases of the Eye*, 8vo, London, 1869; 3rd ed, 1873; 4th American ed, Philadelphia, 1883. It was translated into French and German, and embodied the best teaching and practice of Continental and British practice. It was thus the standard text-book on the subject.
*On Long, Short and Weak Sight and their Treatment by the Scientific Use of Spectacles*, 8vo, London, 1862; 4th ed, 1873; 3rd ed, Philadelphia, 1869; French translation, 8vo, Paris, 1874. This embodies the teaching of Donders on the subject.
*Glaucoma and its Cure by Iridectomy*, 8vo, London, 1864.
Clinical lectures and papers on Ocular Paralyses, Glaucoma, etc.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003466<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ley, Gordon (1885 - 1922)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3747032025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374703">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374703</a>374703<br/>Occupation Gynaecologist Obstetrician<br/>Details Born in Exeter on June 19th, 1885, the son of Richard Ley, of Exmouth. He was educated at Malvern and at the London Hospital, where he won the Obstetric Scholarship and Prize in 1907 and was Pathological Assistant. In 1910 he became House Surgeon at the Gloucester Royal Infirmary, proceeding thence to Queen Charlotte's Hospital, where he was successively Junior and Senior Resident Medical Officer during a period of eight months. This appointment determined his choice of a career. He became an enthusiastic obstetrician, and soon displayed much ability. In 1913 he was appointed Pathologist to the Chelsea Hospital for Women, holding this post till 1921, and in March, 1914, he became Obstetric Registrar and Tutor to Charing Cross Hospital. This appointment he held to within a short period of his death.
Gordon Ley suffered from congenital valvular disease of the heart, and his physique was so low that he was totally rejected for military service during the Great War. Few men, however, worked harder than he did at home. Throughout the War he acted as voluntary Resident Medical Officer to the City of London Maternity Hospital, doing almost the entire work of this hospital from the beginning of 1917 onwards in the absence on military duty of his colleague. He also volunteered at the London Hospital, where two of the gynaecologists had been called away by war duty. Here he had charge of beds, did the work of the Obstetric Registrar and Tutor during the greater part of the War, and acted also as Pathological Assistant. At the same time he took charge of the Jewish Maternity Home in Underwood Street as Consulting Obstetrician, was on the rota of the Lady Howard de Walden Maternity Home for Officers' Wives, and lectured from 1914-1918 twice a week at the Midwives' Institute, continuing these lectures to the time of his death. He was appointed Gynaecologist to the Hampstead General Hospital in 1918, and in 1919 Assistant Obstetric Surgeon to the City of London Maternity Hospital. These two appointments he held at the time of his death.
In addition to this record of hospital work, Gordon Ley found time for original research, and he left a short series of admirable papers on clinical and pathological problems connected with obstetrics. His first considerable effort was the collation of 100 cases of full-term extra-uterine pregnancy from the literature, with two original cases upon which he had operated himself. Two years later he published an able communication on accidental haemorrhage, advancing cogent reasons for regarding this condition as toxaemic, and from the results of microscopic examination of the uteri removed for this condition he was able to offer an explanation of the mechanism of production of the bleeding. He also devoted much attention to the subject of carcinoma of the ovary. In 1919 he had communicated his preliminary results to the Section of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Royal Society of Medicine, and in continuance of his work had undertaken to open a discussion on "Primary Carcinoma of the Ovary" at the Glasgow Meeting of the British Medical Association, when his tragic death occurred.
On the morning of June 3rd, 1922, he was travelling on professional business to Paris in a French aeroplane. After passing the coast-line, and when two or three miles off Folkestone, the machine suddenly dived into the sea from a height of 1500 feet. The pilot and both passengers lost their lives. Dr G H Varley, of Cadogan Place, W, who was on board the Boulogne packet, was at once rowed to the wrecked aeroplane, and then recognized the body of his dead colleague. After an inquest held at Folkestone on June 6th, where the brother of Gordon Ley, Dr R L Ley, of Great Yarmouth, identified the deceased, the funeral took place in Folkestone churchyard on the same afternoon.
Publications:
"Decidual Reaction in a Subperitoneal Fibromyoma of Uterus." - *Proc Roy Soc Med* (Sect Obst and Gynaecol), 1916-17, x, 137.
"Fibromyo-lipoma of Corpus Uteri." - *Ibid*, 1913-14, vii, 150.
"Two Cases of Full-time Extra-uterine Pregnancy with a Tabulated Abstract of 100 Cases from the Literature." - *Ibid*, 1918-19, xii, 140.
"Primary and Secondary Carcinoma of Ovary." - *Ibid*, 1919-20, xiii, 95.
"Utero-placental (Accidental) Haemorrhage." - *Jour Obst and Gynaecol*, 1921, xxviii, 69.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002520<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Leyson, William (1790 - 1854)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3747042025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374704">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374704</a>374704<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at St George's Hospital, where he was entered as a six-months' surgical pupil to John Griffiths in 1810, and in August, 1815, took out a further course of six months. He was a Surgeon in the Royal Navy, and then practised, or resided only, at Neath, Glamorgan, dying at his residence near that town on November 3rd, 1854.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002521<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parker, Samuel William Langston (1803 - 1871)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750802025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375080">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375080</a>375080<br/>Occupation Anatomist General surgeon<br/>Details The son of William Parker, Medical Officer of Health for the Aston Union, who practised in Aston Road, Birmingham, where he was born. He was educated at Heathfield Road School, Handsworth, under the Rev Daniel Walton, and afterwards attended the medical and surgical practice of the Birmingham General Hospital, his more strictly scientific training being obtained in the School of Medicine at the corner of Brittle Street, Snow Hill, where lectures were given by W Sands Cox, FRS. He then came to London and entered at St Bartholomew's Hospital whilst John Abernethy was Surgeon and Lecturer, after which he completed his studies in Paris.
He assisted his father for a short time, but in 1830 he married and began to practise on his own account in St Paul's Square, Birmingham. Parker took a keen interest in the development of Queen's College, Birmingham, becoming at an early period of its history Professor of Comparative Anatomy, and of Descriptive Anatomy and Physiology - posts which he held for a quarter of a century. His services to the associated hospital date from its foundation in 1840 to 1865, and on his retirement he was given the title of Consulting Surgeon. He was also Consulting Surgeon to the Leamington Hospital for Diseases of the Skin. He was, too, an active promoter of the Birmingham Philosophical Institution in Cannon Street, where in 1835-1836 he delivered a remarkable course of lectures "On the Effects of Certain Mental and Bodily States upon the Imagination".
Langston Parker began life as a general practitioner of medicine, became a surgeon, and ended as a syphilographer. He had a cultivated musical taste, was an enthusiastic playgoer, an accomplished French and a competent Italian scholar. His love of the theatre led to his exchanging his Independent Nonconformist views for those of the Church of England. He married as his first wife Mary Adams, of Derbyshire, and left a son, S Adams Parker, LDS, RCS. He died in Paradise Street, Birmingham, on Friday, October 27th, 1871, and was buried at Aston. There is a lithograph portrait of him by Maguire in the College collection.
Publications:
*The Stomach in its Morbid States*, 8vo, 1837. This was evidently inspired by the teaching of John Abernethy, whose pupil he had been. The work was condensed and appeared as *Digestion and its Disorders*, 8vo, 1849.
*The Modern Treatment of Cancerous Diseases*, 4to, 1857.
*Clinical Lectures on Infantile Syphilis*, 1858.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002897<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parkes, William Barney (1811 - 1863)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750812025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375081">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375081</a>375081<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospltal. He practised at 31 Great Marlborough Street, W, and was for many years Medical Referee to the Protestant Assurance Company, Medical Officer to the London Female Institute, the Conservative Club, and the Jewish Institute, as well as Public Vaccinator to St James's, Westminster. Latterly his home address was at 2 Inverness Terrace, Bayswater, W, where he died on December 12th, 1863.
Publication:
"Uterine Haemorrhage." - *Lancet*, 1838-9, ii, 604.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002898<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parkin, Alfred ( - 1924)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750822025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375082">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375082</a>375082<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospital, where he was Resident Obstetrician, House Physician, and Surgical Registrar. He practised for many years at 24 Albion Street, Hull, and was latterly Consulting Surgeon to the Victoria Hospital, Hull. Removing to Bridlington, he died at Carnaby Chalet, Cardigan Road, on October 1st, 1924, and was buried in Bridlington Cemetery.
Publications:
"Causation of Pes Cavus." - *Med-Chir Trans*, 1891, lxxiv, 485.
"Case of Removal of Cerebellar Tumour - Recovery." - *Trans Clin Soc*, 1897, xxx, 84.
"Cases of Disease of Seminal Vesicles." - *Ibid*, 1892, xxv, 9.
"Seven Cases of Intraspinal Haemorrhage (Haematomyelia)." - *Guy's Hosp Rep*, 1891, xlviii, 107.
"Cases of Basal (Subarachnoid) Drainage." - *Lancet*, 1895, ii, 1166.
"Cases treated by Injection of Bacterial Vaccines" (with Dr E TURTON) - *Ibid*, 1906, ii, 1130.
"Treatment of Spinal Caries, and its Results, by Laminectomy." - *Brit Med Jour*, 1894, ii, 699.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002899<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parkin, John (1801 - 1886)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750832025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375083">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375083</a>375083<br/>Occupation Physician<br/>Details Born on May 10th, 1801, the son of one of the principal officers of HM Dockyards at Sheerness and Chatham. He received his preliminary education under Canon Griffiths, of Rochester, and his professional training under Abernethy at St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Settling in practice at Dover Street, Piccadilly, he devoted himself entirely to the treatment of lunacy, although he had previously spent much time in Spain in order to investigate the cholera there. At Chelsea, and then at York House, Battersea, he had private accommodation for the treatment of the insane, but, cholera breaking out in the West Indies, he severed his lucrative connection with his Battersea asylum and went out to the Colonies at his own expense. He remained abroad for many months, continuously attending cholera cases, and gaining such experience that he was sent out during a later West Indian visitation as Government Medical Inspector. After his return from the West Indies he went to Calcutta in order to study cholera on a different soil and among different races. From his long observation of this disease under various conditions he became strongly impressed with the conviction that cholera and other epidemics were in some measure due to those atmospheric conditions which attend or follow volcanic disturbances, so he was a strong opponent of all measures of quarantine.
It is remarkable that, though throughout life Parkin suffered from a serious physical disability - spina bifida - he yet pursued his many investigations indomitably. His character was one of intense earnestness and he was sincerely religious. He died in the full possession of all his faculties, and to the last took a most vivid interest in everything relating not only to his own profession, but to every topic of the day. His death occurred at his residence, 5 Codrington Place, Brighton, on March 18th, 1886. He was a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Academies of Medicine and Surgery of Madrid, Barcelona, Cadiz, the Peloritan Society of Messina, and others.
Publications:-
Parkin left behind no writings on lunacy, but wrote voluminously on his other special subjects. His bibliography is as follows:-
*Memoria sobre el Tratamiento curativo del Calera epidemico*, 12mo, Barcelona, 1834.
*Mémoire sur le Traitement curatif du Choléra épidemique* - translation of the above by M F Duval, Montpellier, 1835.
The same. *Abhandlung über das Heilverfahren bei der epidemischen Cholera*. Aus dem Spanischen von T Zschokke, 12mo, Aarau, 1836.
*Observaciones sobre la Fisiologia y el Tratamiento del Colera morbo en el Estado de Colapso*, 12mo, Valencia, 1835.
"El Vapor": "El Catalan": "Bol de Med": containing references to Parkin's works on cholera. 1834-5.
*On the Efficacy of Carbonic Acid Gas in the Diseases of Tropical Climates; with Directions for the Treatment of the Acute and Chronic Stages of Dysentery*, 8vo, London, 1836.
*On the Antidotal Treatment of the Epidemic Cholera; with a Sketch of the Physiology of this Disease, as deduced from that of Intermittent Fever*, 8vo, London, 1836; 2nd ed, with appendix, 1846.
The same. *With Directions, General and Individual, for the Prevention of the Disease*, 3rd ed, 8vo, London, 1866.
*On Gout: its Cause, Nature and Treatment*, 8vo, London, 1841.
*On the Remote Causes of Epidemic Diseases*, Part I, 8vo, London, 1841.
*On the Remote Causes of Epidemic Diseases; or, The Influence of Volcanic Action in the Production of General Pestilences*, Part II, 8vo, 3 maps, London, 1853.
*The Prevention and Treatment of Disease in the Potato and other Crops*, 8vo, London, 1847.
*Statistical Report of the Epidemic Cholera in Jamaica*, 8vo, London, 1852. *L'Antidote du Choléra asiatique*, 8vo, Rome, 1858.
*A Letter to the Metropolitan Vestries on the Main Drainage Scheme* (for private circulation), 8vo, London, 1859.
*The Causation and Prevention of Disease*, 8vo, London, 1859.
*The Utilization of the Sewage of Towns*, 8vo, London, 1862.
*The Cause, Prevention and Treatment of the Cattle Plague*, 8vo, London, 1865. *Epidemiology; or, The Remote Cause of Epidemic Diseases in the Animal and in the Vegetable Creation*, Part I, 8vo, London, 1873.
The same. *With the Cause of Hurricanes, and Abnormal Atmospheric Vicissitudes*, Part II; 2nd ed, 8vo, 1 plan, 1880.
*Climate and Phthisis; or, The Influence of Climate in the Production and Prevention of Phthisis*, 8vo, London, 1875.
*Sanitary Reform: is it a Reality, or is it not?* 8vo, London, 1875.
*Gout: its Cause, Nature, and Treatment, with Directions for the Regulation of the Diet*, 2nd ed, 8vo, London, 1877.
*The Antidotal Treatment of Disease*, Part I, 8vo, London, 1878.
*Climate: its Influence in the Production and Prevention of Phthisis and other Diseases*, 2nd ed, 12mo, London, 1882.
*Phthisis: its Cause, Nature, and Treatment; being Part II of the Antidotal Treatment of Disease*, 8vo, London, 1883.
*The Volcanic Origin of Epidemics* (popular edition), 12mo, London, 1887.
*Are Epidemics Contagious?* (popular edition), 12mo, London, 1887.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002900<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parkinson, William Robert (1885 - 1926)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750842025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375084">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375084</a>375084<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The third son of W A Parkinson, of Hawera, New Zealand. He was educated at St Thomas's Hospital, where he was Casualty Officer and House Surgeon. He was then House Physician to the General Lying-in Hospital, York Road, joined the Government Medical Service (Colonial) and was appointed Surgical Specialist to the West African Medical Staff, Nigeria. He died of pneumonic plague at Lagos on October 22nd, 1926. His last English address was at Lealholm, Branksome Road, St Leonards-on-Sea.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002901<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parrott, John (1790 - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750852025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375085">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375085</a>375085<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Clapham Common, SW, where he died, after his retirement, on November 10th, 1860.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002902<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parr, Thomas (1819 - 1894)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750862025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375086">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375086</a>375086<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was born in the Infantry Barracks at Canterbury on July 15th, 1819. He joined the Army as Staff Assistant Surgeon on July 21st, 1846, was transferred to the 2nd West India Regiment on July 21st, 1848, and was promoted Surgeon to the 3rd West India Regiment on October 21st, 1853. He joined the Staff (2nd Class) on October 26th, 1855, was transferred to the 67th Foot on January 26th, 1858, rejoined the Staff on September 24th, 1859, was transferred to the 55th Foot on August 16th, 1861, was promoted Surgeon Major of the same regiment on July 21st, 1866, and rejoined the Staff on October 9th, 1869. He retired on half pay with the honorary rank of Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals on March 27th, 1872.
For a time he practised or resided at Donaghadee, Co Down, and then at Hill House, Uxbridge, where he was Surgeon Major to the 5th Middlesex Militia. Latterly he resided at 1 Godwyne Road, Dover, and died at Charlton, Dover, on November 17th, 1894.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002903<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parsons, John (1814 - 1893)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750872025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375087">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375087</a>375087<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals. He practised at Cornhill, Bridgwater, and was at one time Surgeon to the Bridgwater Infirmary and the Eye Infirmary. At the time of his death he was Consulting Surgeon to the former institution and to the County Constabulary. He died at Bridgwater on October 7th, 1893.
Publication:
"Treatment of Hydrocele." - *Prov Med and Surg Jour*, 1843, vi, 112.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002904<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rowland, Frederick Henry (1943 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752222025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-17 2014-10-17<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375222">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375222</a>375222<br/>Occupation General surgeon Military surgeon<br/>Details Frederick Henry Rowland ('Fred') was a surgeon commander in the Royal Navy. He was born in Merton on 28 May 1943, the eldest son of Frederick Rowland, a plumber, and Cissie Florence Minnie Rowland née Shelley. He was educated at All Saints School, south Wimbledon, and Rutlish School, Merton, where he gained a scholarship. He went on to study medicine at Manchester University, graduating MB ChB in 1966.
He was a house physician and house surgeon at Cirencester and then a demonstrator in anatomy at the University of Manchester. He subsequently joined the Royal Navy. While at the Royal Naval Hospital Devonport he carried out research on varicose vein surgery.
He left the Navy and then worked in Saudi Arabia, Australia and Fiji. He eventually settled in Australia, where he was a visiting surgeon at Kalgoorlie Regional Hospital and Esperance District Hospital, and took Australian citizenship.
He was married five times. He died from urosepsis on 3 May 2012, aged 68.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003039<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Scott, John Eric Somerville (1926 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752232025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Laurie Rangecroft<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-17 2013-01-17<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375223">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375223</a>375223<br/>Occupation Paediatric surgeon<br/>Details John Scott was the first full-time paediatric surgeon in the then Northern Region when he was appointed as a senior lecturer and honorary consultant in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1960. He continued to provide the service essentially single-handed for the next decade. He was born in Zanzibar, East Africa, where his father, Douglas Somerville Scott, was in the Colonial Medical Service. His mother was Dorothy May Scott née Fletcher. Later in Scott's childhood his family relocated to Penzance, Cornwall, where his father was a GP. His later childhood was also considerably saddened by the death of his elder sister following a, possibly unnecessary, operation to straighten her legs. Scott was educated at Upcotte House and Sherborne, before going up to Queens' College, Cambridge, to follow a wartime accelerated course in medicine. He carried out his clinical studies at the Middlesex Hospital. National Service was spent as a medical officer in the RAF.
On graduation he soon developed an interest in the then comparatively new specialty of paediatric surgery and naturally gravitated to Great Ormond Street Hospital to train under Sir Denis Browne. He then won a Harkness scholarship and spent time at the Boston Floating Hospital with Orvar Swenson and others to fine tune his skills.
On his arrival in Newcastle John worked at the Fleming Memorial Hospital for Sick Children, the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Babies Hospital where, with the anaesthetist John Inkster and a dedicated nursing team, he made considerable advances in the management of the surgical neonate.
He was an active member of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS), serving as the honorary secretary and treasurer, and becoming president from 1982 to 1984. He travelled widely during these years and established important international connections and friendship, particularly in the USA. In 1984 he was made an honorary fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in 1990 was awarded the highest honour of BAPS, the Sir Denis Browne Gold Medal.
While inevitably starting his consultant career as a general paediatric surgeon, when further colleagues were gradually appointed John increasingly developed his interest and expertise in the developing sub-specialty of paediatric urology. Through his research and writing he made many important contributions to the field, and had a particular interest in the pathologies associated with the ureterovesical junction.
He retired, with great reluctance it has to be said, in 1991. Having previously been instrumental in setting up both the Northern Region Maternity Survey and the Congenital Abnormality Register, he spent much of his 'retirement' in these offices and continuing to publish. Thus his first publication - a case study of surgical constipation - appeared in 1955 and his last, 50 years later, in 2005!
Work was certainly John's driving force, but he played squash to a fairly advanced age, was a strong supporter of classical music in the North East, and for many years shared his daughter Georgina's passion for horses. He was a forceful character with strong opinions, which he was never afraid to express, but there are many in the north of England who have every reason to be grateful for his single-minded devotion to his patients.
He was survived by his wife Audrey née Avison, whom he married in 1951, son Jason and daughter Georgina. John Scott died on 5 September 2012, at the age of 86.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003040<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Watkins, Eric Sidney (1928 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752242025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-17 2014-11-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375224">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375224</a>375224<br/>Occupation Neurosurgeon<br/>Details Eric Sidney ('Sid') Watkins, professor of neurosurgery at the London Hospital Medical School, transformed safety standards in Formula One motor racing. He was born in Liverpool on 6 September 1928, and won scholarships to Prescot Grammar School and then Liverpool University, where he read medicine. He qualified with a BSc in physiology in 1949 and with his MB ChB in 1952.
He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps for his National Service, and was posted to West Africa, where he researched heat exhaustion in a physiological unit. After working in general surgery in Weston-Super-Mare, he trained in neurosurgery at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, under the American surgeon Joe Pennybaker.
In 1962 he was offered his own chair of neurosurgery at Syracuse, New York, USA. Sid Watkins first became involved in motor racing when he was invited to join the medical team at Watkins Glen, then home of the US Grand Prix circuit, located nearby in New York state.
He returned to the UK in 1969, becoming professor of neurosurgery at what was then the London Hospital Medical School. In 1978 Bernie Ecclestone, chief executive of Formula One, asked him to develop a medical service for the sport and 'Prof', as he was known to the drivers and race officials, soon became a well-respected presence at Grand Prix across the world. Among other measures, he pushed for stronger seats, collapsible steering columns and safer racing suits for drivers. His lifesaving efforts were often hands-on: on several occasions he pulled drivers from their crashed vehicles. He wrote about his experiences in his book *Life at the limit: triumph and tragedy in Formula One* (London, Macmillan, 1996) and retired from the sport in 2011.
At the London Hospital he carried out pioneering work on neurostimulation to relieve the tremor of Parkinsonism. He also co-wrote two atlases, of the anatomy of the thalamus and of the human brainstem (*A stereotaxic atlas of the human thalamus and adjacent structures: a variability study* [Baltimore, Williams and Wilkins Company, 1969], *Stereotaxic atlas of the human brainstem and cerebellar nuclei: a variability study* [New York, Raven Press, c.1978]). In 1992 he co-founded the Brain and Spine Foundation, a charity for people affected by brain and spine disorders.
Sid Watkins died from a heart attack on 12 September 2012 in London. He was 84. He was survived by his wife Susan, four sons and two daughters.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003041<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rattray, Patrick Whyte (1860 - 1923)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752252025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375225">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375225</a>375225<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Aberdeen, where in 1882 he was Murray Scholar, and in 1885 John Murray Scholar; then at the London and Middlesex Hospitals, acting as House Surgeon at the latter. After serving as Clinical Assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, he returned to Aberdeen as Demonstrator of Anatomy. Failing in efforts to obtain a position in anatomy, or as a hospital surgeon, he settled as a private practitioner in Upper Holloway, North London. He became Divisional Surgeon to the Metropolitan Police, District Medical Officer of the Post Office, and Medical Referee to the Pearl Assurance Company. The reputation he had gained as a teacher at Aberdeen followed him, and he was regarded by his friends as the embodiment of precise knowledge.
His address in later years was 17 Pemberton Gardens, St John's Park, Upper Holloway, where he died of angina pectoris on July 2nd, 1923. He was survived by his widow, a daughter, and a son, who did good service in the Naval Flying Corps (RNAS) during the War, 1914-1918.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003042<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Raven, Henry (1817 - 1903)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3752262025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003000-E003099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375226">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375226</a>375226<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on April 13th at Litcham, Norfolk, where his grandfather (who died in 1807, aged 67), his father (who died in 1849), and his elder brother (died in February, 1854) practised in succession. He studied at St George's Hospital, and practised in London until the death of his elder brother, Peter Raven, MRCS, in 1854, when he took over the family practice at Litcham, and continued there until his retirement in 1893, at one time having as partner Joseph Hazard, MRCS. He acted as Surgeon to the Litcham District of the Mitford and Launditch Union, and to the Litcham Village Hospital. He died at Litcham on February 15th, 1903.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003043<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Parsons, James St John Gage ( - 1905)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750882025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375088">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375088</a>375088<br/>Occupation Physician<br/>Details Born in Bristol and was educated at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and at St Bartholomew's and Guy's Hospitals. He held the appointment of Class Director of the Bristol School of Anatomy and Medicine from 1887-1842, and after qualifying he was temporary House Surgeon to the Bristol General Hospital. He practised at 78 Old Market Street and was Surgeon to the Bristol Dorcas Society. In 1849 he made the discovery of cholera then raging in the slums of St Philip's, and was appointed Special Cholera Medical Officer to combat the disease. Later he was appointed Sanitary Medical Officer to the City of Bristol, and received a testimonial from the Mayor and Corporation. He published a pamphlet entitled *The Reproduction of Cholera and Typhoid Germs external to the Human Body*, which attracted much attention at the time. Later he became Physician to the Wellington Assurance Society.
A keen theologian, botanist, and bacteriologist, Parsons devoted himself to the study of his pet sciences after his retirement in 1888. He was a member of the Bristol Natural History Society, and as a theologian he published a *Translation and Commentary on the Proem of St John's Gospel*. He was also a picture collector.
Somewhat late in life he married a Canadian lady, who with four daughters and a son survived him. At the time of his father's death, the son, James Parsons, BSc, FGS, was engaged on the Government Mineral Survey in Ceylon. Parsons died peacefully at his residence, Hillside, Cotham, Bristol, on June 9th, 1905, being then probably the oldest of the Bristol medical men.
Publications:
In addition to the works above mentioned, Parsons published:-
"Poisoning by Gelseminum." - *Lancet*, 1878, i, 953.
"Toxic Effects of Linseed-meal." - *Brit Med Jour*, 1879, i, 773.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002905<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Part, James (1809 - 1875)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750892025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-19<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375089">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375089</a>375089<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in the neighbourhood of Wigan, to which his family belonged. He was apprenticed to Christopher Morris, of Wigan, and later, in 1830, became a student at St Bartholomew's and University College Hospitals. In the year 1830-1831 he obtained the prize in surgery at the Medical School in Aldersgate Street. After qualifying he was at first House Surgeon to the Wigan Dispensary, but soon removed to London, where he was appointed Surgeon of the Artists' Annuity Fund, and was for some time President of the North London Medical Society. He delivered among other lectures a course, illustrated by copious diagrams, on the "Anatomy of Expression".
Part died on October 1st, 1875, at his residence, 89 Camden Road, NW. He was twice married, five children by his first wife surviving him. His photograph is in the College collection.
Publications:
*Medical and Surgical Pocket Case Book.*
"Successful Treatment of Poisoning by Strychnine." - *Lancet*, 1861, i, 309, etc. Various papers in *Trans Pathol Soc*, 1856-1861.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002906<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Partridge, Alderman ( - 1868)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750902025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375090">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375090</a>375090<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals, he was elected one of the Surgeons of the Essex and Colchester Hospital at its foundation, and retired in 1861 after being for many years Senior Surgeon. His tenure of office lasted forty-two years. He was a bold and successful operator, especially in lithotomy, and enjoyed a very large practice - probably the largest as a consultant in Essex.
His health failed some two years before his death, and he died after a lingering illness on October 24th, 1868. He was highly respected locally, and his death recalled the famous trial of forty years before in which Bransby Blake Cooper (qv) sued Thomas Wakley for damages for an alleged libel printed in the *Lancet*, where Cooper was accused of malpraxis in a lithotomy performed by him at Guy's Hospital on the person of Samuel Pollard, a navvy.
Partridge at the trial was shown not to be a confederate of Wakley, who met him for the first time in court at the commencement of the proceedings and found that Partridge had been present at the operation. Had it not been for Partridge's evidence, Wakley's punishment would doubtless have been much more severe. The damages were laid at £2000; as it was the damages were assessed at £100. The trial lasted two days and began on December 12th, 1828.
"The defendant (Wakley) then called and examined Mr Holdiman [sic] Partridge, who said:
"I reside at Colchester, and am a member of the College of Surgeons. I have been in practice rather more than fourteen years; I have witnessed many operations in lithotomy, and have performed them myself sixteen or eighteen times. I witnessed the operation performed by Mr Bransby Cooper at Guy's Hospital in March last. I have read the report of that operation in the *Lancet*: it struck me at the time to be correct, and I have had no particular reason to alter my opinion since, though I did not examine it very minutely. The patient appeared to be a very healthy man; I remarked it at the time. I think Mr Cooper himself introduced the staff; but the second incision was made without the staff. After the first external incision all instruments were withdrawn.
"*The defendant here produced a figure representing the situation of the patient, which the witness deposed to as being correct.*
"The hands of the patient were tied to the feet, and his knees to his neck, as represented by the model now produced. The patient remained in that position nearly an hour; during that period a sound was repeatedly introduced; several cuts were attempted to be made into the bladder with a knife. The instrument (a cutting gorget) was introduced into the wound; a blunt gorget was also introduced, and the scoop and several pairs of forceps. During the operation the patient called out several times to the operator to desist. The operator stated several times that he could not explain the difficulty; he appeared to be perplexed and hurried in consequence of the long delay; he did not appear to act with any regular scientific design. He introduced his finger with some force, but it did not strike me as being very violent. He used the instruments in the ordinary way, and varied them according to the different purposes, but failed in lighting upon the stone. I don't consider that the forceps entered the bladder the first time; the impression on my mind was, that the opening in the bladder was not sufficiently large to get the forceps in; but I think there was an opening, because I saw a discharge of water and blood.
"The operator said that he felt the stone when he passed his staff through the urethra, and could also feel it when he passed the sound through the incision in the perineum; he also said that he could not feel it with the forceps. The reason of this was, that the forceps, if straight or slightly curved, would pass under the stone, which was high up in the bladder. Mr Cooper made many attempts to feel the stone with his finger; he left his seat and measured fingers with those of other gentlemen, to see if any of them had a longer finger. I cannot say that I think Mr Cooper performed the operation in a scientific manner; I do not think that it was performed in such a manner as the public have a right to expect from a surgeon of Guy's Hospital. The average time for performing operations of this description is four or five minutes; the operation in question occupied, I think, nearly an hour. After the staff had been introduced and the first incision made, Mr Cooper used a straight staff with a knife; when he found he could not introduce the forceps on the first attempt, he withdrew them, and made another cut with the knife without the staff being introduced. This is not the customary mode; the scoop, as I have always understood, is introduced to extract those fragments of the stone that may have crumbled off. There were no fragments in this case that I saw.
"Twenty-five or thirty minutes is the longest time that I have known an operation of this kind to last; the average time is about five minutes. In the cases I have mentioned lasting twenty-five or thirty minutes, there were evident causes why the operation should last so long; those were where the stone was large, and where it would be dangerous to enlarge the wound for fear of injuring the rectum, and there the time was lost in drawing out the stone gradually. In the operation in question, the stone was a small one, being not larger than a common Windsor bean, flat and round; it might have weighed about two drachms or less, but certainly not more. Stones weighing several ounces have been successfully removed. Unless the incision was large enough to admit the forceps, that instrument could not lay hold of the stone without also catching the integuments of the bladder. The stone lay above the pubes, for the sound always touched it on being withdrawn, and it was extracted by pressure above the pubes, and with a curved forceps. If the operator had been aware of the situation of the stone, he should have taken these measures at first: he should have ascertained this in the first instance.
"*Cross-examined by* Sir J Scarlett. - I never saw the defendant before this day, nor his attorney in the cause before last night. Mr Callaway was the assistant surgeon on the occasion, and I believe him to be a man of skill. I have had several cases where the stone lay above the pubes, and always extracted it in the manner which was at last successfully adopted by Mr B Cooper. The cut is made in the perineum, and the object is to get the knife into the groove of the staff, by which time it has penetrated a portion of the urethra; then the staff is brought forward into a parallel position with the knife, and on a line with the bladder, in order to make a larger incision: the staff is then allowed to remain, and the finger is introduced, in order to ascertain the wound you have made.
"Sir J Scarlett - You then introduce the finger and feel for the stone, after finding which, you introduce the forceps along the finger and lay hold of the stone?
"Witness - No: in order to do that you must make too large an incision, or else have a most extraordinarily small pair of forceps. At the time of the operation I was sitting in a chair immediately behind Mr Cooper. I never saw Mr Cooper before that day. I have no doubt but that the first incision penetrated the bladder. I have read the report in the *Lancet*, but I never corresponded with that publication. I take it in and read it weekly.
"Sir J Scarlett here read from the libel the following sentence: 'The first incision through the integuments appeared to be freely and fairly made; and, after a *little* dissection, the point of the knife was fixed (apparently) in the groove of the staff, which was now taken hold of, and the knife carried onwards - *somewhere*.
"The learned Counsel asked the witness whether the word 'somewhere' did not mean to convey an idea that the knife did not go into the bladder?
"Witness. - I think it means to convey an idea that it might or might not have entered the bladder. I do not know whether the operator would be the best judge of whether the forceps entered the bladder or not - it would depend upon what sort of an operator he was. (A laugh.) I am not prepared to swear that the forceps were a second time used with considerable force; I will neither swear to, nor contradict it. I mentioned my opinion of this operation to several persons, but I cannot now say to whom.
"Sir J Scarlett then read the following sentence, and asked the witness whether the statement it contained was correct: 'The forceps were again used, but as unsuccessfully as before; they were pushed onwards to a considerable distance, and with no small degree of force.'
"Witness. - I am not prepared to swear to the truth of this - I cannot comprehend it.
"*Re-examined by the Defendant* (Wakley). - The staff was introduced a second time; it would not have been necessary if the first incision had been large enough. I have never seen the defendant before this day, that I am aware of."
Alderman was his baptismal name: the Alderman family, of whom several were medical men, were of Balstead, Suffolk.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002907<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Noon, Leonard (1877 - 1913)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749982025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374998">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374998</a>374998<br/>Occupation Pathologist<br/>Details Born on December 8th, 1877, the only son of James Noon, of the Charterhouse. He entered Charterhouse School in 1891 and left in 1896, having in the meantime gained the junior and senior scholarships and an exhibition in science. He also shot in the school VIII for the Ashburton Shield in 1894-1896, the team being winners in 1895 and 1896. He had a brilliant career at Cambridge, where he obtained a first class in both parts of the Natural Science Tripos in 1898 and 1900 and a major scholarship for advanced physiology at Trinity College in 1899.
He entered St Bartholomew's Hospital, winning the open scholarship in anatomy and physiology, and was House Surgeon and Ophthalmic House Surgeon. In September, 1905, he was nominated to a research scholarship at the serum department of the Lister Institute at Elstree when Professor G Dean was Director. Here he carried out an important research on the laws governing the neutralization of tetanus toxin by brain tissue. In 1906 he became the John Lucas Walker Student for Research in Pathology at Cambridge, and in 1909 he was Assistant in the Inoculation Department at St Mary's Hospital under Sir Almroth Wright. He had to relinquish laboratory work early in 1911 owing to failing health, and he died unmarried at his house, 30 Devonshire Place, London, on January 20th, 1913.
Noon proved himself a most capable pathologist during the short span of life allotted to him. His work was almost wholly connected with immunity, and was of a general theoretical character opening up wide fields of inquiry rather than of a direct practical application. It dealt chiefly with the nature of the toxins and antitoxins of tetanus, the mechanism and localization of the production of antibodies, and, with a more practical outcome, active immunization against hay fever by the inoculation of extracts of pollen.
Noon maintained his interest in rifle shooting to the end of his life. He was deeply but not ostentatiously religious, interested in all subjects, extraordinarily fertile both in new conceptions and in bold generalizations, but ready and ingenious in destructive criticism. All his colleagues were his friends.
Publications:-
Noon's scientific papers appeared in the *Jour of Pathos and Bacteriol*, in the *Jour of Hygiene*, and in the *Lancet*.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002815<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Norbury, Sir Henry Frederick (1839 - 1925)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3749992025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374999">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374999</a>374999<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on September 12th, 1839; was educated at Oundle School, afterwards receiving his professional training at St Bartholomews Hospital and at the University of Malta. He was appointed Surgeon in the Royal Navy in 1870, and was promoted Staff Surgeon in December, 1872. He was appointed to the *Active* corvette in October, 1876, on the Cape and West Africa Stations, and was landed in medical charge of the Naval Brigade during the Kafir War of 1877-1878. Serving in the Transkei as Senior Medical Officer of six different columns of troops, he was present at numerous skirmishes, in the action at the Quorra River and at the Battle of Quintana, being mentioned in dispatches and strongly recommended for promotion. In the Zulu War of 1879 he was again landed in medical charge of the *Active*'s Naval Brigade. He served as Principal Medical Officer of Colonel Pearson's column, and in January, 1879, was present at the Battle of Inyezane. Joining General Crealock's column as Principal Medical Officer of the entire Naval Brigade, he advanced with it to Port Durnford. He was now several times mentioned in dispatches, was promoted to Fleet Surgeon as from July 3rd, 1879, and was given the CB.
He was placed in charge of the Naval Hospital at the Cape of Good Hope in August, 1879, and served there for three years, being then appointed to the Naval Hospital at Stonehouse, Plymouth. He held this post until July, 1886, when he joined the *Impregnable* training-ship for boys at Devonport. In 1888 he was appointed to the Royal Naval Hospital at Plymouth, but early in 1890 was transferred to the Department of the Medical Director-General, Sir James Dick, and acted as Assistant Medical Director-General for five years. In April, 1895, he was appointed Senior Medical Officer at Plymouth Hospital, and in 1898 succeeded Sir James Dick as Director-General of the Navy Medical Service. He held that office for over six years, retiring on September 12th, 1904, on reaching the age of 65.
He was one of the Honorary Fellows elected on the occasion of the Centenary celebrations of the Royal College of Surgeons in July, 1900. In 1879 he won the Gilbert Blane Medal on passing for Staff Surgeon, and was awarded a special pension for good service on the active list in February, 1901. He was Hon Surgeon to both King Edward and King George.
He died at Eltham on December 10th, 1925, and was buried there on December 12th. By his marriage in 1868 with Mina Legge Wade-Brown, daughter of E G Wade-Brown, of Burton Bradstock, Dorset, he had a numerous family. His eldest son, Captain H R Norbury, RN, CB, served both at sea and at the Admiralty during the Great War. His second son, H F O Norbury, was Registrar of the Principal Probate Registry, and his third son, L E C Norbury, OBE, FRCS, became Surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital. Of his five daughters three married medical men. His portrait is in the Hon Fellows' Album and in the College collections.
PUBLICATIONS :
*The Naval Brigade in South Africa*.
Numerous contributions regarding the health of the Navy to the *Lancet*, etc.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002816<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Norgate, Benjamin Henry (1803 - 1858)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750002025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-08-29 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375000">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375000</a>375000<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at St. Andrew's, Norwich. He was elected Assistant Surgeon to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in 1828, when there were three candidates and 429 Governors attended to vote. Two years later he became Surgeon on the death of Henry Carter, and resigned in 1857, when he was elected Consulting Surgeon. William Cadge (qv) succeeded him as full Surgeon. Norgate was also Senior Surgeon to the Eye Infirmary. He died at Hastings on February 8th, 1858.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002817<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Lidderdale, John (1802 - 1863)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3747052025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374705">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374705</a>374705<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at the London Hospital. He practised at Kintbury, Hungerford, and died there on October 22nd, 1863.
Publication:-
"Case of Scirrhus Cancer of the Male Breast." - *Lancet*, 1861, ii, 167.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002522<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Norway, Samuel (1806 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750062025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375006">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375006</a>375006<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was for a short period an Unconvenanted Medical Officer in Bengal. He was gazetted Civil Medical Officer of Moorshedabad in 1846. There is no note of when he left India. He practised latterly at Tracey Cottage, 22 Westbourne Villas, Harrow Road, W, where he was Public Vaccinator to Ward No 1, Paddington, and Surgeon to the Westbourne Dispensary. He died at his London address on June 4th, 1870.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002823<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nottingham, John (1810 - 1895)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750072025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375007">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375007</a>375007<br/>Occupation ENT surgeon General surgeon Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Was a Yorkshireman, and was apprenticed to the father of C G Wheelhouse (qv). He received his professional training at Guy's Hospital, and in Paris under Dupuytren and Velpeau, where he became a member of the Medical Society formed of English students studying in Paris. He was appointed about the year 1837 House Surgeon to the Liverpool Infirmary (now the Royal Infirmary), and was noted for his eagerness in pursuing his clinical and pathological studies. He and a contemporary made post-mortem examinations together early in the morning, and throughout life Nottingham did much work at that time of day.
He began general practice in the centre of Liverpool about the year 1840, but excluded midwifery cases from his routine. He soon acquired a good surgical practice, and in a few years settled at Everton in succession to Wainwright. This was then a charming and opulent suburb, and here John Nottingham continued till his retirement in the late seventies of the nineteenth century. He practised at 20 Roscommon Street, which became a slum during his time. Together with the late J Penn Harris and others he founded the St Anne's Dispensary, which rapidly became popular, and is now one of the Liverpool East Dispensaries. Here he made a reputation as specialist in eye and ear diseases. In 1850 or thereabouts Nottingham was appointed Surgeon to the Southern Hospital, where he was known as cautious, ingenious, and skilful in operations. During his tenure of office the hospital was rebuilt on a new site (1872) as the Royal Southern Hospital.
After his retirement he suffered from double cataract, and remained in seclusion and blindness at his country seat at Whitchurch, Salop, till successfully operated upon in 1880 and 1881. He then again enjoyed good eyesight till 1887, when, just before Christmas, exposure on a cold night brought on inflammation and the globe of one eye had to be extirpated. The question of sight affected him in an extreme degree, for he had an immense library, comprising medical, surgical, and other literature, dictionaries and encyclopaedias, in most of the European languages, arranged on the walls of four spacious rooms, where also he had in many cabinets an extensive museum of surgical instruments.
He was a great student, an omnivorous reader, and when not reading hard himself he employed a polyglot reader who lived in his house and arranged and managed his books. He was an accomplished linguist, and had a most retentive memory. A mind thus well stocked from many literary and scientific sources, great conversational power, and a quiet affable manner rendered him a most charming companion. He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Royal Medical Society of Berlin.
Nottingham visited much among his well-chosen circle of friends, including Sir Joshua Walmsley, ex-Mayor of Liverpool, with whom he travelled in Spain and frequently shot in England. Latterly the old scholar never appeared abroad without a veil, and he died of mere old age on May 7th, 1895. He married Sarah Worthington, of Whitchurch, who survived him.
Publications:
*Report on the Restoration of Sight, by the Formation of an Artificial Pupil, in a Patient of St Anne's Dispensary*, l6mo, Liverpool, 1850.
*Surgical Report on Bilateral Lithotomy, with General Remarks on Operations for Stone*, 8vo, London, 1850.
*Practical Observations on Conical Cornea, and on the Short Sight and other Defects of Vision connected with it*, 8vo, London, 1854.
*Diseases of the Ear. Illustrated by Clinical Observations*, 8vo, plate, London, 1857.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002824<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nourse, William Edward Charles ( - 1912)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750082025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375008">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375008</a>375008<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was perhaps a member of the family of the two Edward Nourses who were famous as surgeons of the Old Surgeons' Corporation in the eighteenth century. He received his professional training at St George's Hospital, and practised in the fifties at 8 Burwood Place, Connaught Terrace, Hyde Park, W. By the early sixties he had removed to 11 Marlborough Place, Brighton, having for a time been Surgeon to the East and West Cowes Dispensary. He was appointed Surgeon to the Brighton Hospital for Sick Children, and held this post for many years. In 1881 he was living at Bouverie House, Exeter, whence he removed to Norfolk Lodge, Thurlow Road, Torquay.
He died at Torquay in February, 1912. At the time of his death he was Past President of the Brighton and Sussex Natural History and Philosophic Societies.
Publications:
*Sanitary Duties of Private Individuals*.
*On the Climate of Egypt*, 1853.
*A Short and Plain History of Cholera : its Causes and Prevention*, 8vo, London, 1857.
"Case of Acute Spinal Meningitis." - *Lancet*, 1859, i, 554.
*On the Organs of the Senses and the Cerebral Faculties Connected with them*, 8vo, Brighton, 1860.
"Case of True Leprosy in a Patient never absent from her Native Place in England." - *Med Times and Gaz*, 1865, ii, 251.
"On Registration of Diseases." - *Brit Med Jour*, 1867, ii, 143.
*Tables for Students*.
"Five Hundred Cases of Ulcers of the Leg." - *Brit Med Jour*, 1872, i, 693.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002825<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Noverre, Arthur (1816 - 1878)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750092025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375009">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375009</a>375009<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at St George's Hospital. He practised at Stanmore in Middlesex, and, removing to London comparatively late in life, acquired a large and fashionable London practice, first at 25 then at 16 South Street, Park Lane. He was much beloved for his gentleness of character and the high professional standard by which all his opinions and actions were guided. He died at his South Street residence on April 22nd, 1878.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002826<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nugent, Morgan ( - 1865)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750102025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375010">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375010</a>375010<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Became temporary Assistant Surgeon in the Ordnance Medical Department on December 8th, 1812, being promoted 2nd Assistant Surgeon in that Department on November 20th, 1813, and 1st Assistant Surgeon on June 1st, 1826. He retired on half pay in 1827. Latterly he resided at Brunswick Square, Brighton, and was a member of the Erectheum Club, London. He died in 1864 or 1865.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002827<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wells, Warwick Walter (1807 - 1892)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756522025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375652">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375652</a>375652<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in March, 1807; studied at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and entered the Bengal Indian Medical Service on May 10th, 1840. He was promoted Surgeon on March 1st, 1854, saw active service during the Mutiny in 1857 and 1858, took part in the defence of Lucknow, and was awarded the Medal. He retired on October 6th, 1859, to 7 Berkeley Place, Cheltenham, where he died on April 9th, 1892.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003469<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Welsh, Francis Fawcett (1817 - 1896)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756532025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375653">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375653</a>375653<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied in Dublin, and practised at Saffron Walden, Essex, latterly in partnership with Edward Harley, MRCS. He was Surgeon to the Hospital and Medical Officer to the Union, a member of the British Medical Association and of the Irish Medical School and Graduates' Association. Towards the close of his life he moved to Rockleaze Point, Clifton, Bristol, and finally to Oakdene, Oakhill Road, Surbiton, where he died on April 7th, 1896.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003470<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wenham, Herbert Victor (1877 - 1914)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756542025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375654">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375654</a>375654<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The second son of Arthur Wenham, a chartered accountant, by his wife, Frances Tomson. He was educated at Leamington College, and at Tonbridge School from 1891-1894; studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he distinguished himself as a student, and served both as House Surgeon and House Physician. Meanwhile he fitted himself for the office of a medical missionary and went out as such to China. He quickly became a fluent Chinese scholar, able to lecture as well as write in Chinese. The Union Medical College in Pekin was just starting; Wenham joined the staff and laboured assiduously until his early death. He gained the love of his students and sought to inspire them with the standard he had learnt at St Bartholomew's. He worked very hard, entirely without pay, for nine years; indeed, on occasions he contributed from his own private means, and to do this practised an almost ascetic way of life.
At the outbreak of an endemic of plague in Northern China a number of his students volunteered as nurses and medical assistants. Of two who died, one, when he fell ill, rushed back to Pekin to Wenham, who nursed him himself until death came. By searching out and isolating contacts, Wenham prevented a great epidemic in Pekin itself.
During the Revolution against the Manchus, Wenham took the field with the students as a Red Cross Hospital Unit and rendered fine service to the sick and wounded around Hankow.
As one of the leading members of the College Faculty he strove to raise the level of medical education. He was a zealous supporter of the anti-opium movement, and in 1913 came to England with General L Chang to plead for the cause.
He died of septic pneumonia on November 4th, 1914, in the beautiful hospital at Pekin which he had been so largely instrumental in getting built. His funeral was largely attended, as well by Chinese and his faithful students as by foreigners, his fellow-workers, and by Sir John Jordan, the British Minister.
In Wenham the British medical profession and the Christian missionary world in the Far East lost a most valuable representative. A Chinese writer expressed the feelings of Chinese and foreigners alike: "None who came in contact with him but felt the great charm of his unique personality, his purity of motive, his devotedness, sincerity, and abhorrence of sham or careless work."
He was survived by his wife, Margery Angus, but there were no children.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003471<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wessels, Francois Henry ( - 1908)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756552025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375655">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375655</a>375655<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised in Cape Colony, and died in 1908.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003472<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wilson, William James (1792 - 1855)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757672025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375767">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375767</a>375767<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was born at Leeds about 1792, the son of a solicitor. His parents died when he was young and he was brought up by the kindness of a sister. He was apprenticed at first to Mr Braithwaite, a Quaker surgeon, who was the proprietor of the preparation of opium known as 'the Black Drop' (*see* LAWRENCE, Sir WILLIAM). On the death of Braithwaite he was transferred to Mr Rowland, a well-known surgeon practising at Leicester. Later he moved to Islington and under Mr Spencer attended the practice of Clerkenwell Workhouse, studying at St Bartholomew's Hospital and becoming a dresser at the London Hospital. He also attended the Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye in Charterhouse Square.
In 1813 he began to practise in Manchester, and in the following year was instrumental in founding the Manchester Institution for Curing Diseases of the Eye. He was Surgeon to the Charity from 1814-1826 and was also on the Staff of the Lying-in Hospital. In 1846 he was elected Surgeon to the Manchester Infirmary and held office until 1855. He was also Surgeon to the Female Penitentiary; President of the Manchester Medical Society from 1843-1845, and of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association meeting at Manchester in 1854. He practised at 204 Clairville, Oxford Road, Manchester, and, retiring on account of ill health, died at Tickwood, near Wellington, Shropshire, on July 19th, 1855.
Wilson had a great reputation for lithotrity as well as for the treatment of diseases of the eye, and it was to him that Charlotte Brontë brought her father, who was operated upon for cataract on August 25th, 1846.
Wilson is described as being well formed, of middle size, easy and graceful in all his movements. The countenance, not particularly striking in repose - for his features were rather small - lighted up with intelligence when he talked. A most agreeable courtesy of expression, occasionally blended with rich humour to which he had a natural propensity, lent charm to his large and original store of anecdotes. To his professional brethren he was most generous, both in attending their families and lending them instruments.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003584<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wilton, John William (1796 - 1867)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757682025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375768">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375768</a>375768<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and practised at 11 King Street, Gloucester, where he was Surgeon to the Gloucester Infirmary, and died there on May 23rd, 1867.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003585<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Winchester, James Webster (1811 - 1887)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757692025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375769">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375769</a>375769<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on February 13th, 1811, entered the IMS, Bombay Army, as Assistant Surgeon on January 13th, 1834, was promoted to Surgeon on May 20th, 1848, to Surgeon Major on Jan 18th, 1860, and retired on June 7th, 1861. He saw active service in Afghanistan during 1839-1841. In retirement he lived at 42 Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, and died on December 25th, 1887.
Publication:
*Notes on Places in the Persian Gulph*, 1839.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003586<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Winchester, William Henry Blewett (1816 - 1901)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757702025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375770">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375770</a>375770<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at University College Hospital, London, and practised successively at Tamerton-Foliot, Devonshire; by 1855 at 14 Westbourne Terrace Road, London, when he was Surgeon to the Marylebone Eye and Ear Institute, to the Westbourne Dispensary, and to the Female Temperance Home, Gloucester House. He was a member of the Harveian Society and interested in the treatment of fractures. At the International Exhibition of 1862 he obtained honourable mention for the improvement in splints for fractures.
After 1860 he practised at Knowl Hill, Twyford, Berkshire; by 1871 he had moved to Boyne Grove, Maidenhead. From about 1875 he practised at Castlenau, Barnes, Surrey; by 1890 he had removed to Rasdale, Westcombe Park, Blackheath; finally to 5 Park Villas, Charlton Road, Blackheath, where he died on February 8th, 1901.
Publications:-
"New Method of Treating Fractures." - *Lancet*, 1852, ii, 592.
"Winchester's Method of Treating Fractures." - *Assoc Med Jour*, 1853, 975.
"New Instrument for Treatment of Fractures." - *Med Times and Gaz*,1855, NS xi, 214.
"Treatment of Fractures." - *Lancet*, 1868, ii, 162; 1874, ii, 757.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003587<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Windsor, John (1787 - 1868)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757712025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375771">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375771</a>375771<br/>Occupation botanist Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born at Settle in Yorkshire, one of a large family. He was educated for the most part at Giggleswick Grammar School, and then became the pupil of William Sutcliff, surgeon, of Settle. Afterwards he was for some time with a Mr Allen in London, and attended Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals. At the close of the session of 1811-1812 he received a prize from Sir Astley Cooper for anatomy and surgery. At this time he was an ardent student, often rising at 8 o'clock in the morning.
After qualifying at the College, he attended hospital practice in Edinburgh for one winter, and was taught by such able lecturers as Barclay, Hamilton, Gregory, Rutherford, and Holme. Next winter he was Clinical Clerk to Sir Astley Cooper at Guy's, and sometimes attended Abernethy's lectures. His other studies included the practice of St Thomas's and Guy's, five courses of Sir Astley Cooper's and Cline's lectures on anatomy and operations, Cooper's lectures on surgery in 1810-1814, the lectures at the London Eye Infirmary, the lectures of Dr Haighton on Midwifery, and those of Drs Babington, Marcet, and Allen on chemistry. In June, 1815, he began practice in Piccadilly, Manchester, being elected not long afterwards a Surgeon to the Manchester Eye Hospital. This post he held for some forty years.
Windsor is said to have formed the resolution early in life always to attend anyone who sought his aid, and he kept this rule till the day he died, when he saw two patients. He was a man of tireless energy and perseverance, a good example of the successful provincial practitioner. His habits were regular. He rose very early, was an ascetic in diet, despite which he kept up his spirits to an extraordinary degree and enjoyed robust health. For forty years, he sometimes averred, he had not been confined to bed for a day. He was thin and of medium height, but strongly built and possessed of great powers of endurance, on one occasion walking fifty miles in twelve hours. He was also in his earlier days an excellent swimmer.
He was always a keen botanist, and is mentioned as early as 1810 in Sir James Smith's *English Botany*. His herbarium was a fine one. In 1837 he was a Lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence at the Manchester Medical School, and for several years on Midwifery. He gave up some portion of almost every day to medical study, kept well abreast of his science, paying special attention to diseases of the eye and skin and to parasites; read the Classics and the French medical journals - was, in fact, a fine scholar and a man of science. He figures in *The Manchester Man* by Mrs Laennecus Banks.
His illness was very short and he retained his mental clearness to within a few minutes of his death, which occurred on September 1st, 1868. He died as he had lived at No 65 Piccadilly, Manchester, and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Windsor, MRCS, himself well known in Manchester and as editor of the *Ophthalmic Review*.
He paid a visit to Paris in 1822, and refers to it in the *Association Medical Journal* (1854, 945, footnote):-
"Perhaps I may be permitted to state that in the year 1822 I had an opportunity of accompanying Laennec in the wards of the Hôpital Necker, and of bringing with me from Paris stethoscopes in that year, and thus introducing into this part of the country their use; one was for my old friend, Dr Hull, then at the head of the profession at Manchester."
Publications:-
John Windsor's contributions to medical journals and transactions are voluminous. Some twenty-four papers are fully discussed in his life in the *Med Times and Gaz*, 1868, ii, 517-19. He also wrote copiously on botany.
His first publication, often quoted by authorities, was printed in the *Med-Chir Trans* in 1819, x, 358. It was communicated by Astley Cooper and is entitled, "Some Observations on Inversion of the Uterus, with a Case of Successful Extirpation of that Organ". Long afterwards he was able, through J M Arnott, to communicate "Sequel of a Case of Extirpation" to the same periodical; his patient survived for thirty-six years.
"Case of Painful Subcutaneous Tumour, in which the Tumour was Penetrated by the Twig of a Nerve." - *Edin Med and Sur Jour*, 1821, xvii, 261.
"Case of Malconformation, with Ascites, in a Foetus." - *Ibid*, 561.
"A Case of Bronchocele Cured by the Seton." - *North Eng Med and Surg Jour*, 1830-1, i, 325.
"Ulcers of the Cornea." - *Lancet*, 1830-1, i, 430.
"Permanent Contraction of the Fingers." - *Ibid*, 1833-4, ii, 501.
"Spontaneous Discharge of Calculi." - *Prov Med Jour*, 1842, 183.
"Carcinoma of the Eye." - *Ibid*, 1843-4, 423.
Other important contributions were made by him to the *Trans Prov Med and Surg Assoc* (1837, v, 375), to the *Assoc Med Jour* (1854-6), the *Brit Med Jour* (1857, 1858, 1864). He also wrote largely on tumours of the eye and eyelids, surgery of the eye, ptosis, empyema puriforme, and oöphoritis. He contributed many articles to the *Phytologist* and other botanical journals. After his death there was published at Manchester (8vo, 1873), for private circulation, his work, *Flora Craveniensis, or a Flora of the Vicinity of Settle in Craven, Yorkshire*.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003588<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Winkfield, Alfred (1837 - 1917)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757722025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375772">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375772</a>375772<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The third son of Richard Winkfield, of London. He was apprenticed to William Thurnall, of Bedford, where he was a pupil at the Infirmary before he entered St Bartholomew's Hospital. He dressed for Sir William Lawrence and Sir James Paget and clerked for Sir George Burrows. Dr Edward B Gray was elected Physician to the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, in 1860, after having served two years as 'House Surgeon Apothecary', and Alfred Winkfield applied for the post which was advertised under the altered title of 'House Surgeon'. The election was made at a Special General Court and was hotly contested, 109 governors voting for Winkfield and 80 voting for Sissons. Winkfield had previously done duty when Gray was on a holiday. He held office from 1860-1869, but was not elected Surgeon until 1878, and resigned in 1900.
In 1870 he matriculated as an unattached student. He never graduated, but in 1902 the University conferred upon him the honorary degree of MA after he had been Litchfield Lecturer on Surgery in 1883-1884, 1889-1890, and 1896-1897. He was Medical Officer of Health for the City of Oxford from 1872-1892 and was Surgeon to the Great Western Railway.
From 1900 onwards he lived in retirement at 26 Beaumont Street and was a director of the Randolph Hotel and of Grimbly Hughes & Co. He married Rosalie Anna, daughter of Captain Wilson, of Yorkshire, by whom he had one son who died young. Winkfield died suddenly at Oxford on May 3rd, 1917. In his early days he was a keen cricketer and an excellent lawn-tennis player, but he never shone as a surgeon.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003589<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wise, John ( - 1853)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757732025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375773">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375773</a>375773<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Banbury, Oxfordshire, and died there on January 29th, 1853.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003590<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Withecombe, John Rees (1816 - 1904)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757742025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375774">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375774</a>375774<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on November 21st, 1816, studied at Guy's Hospital, entered the IMS, Bengal Army, on February 15th, 1842, and was promoted to Surgeon March 21st, 1856. He saw active service in Sind, 1843; in the Sikh and Punjab War, 1848-1849, being present at the Battles of Ramnagar, Chilianwala, and Gujerat, and being awarded the Medal and two Clasps. He retired on July 10th, 1859, and in 1893 was Master of the Society of Apothecaries. He died at Richmond on February 1st, 1904.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003591<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Abrams, Leon David (1923 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757752025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Raymond Hurt<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-20 2013-09-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375775">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375775</a>375775<br/>Occupation Cardiothoracic surgeon<br/>Details Leon Abrams was a cardiothoracic surgeon who developed the first variable-rate heart pacemaker. He was born in Leeds, but his family soon moved to Birmingham, where he spent most of his life, apart from a short period of National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps.
After medical school in Birmingham and surgical training, 'Abe', as he was universally known, was appointed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the city, as a cardiothoracic surgeon. Here he set up one of the foremost centres for lung and heart surgery in the United Kingdom, and established open-heart surgery in the hospital.
He also developed his talent for mechanical devices. He designed a pleural biopsy punch in the 1950s, which is still used for the diagnosis of intrathoracic lesions, and, in 1960, together with Ray Lightwood, an electronic engineer, he developed the variable-rate heart pacemaker, which solved two problems of earlier designs - infection from the wires through the skin and muscle pain from the electrical impulses. These were both solved by 'inductive coupling', so that the pacemaker was outside the body and the heart stimulation came from a small implanted coil. The device was marketed as the 'Lucas-Abrams pacemaker', a small box strapped to a belt outside the body. He also developed an artificial heart valve, although this did not prove to be entirely successful, despite being cheap to manufacture.
At the Queen Elizabeth Hospital he specialised in treating newborn babies with congenital heart defects, and often stayed in the hospital through the night to supervise their postoperative care, so vital after this type of surgery. Abe's empathy for his patients made him a reassuring presence in the hospital.
He was a founder member of 'Pete's Club', the brain-child of Peter Jones, its founder chairman. The only rule of the club was that no case should be presented which threw credit on the presenter; only errors of judgement were discussed. This meant that members learnt a great deal at these meetings, much more than at other national and international surgical events.
Abe was elected chairman of the Medical Executive Committee, the teaching hospitals doctors' association in Birmingham, by his colleagues. He also served on numerous boards, and was an adviser to, among other institutions, the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.
He had little time for outside interests, but he was for many years on the council of Singers Hill Synagogue in Birmingham, and also, like his father, chairman of the governors of King David School, a Jewish primary school. He also loved dinghy sailing and later cruising with his family across the channel to Normandy and Brittany.
In retirement he had the misfortune to develop three types of cancer - non-Hodgkin lymphoma, bladder cancer and then colonic cancer, all three of which were successfully treated. He also developed polymyalgia and was treated with steroids, which led to a great increase in his weight. He had developed some degree of coronary atheroma, for which a stent had been inserted. He died in his sleep on 14 December 2012, at the age of 89. He was survived by Eva, his wife of 60 years, and three sons.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003592<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Broadfoot, James (1920 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757762025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Diana Broadfoot<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-20 2013-06-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375776">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375776</a>375776<br/>Occupation Urologist<br/>Details James Broadfoot was a urologist in Sydney, Australia. He was born in Townsville, Queensland, on 17 March 1920, the eldest son of James and Emily Broadfoot, who had left the UK to settle in Australia. He spent his early years in Townsville, and then, at the age of five, moved with his family to Sydney, New South Wales. He went to Lindfield Public School (which was later attended by his four children and three of his grandchildren) and then North Sydney Boys High School. During these formative years he participated in rugby, swimming and pursed his passion for amateur radio.
James attended Sydney University Medical School and graduated in 1943. He undertook his junior residency at Lismore Base Hospital in rural New South Wales and his senior residency at Royal North Shore Hospital. In 1946 he spent a year in the Merchant Navy as a ship's surgeon aboard *The Erin*, a refrigerated ship of 7,500 tons under control of the Royal Navy which supplied fresh produce to various naval vessels.
Upon completion of his naval adventures, he returned to Royal North Shore Hospital as a surgical registrar. During this time he was exposed to the various surgical specialties and had to make a difficult choice between obstetrics/gynaecology and urology. He chose urology.
In March 1949 he married Elizabeth Helen Nalder and they travelled to the UK, where he undertook further specialist training. He worked at St Peter's and St Paul's and Hillingdon hospitals whilst undertaking his studies at the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1950 he sat for the primary exams of the English and Edinburgh colleges, eventually gaining his fellowship of both.
In 1952 he returned to Australia and settled in Lindfield, a northern suburb of Sydney. He was appointed as a junior honorary urologist at Royal North Shore Hospital in 1953 and commenced practice in Macquarie Street, Sydney. He was also appointed to Hornsby Hospital as a junior honorary urologist in 1954.
James had a special way of teaching, and spent over 20 years teaching and tutoring senior medical students at Royal North Shore Hospital. In recognition of his contributions to teaching senior medical students, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1972.
He retired in 1979 and was appointed emeritus consultant urologist at Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital in recognition of his years of service.
Outside medicine, James was a keen golfer, as well as an avid fan of Fats Waller. He took great delight in listening to his large collection of Fats Waller recordings and took up learning to play the piano in his fifties in the hope that he would one day be able to play the music of his idol.
James was survived by his wife Helen, his children James, Jane, Matthew and Diana, and his seven grandchildren (Amani, Saneia, Deborah, Robert, Anthea, Richard and Edwina) and four great grandchildren (Rhys, Josie, Hamish and Harvey). As his daughter, I had the good fortune to work alongside many of his medical and nursing colleagues after his retirement, and I was always immensely proud to hear how well he was regarded, as a surgeon and as a gentleman.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003593<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Cochrane, Jonathan George (1941 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757772025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sean Patrick Francis Hughes<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-20 2013-08-15<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375777">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375777</a>375777<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Jonathan George Cochrane was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon to St John's Hospital, Livingston, and Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital, Edinburgh. He was born on 17 November 1941 and was educated in Fareham and at Purbrook Park County High School. He began his career in London, qualifying from Guy's Hospital Medical School in 1965, where he later trained under Lord Brock, whose influence was evident during his early career, especially in his decision to become a surgeon.
As a surgical registrar he worked at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, where he also completed a full general surgical training, as was customary at that time, before entering his chosen career of orthopaedic surgery. He obtained his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1970 and became an orthopaedic trainee in Edinburgh under JIP James. Entrance into this highly regarded programme was very competitive, indicating that Jon's talent and skills were recognised early in his career. It was during this period and under the tutelage of JIP James and other highly regarded surgeons such as George Mitchell, Douglas Lamb, Jimmie Scott and John Chalmers that he first developed his general orthopaedic and trauma skills, in addition to an interest in amputees and their prosthetic management.
At Bangour Hospital, West Lothian, he practised general orthopaedic surgery and managed trauma patients with competence and dedication. At Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital he looked after lower limb amputees, and undertook surgical treatment and prosthetic replacement. Academia was not something that especially interested Jon and his publication list was not great, however his interest and skill in treating patients and training medical students was superb.
Jon was an innovative surgeon, renowned for his skill and compassion, highly thought of by his colleagues and recognised as someone to turn to for advice when managing complex surgical problems. As a person he was also an entertaining companion with an exuberant sense of humour and an opinion on most topics.
A Scotsman, Jon was essentially returning to his roots when he went home to Edinburgh. He was an enthusiastic and skilled sportsman who both played in the first XI at Guy's and later avidly watched football, where later on his knowledge of the game made him a formidable armchair referee. Indeed he may have even taken up football as his chosen career if he had not been more attracted to surgery. Strangely though, despite being a Scot, he was a passionate supporter of Portsmouth football club. He also played golf, although more with optimism than success. He did however thoroughly enjoy his game, and was appointed skipper of the seniors at Luffness Golf Club. Jon was also an enthusiastic fisherman who was president of the Edinburgh Medical Angling Club, although apparently he was unable to catch a single fish during his period as president. A capable shot, he additionally took an active part in winter shooting.
Jon Cochrane was a charming man, a great and compassionate colleague, but most of all a skilful orthopaedic surgeon who cared deeply for his patients - a skill that is really worth celebrating. He died on 24 October 2012 at the age of 70 and was survived by his wife Wendy, their daughter Philippa and son Harvey.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003594<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Dignan, Albert Patrick (1920 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757782025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Peter Craig<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-20 2013-09-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375778">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375778</a>375778<br/>Occupation Accident and emergency surgeon Military surgeon<br/>Details Albert Patrick ('Paddy') Dignan was a former director of Army surgery. He was a remarkable character who was born into a modest family in Dublin. His father, Joseph, a tailor, was able to get all five of his sons through medical school. (Whether an ability to stitch can be inherited remains open to speculation.) Joseph Dignan had worked in the War Office during the First World War collating casualty lists, and had concluded that doctors were less likely to die during wars.
Patrick won a medical scholarship to Trinity College, Dublin, which certainly eased the financial burden on his parents. Unusually, he became an anatomy demonstrator as a student and from that time decided to pursue a career in surgery, qualifying in 1943 and proceeding to the fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1947.
In order to supplement his income after qualifying he became a GP's assistant, sending much of his income to his family back in Ireland. He was then a resident surgical officer at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, a registrar in Wigan, and a senior registrar at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and at Wanstead Hospital, London.
He then carried out his National Service, going to Malaya as a surgical specialist in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Emergency, with the rank of captain, subsequently major. He had been under no compunction to sign on, being Irish, but decided to do so anyway and his efforts there culminated in his award of an MBE in 1952.
It was during that tour of duty that he met his future wife Eileen (Helena née White), who happened to be designated as his theatre sister. Their first meeting was less than immediately convivial. She had been ambushed by Malayan insurgents in a convoy on the way to the hospital and she had arrived late and in a not unsurprisingly dishevelled state. Patrick had been raring to start his list and gave her a strong ticking off.
After a transient look at civilian practice, he made the decision that the excitement of military surgery prevailed and he re-joined in December 1953 as a regular Army doctor. During the next eight years he served primarily in military hospitals in Germany, but for a short period in Cyprus during the Suez Crisis of 1956. On a posting to the British Military Hospital Singapore in 1961 he began publishing papers on exotic surgical cases in consequence of tropical diseases.
On his return to Tidworth in Hampshire, he took a great interest in the prevailing surgical treatment of peptic ulcers and gained an MD for his work on this topic. This was by no means easy, working as he was in a military hospital, with no direct university back-up support.
During his penultimate tour, by then a brigadier in Singapore, and as a consultant surgeon to the Army in the Far East, he visited Vietnam at the height of the war in 1969 and became very impressed by the benefits of the evacuation of wounded soldiers by helicopter. There were others in the Army at that time who also realised this need, and helicopters were unofficially used in Borneo, Oman and Northern Ireland, despite the Ministry of Defence's continued refusal to sign up to the idea of medical helicopter evacuation. It is perhaps interesting to note that in both Iraq and Afghanistan this became standard practise, with evacuation hugely enhanced by on-board resuscitation teams. Patrick was, like many of his military colleagues, prescient.
On his promotion to major general in 1974 as director of Army surgery, he was able to continue with his surgical practice at the Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital at Millbank, rather than become just an administrator, a move that enhanced his position with junior staff. In truth, he was more than happy to flee the headquarters of the Army Medical Services on a regular basis to avoid the persistent intrusion of a whole crowd of junior non-medical administrative officers attempting to introduce quite nonsensical bright ideas that had no proven evidence-based support. This was his last military appointment and he retired from the Army in 1978.
In the same year he was appointed as an accident and emergency consultant at the newly-opened Ealing Hospital in west London, but was unhappy and resigned after 18 months. He concluded that the ways of the Defence Medical Services, with its recognised chain of command, bore no relation to the NHS as it was operating at that time. This was followed by 10 very happy years as president of the medical boards, based at the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital in Woolwich.
Paddy was a sharp rather than blunt dissector, but his results were always very good. His compassion for his patients on the oncology/cancer unit at Millbank and bedside manner was unparalleled and much admired. He was the most concerned and kind clinician one could imagine. His dealings with some particularly ill-disciplined junior surgeons was robust; in one case he was threatened by a disgruntled young surgeon, who nearly thumped him. His comment after that interview was that 'it had been difficult'.
His autobiography *A doctor's experiences of life* (Edinburgh, Pentland Press, 1994) was less than accurate, which is perhaps a pity. While writing about some very frightening surgical emergencies, he sometimes neglected to credit the other people who had been directly involved.
Outside medicine, he was enthusiastic about horse racing and golf. At the latter, he was frankly a menace. One incident ended up being reported in the *The Straits Times* in Singapore, when his driver ended up 30 feet up a tree and had to be rescued by his caddy. He also managed to hit a series of other golfers with his wayward shots.
He was great fun to be with and his conversation was always engaging, incorporating a mixture of humour, sagacity and utter nonsense, almost one after the other.
Sadly his wife Eileen died in 2001, and he ended his days happy in the Priory Home in Tetbury, from where he was able to go for a pint and place the odd bet. He died on 11 October 2012, at the age of 92, and was survived by his sons, Terence and Fergus, and daughter, Finola.
He was a consummate surgeon and a thoroughly delightful colleague, who gave the most superb and genuine support to all his patients, and was basically a very gentle, kind and considerate man. The idea of a gentle director of Army surgery seems somehow out of place, but was, in this case, correct.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003595<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Flatman, Gerald Edward ( - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757792025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-20 2015-02-16<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003500-E003599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375779">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375779</a>375779<br/>Occupation oncologist Radiotherapist<br/>Details Gerald Edward Flatman was director of the Glasgow Institute of Radiotherapy and Oncology, and a consultant radiotherapist at the Western and Royal infirmaries, Stobhill Hospital, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Glasgow Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. He was also an honorary lecturer in radiotherapy at the University of Glasgow. He studied medicine at King's College, London, and Westminster Hospital Medical School, qualifying MB BS in 1945.
He was a surgical registrar at Westminster Hospital and then a resident surgical officer at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, and subsequently an assistant radiotherapist at the Middlesex Hospital. He was then appointed to his consultant post in Glasgow. From 1982 to 1984 he was vice president of the Royal College of Radiologists.
Gerald Edward Flatman died on 17 December 2012. He was 91. He was survived by his wife and family.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003596<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ryland, Frederick ( - 1857)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753702025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375370">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375370</a>375370<br/>Occupation General surgeon Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Practised in Birmingham, and was Surgeon to the Edgbaston Eye Infirmary. In 1835 he gained the Jacksonian Prize for an essay on "Injuries and Diseases of the Larynx, also of the Trachea and its Treatment", which was afterwards published (8vo, London, 1837; Philadelphia, 1838, 1841). He was much esteemed and respected by his professional colleagues for his high sense of honour and independence of character, no less than for his mental cultivation and social disposition. His death occurred in 1857.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003187<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ryott, Frederick Elliott (1834 - 1893)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753712025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375371">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375371</a>375371<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of R S Ryott, of Newbury. After going to the Newbury Grammar School, he studied at the London Hospital, where he was clinical gold medallist in surgery; medallist in jurisprudence and toxicology; prizeman in midwifery, chemistry, and materia medica. He practised at 16 Northbrook Street, Newbury, and was Physician to the Hospital and the Dispensary. In 1888 he was elected a Member of the Berkshire County Council. He died on December 27th, 1893.
Publication:-
"Case of Placenta Praevia." - *Lancet*, 1875, ii, 332.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003188<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Savage, Thomas (1839 - 1907)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753722025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-22 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375372">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375372</a>375372<br/>Occupation Gynaecologist<br/>Details Born on October 11th, 1839, at Wolverhampton, where his ancestors dwelt for many generations. He received his education at Brewood Grammar School and in Paris, and in 1856 began serving his apprenticeship to the profession as assistant to J J Hadley, whose extensive practice lay in the Ashted district of Birmingham. Later he became a house pupil at the General Hospital and attended lectures at Sydenham College.
After qualifying he was for two years House Surgeon at the Birmingham Eye Hospital (1861-1862), and then, after being a short time at Newport, IW, settled in practice at Bordesley, where he soon became favourably known. He was at this period of his life Lecturer on Botany at Sydenham College - then the Medical School - and was appointed Professor of Comparative Medicine at Queen's College.
He and Lawson Tait (qv) were among the first four Surgeons to the Birming¬ham and Midland Hospital for Women, founded in 1871, and for several years the pair performed most of the operations and obtained results of an epoch-making character in abdominal surgery. Latterly he was Senior Surgeon. As an operator Savage was remarkably clean and careful, and many years before scientific asepsis was thoroughly understood and appreciated he was carrying out a surgical tech¬nique in abdominal operations which left little to be desired. He devoted his whole energies to the study and practice of gynecology, and in 1893 was elected Professor of Midwifery in the new University of Birmingham, Lawson Tait at the same time becoming Professor of Gynaecology.
In 1894 Savage was President of the British Gynaecological Society. He had previously (1881) delivered the Ingleby Lectures in Queen's College, and had been President of the Midland Medical Society (1881), the Birmingham University Graduates' Club, and the Birmingham and Midland Counties Branch of the British Medical Association. He was President of the Section of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Birmingham Meeting of the Association in 1890.
He retired from the active work of the Birmingham and Midland Hospital for Women in 1897 and was made Consulting Surgeon. At about the same time he contracted blood poisoning in the course of duty and was obliged to undergo amputation of the arm above the elbow. He bore this affliction courageously and cheerfully.
The manner of his death was unique in the annals of the Fellows. On December 29th, 1906, he sailed with his nephew, Mr Lewis O'Connell, and a friend for Jamaica. Their ship, the *Port Kingston* carried a party of distinguished visitors to that island, and arrived on the eve of the earthquake which occurred at Kingston on January 14th, 1907, when some 1000 lives were lost, including those of Savage and his friends. He was survived by his widow, one son, and three daughters. Mrs Savage, whom he married in 1864, was a Miss Gosling, of Richmond, Surrey, sister of Dr Gosling of Birmingham. His surviving son, Dr Smallwood Savage (qv), was already well known as a gynaecologist and Secretary of the British Gynaecological Society. Another son, Arthur Savage, who died, had also been in the medical profession, and both were graduates in Arts, the one (Smallwood) of Oxford, the other of Cambridge.
Savage had resided latterly at The Ards, Knowle, Warwickshire, and here in private life had taken an active interest in Church work, being to within a short time of his tragic death President of the Birmingham Medical Mission. Savage was very popular socially, being genial and broad-minded. He was a man of culture, and collected books and antiquities. He did good work on the Warwick¬shire County Council as a member of the Sanitary and Education Committees.
At the time of his death, besides being Consulting Surgeon to the Wolverhampton and District Hospital for Women, he was Consulting Gynaecologist to the Kidderminster Infirmary, Consulting Physician to the Magdalen Home, Birming¬ham, and Consulting Surgeon to the Birmingham Lying-in Charity, in which institution he had been Acting Surgeon for ten years. He was also Hon Secretary to the Midland Counties Idiot Asylum, Knowle.
Good portraits of Savage accompany his biographies in the *British Medical Journal* (1907, i, 293) and the *Provincial Medical Journal* (Leicester, 1894, xiii, 169).
Publications:-
"Flexions of the Nulliparous Uterus."- *Obst Jour*, 1873, i, 503.
"Uterine Fibroid."- *Birmingham Med Rev*, 1874, iii, 116.
"Observations on Diseases of Women."- *Ibid*, 1875, iv, 118.
"Observations on Diseases of Women - Prolapsed Uteri."- *Ibid*, 1876, v, 108.
"Observations on Diseases of Women - Sterility."- *Ibid*, 246.
"Incision of Cervix in Uterine Haemorrhage." - *Lancet*, 1877, ii, 458.
"Transfusion." - *Birmingham Med Rev*, 1877, vi, 220.
*Ovariotomy*, 1878.
*Local Lesions connected with Childbirth*, 1879.
*Series of Ovariotomies*, 1879.
*The Treatment of Uterine Myoma by Abdominal Section*, 8vo, Birmingham, 1879.
"Hydronephrosis and Nephrotomy."- *Lancet*, 1880, i, 601.
*Oophorectomy* (Records of many consecutive successful operations, 1880-1), 8vo, 2 parts, Birmingham, 1880-1; *Birmingham Med Rev*, 1881, iv, 147.
*On Some of the Applications of Abdominal Section*, Ingleby Lectures, 1881.
"Porro's Operation," 8vo, Birmingham, 1883; reprinted from *Birmingham Med
Rev*, 1883, xiv, 213.
*Some Remarks on Abdominal and Renal Surgery*. An Address read before the Annual Meeting of the Shropshire and Mid-Wales Branch of the British Medical Association, June 25th, 1889, 8vo, Birmingham, 1889.
"Diseases of the Fallopian Tubes."- *Birmingham Med Rev*, 1888, xiii, 22.
"Removal of Uterine Appendages."- *Brit Med Jour*, 1887, i, 51.
"Gynaecology in its Relations to Insanity."- *Ibid*, 1890, ii, 274.
"Some Aspects of the Present State of Gynaecology."- *Birmingham Med Rev*, 1891, xxx, 218.
*Sectional Presidential Address, Birmingham Meeting of the British Medical Association*, 1890.
*Hemorrhage from the Uterus: An Address*, 8vo, Birmingham, 1898.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003189<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Taaffe, Richard Patrick Burke (1829 - 1888)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753732025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-28<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375373">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375373</a>375373<br/>Occupation General surgeon Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born in the West of Ireland; Sligo had been the home of several distinguished Taaffes. In early life he came to England and was educated at St Bartholomew's Hospital.
In 1856 he settled in practice at Brighton as partner of Sir John Cordy Burrows, afterwards practising alone. He was appointed in 1858 Assistant Surgeon to the Brighton and Sussex Eye Infirmary, of which he was Consulting Surgeon at the time of his death. In 1874 he became the first Medical Officer of Health appointed for Brighton, and carried out his important duties with zeal and ability to the last. In 1877-1878 he was President of the Brighton and Sussex Medico-Chirurgical Society, President of the Section of Public Medicine at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association which was held in Brighton in 1886, and he took a prominent part in the proceedings of the Brighton Health Congress in 1881. He practically founded the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children and was its earnest supporter. The Prince of Wales opened the Hospital on July 21st, 1881, Taaffe formally asking the Prince to declare the building open and presenting him with a gold key to fit its principal lock. At the time of his death he was also Consulting Physician to the Institution, Physician to the Brighton Dramatic Company, and a member of the Society of Medical Officers of Health.
He died at his residence, 45 Old Steyne, on Saturday, March 3rd, 1888, leaving a widow and two sons.
Publications:
"Address on the Transmission of Diseases through the Media of Food and Drink," delivered at the Brighton Health Congress, 1881.
*Reports on Health of Brighton*, 1874-86.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003190<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Tait, Robert Lawson (1845 - 1899)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753742025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-28<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375374">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375374</a>375374<br/>Occupation General surgeon Gynaecologist<br/>Details Born at 45 Frederick Street, Edinburgh, on May 1st, 1845, the son of Archibald Campbell Tait, of Dryden, a Guild Brother of Heriot's Hospital, and of Isabella Stewart Lawson, of Leven.
From the age of 7 Lawson Tait was educated at Heriot's Hospital School, Edinburgh, until he entered the University with a scholarship in 1860. He began the Arts course but abandoned it after his first year, and never graduated. He was apprenticed to Alexander McKenzie Edwards, the Extramural Lecturer on Surgery, and for six years acted as his assistant after he qualified in 1866. During his student career he became a favourite with James Syme (qv) and Sir William Fergusson (qv), and for some time lived in Sir James Simpson's house.
He left Edinburgh in 1866, visited Dublin and other schools of medicine, and was appointed House Surgeon to the Wakefield Hospital in 1867, a post he held for three years, performing his first ovariotomy there on July 29th, 1868. He performed five similar operations before he removed to Birmingham in 1870, and these seem to have directed his attention specially to what became the work of his life. He took the practice of Thomas Partridge in September, 1870, and settled in Birmingham at the corner of Burbury Street, Lozells Road, where be soon made a name for himself as a bold surgeon, an original thinker, and an aggressive enemy.
He was Lecturer on Physiology at the Midland Institute from 1871-1879, where his advocacy of the Darwinian theory of evolution excited considerable opposition. In July, 1871, he was appointed Surgeon to the newly founded Hospital for Diseases of Women, and held the post until 1893, when he was elected a member of the Consulting Staff. In 1873 he was awarded the Hastings Gold Medal of the British Medical Association for his essay "On Diseases of the Ovaries", and in 1890 he received the Cullen and Liston Triennial Prize at Edinburgh for his services to medicine, especially in connection with his work on the gall-bladder. This prize, which was afterwards exhibited in the Art Gallery at Birmingham, consisted of a silver bowl of seventeenth-century London workmanship.
He performed two operations of historic importance in 1872: the first on February 2nd, when he removed a suppurating ovary; the second on August 1st, when he extirpated the uterine appendages to arrest the growth of a bleeding myoma. He did his first hysterectomy for uterine myoma in 1873, following, with slight modifications, Koeberlé's technique, and in June, 1876, he removed a haematosalpinx and thus made the profession familiar with the pathology of the condition.
In 1878 Tait began to express doubts as to the value of the Listerian carbolic acid spray then generally employed by surgeons in abdominal operations, but adopted no aseptic method except that of general cleanliness. In 1879 he did his first cholecystotomy, an operation which marked the beginning of the rational surgery of the gall-bladder. On January 17th, 1883, he first performed the operation for ruptured tubal pregnancy and saved the patient. A series of thirty-five cases with only two deaths speedily followed, and the operation took its place as a recognized method of treating a condition which had previously been looked upon as desperate.
Lawson Tait was instrumental in organizing the Birmingham Medical Institute, of which he was an original member in 1874, and was one of the founders of the British Gynaecological Society, serving as President in 1885. He became Professor of Gynaecology at Queen's College in 1887, and was appointed Bailiff of the Mason College in 1890. He was the chief mover in causing the transfer of Queen's College to the Mason College in 1892, and thus smoothed the way for the foundation of the University of Birmingham.
Tait performed many of the duties of a citizen in Birmingham. Elected a member of the City Council in 1876, as a representative of the Bordesley Division he became Chairman of the Health Committee and a member of the Asylums Committee. He contested the Bordesley Division of the City in the Gladstonian interest in 1886, but was easily beaten by Jesse Collings.
In the British Medical Association Tait was a Member of Council, President of the Birmingham Branch and of the Worcestershire and Herefordshire Branch, and delivered the Address on Surgery at the Birmingham Meeting in 1890. He was President of the Medical Defence Union and raised the Society to a position of considerable importance. In 1876 he was President of the Birmingham Natural History Society, and in 1884 President of the Birmingham Philosophical Society. He was also Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Society of Artists and Birmingham School of Design, and was a founder of the Midland Union of Natural History Societies. He took a leading part in establishing coffee-houses in Birmingham.
The University of the State of New York conferred upon him honoris causa the degree of MD in 1886, and in 1889 he received a similar tribute from the St Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, whilst in 1888 the Union University of New York gave him the honorary degree of LLD. At the time of his death he was an Hon Fellow of the American Gynaecological Society and of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The last five years of Tait's life were marked by almost continuous ill health, which caused him to relinquish much of his operative work and seek repose at Llandudno, where he had bought a house. He died there from uraemia on June l3th, 1899: his body was cremated at Liverpool and the ashes were buried in Gogarth's Cave, an ancient burial-place in the grounds of his Welsh home on the west side of Great Orme's Head. He married in 1871 Sybil Anne, a daughter of William Stewart, solicitor, of Wakefield, Yorkshire, but had no children.
Alban Doran (qv), a contemporary of Tait, who was himself a distinguished gynaecologist, summed up his work in the following words:
"Tait's special merits as a surgeon cannot be lightly dismissed. He, no doubt, placed too low a value on scientific research; his statistical methods, well fitted for earlier days, when Clay, Spencer Wells, and Keith had to prove the bare justifiability of ovariotomy, were already antiquated when he so largely employed them; and he, in the opinion of many surgeons of repute, laid too little stress on after-treatment. Nevertheless, it is easy to recognize that, without doubt, he was a very great surgeon.
"Lawson Tait began, as all abdominal surgeons had to begin in the days when he entered into his professional career, by ovariotomy. He advocated a small abdominal incision, and confirmed the superiority of complete intraperitoneal ligature over the clamp. It is not necessary to dwell on his long disputes with other operators, nor on his statistics, nor on his persistent opposition to antiseptics. He relied on his good right hand, an excellent principle for any surgeon, provided that, as in the case of Tait, his right hand be really good. He, on the whole, distrusted hysterectomy, but it is in the surgery of the appendages that he gained the most renown. By this term he understood, as all have since understood, the removal of the ovary and Fallopian tube for diseases due not to new growths, but to inflammation. Though no doubt operative interference for hydrosalpinx, pyosalpinx, and chronic oöphoritis was grossly abused at first, it cannot be denied that Tait threw a bright flood of light literally and figuratively on the nature, course, and treatment of tubo-ovarian inflammation. To understand his views thoroughly it is necessary to study the clear statements which he boldly makes in his *Diseases of Women and Abdominal Surgery*, 1889. The very headings of the pages, 'Heavy Mortality of Pyosalpinx', 'Pyosalpinx resulting from Uterine Tinkering', etc, are characteristic and most suggestive. Thus the first heading has been gravely disputed, but Tait knew how to act as counsel for the prosecution of a suppurating tube. The second implies the most just surgical censure. We know but too well that it is not only tubes that suffer from therapeutical tinkering and timid palliative measures.
"At an early period of his career as an abdominal surgeon Lawson Tait distinguished himself by advancing, in an operative sense, beyond the limits of the female organs. He was an advocate of timely interference in disease of the gallbladder at a date when ovariotomy was hardly generalized and when hospital surgeons were as suspicious of any attempts at operation in the upper part of the abdomen as twenty years earlier they had been suspicious of ovariotomy itself. He carried his principles into practice, and so his name is chronicled in the history of our art as one of the pioneers of the surgery of the liver and gall-bladder. Just thirty years ago Lawson Tait opened up a sinus which discharged through the umbilicus and communicated with a suppurating gall-bladder, so that he was enabled to remove some gall-stones. Nine years later Dr Marion Sims boldly performed cholecystotomy on a patient whose health was already impaired by long-standing obstruction of the bile-ducts. Relief was immediate, but the patient sank a week later. For Marion Sims, Lawson Tait had the deepest admiration, and dedicated to the great American gynaecologist his *Pathology and Treatment of Diseases of the Ovaries* 'as an acknowledgment that much of the new work described in it was the outcome of his ingenuity'. As an outcome of Sims's ingenuity beyond the area of the uterus and its appendages, Tait successfully performed a cholecystotomy in 1879, one year after Sims's operation. A living authority on hepatic surgery, Mr Mayo Robson, justly observes that 'to Mr Tait undoubtedly belongs the credit of having popularized the operation with the profession'.
"Tait's renown and experience caused many others to bring to him patients with abdominal affections which baffled their powers of diagnosis. In 1887 he recorded a large series of operations for cystic collections of fluid in the anterior and inferior part of the abdomen. He treated them, as a rule successfully, by incision and drainage, and believed that the cysts had developed in the urachus. There is reason to suspect that some of these cases were simply encysted dropsies due to tuberculous disease, and their true pathology was in no instance verified by dissection or post-mortem examination. Still there can be little doubt that in more than one instance the tumour was urachal. What is more important, Tait established, by the publication of this series, the correct principles for the treatment of this rare disease. Hence, in the surgery of tumours of the urachus, Tait once more appears as a pioneer whose claims will not be forgotten.
"Perhaps the most original and at the same time most valuable innovation which surgery owes to Lawson Tait is the washing of the peritoneum, after an operation, with large quantities of water for the purposes of cleansing and haemostasis. Many other terms have been applied to this method, but his original contribution on this subject in the third volume of the *British Gynaecological Journal* [1887-8, iii, 185] is named 'Methods of Cleansing the Peritoneum', and the only other term in this remarkable essay besides 'cleansing' is 'washing'. Whatever it should strictly be called in accordance with the science of hydraulics, this cleansing of the peritoneum has proved of the greatest benefit, and, although it has been much abused and often applied when unnecessary, though harmless, it has been found by later observers to act favourably on the patient in certain ways quite unrecognized by its famous inventor. Tait avowedly claimed cleansing and haemostasis as the aim of washing of the peritoneum. Within a few years it was found that it was also a process of transfusion. Later, it was shown that when some of the water was left behind in the peritoneal cavity it ensured the rapid removal of poisonous products from the peritoneum. It has further been discovered that the addition of salt greatly increases the transfusing and antiseptic value of the water used for cleansing the peritoneum. Such remarkable development of a new surgical practice greatly redounds to the credit of its inventor. Lawson Tait was, in respect to washing of the peritoneum, once again a bold projector who successfully carried an original design into practice. He did so on the sound surgical principle that the less the surgeon fears the peritoneum and the more thoroughly he cleans it and checks bleeding and oozing, the better it will be for the patient.
"Enough has been said to show that Lawson Tait will always be remembered as a bold surgeon of unusual originality. His merits, widely recognized in his lifetime, will not be forgotten after his death, for he made a name for himself in the glorious history of British surgery."
As a man Tait was a sound antiquarian, a good raconteur, and an admirable public speaker who kept the attention of his audience. In person he was short, broad-chested, and had a very large head from which fell long hair. His face was severe and plebeian in character, but gave the impression that he had a large fund of common sense. He listened carefully to what was told him and replied in the fewest possible words, his lips hardly moving.
Publications:
*The Pathology and Treatment of Diseases of the Ovaries* (the Hastings Prize Essay, 1873), London, 1874; 4th ed, 1883.
*An Essay on Hospital Mortality based on the Statistics of the Hospitals of Great Britain for Fifteen Years*, 8vo, London, 1877.
*Diseases of Women*, 8vo, London, 1877; 2nd ed, 1886. It appeared in New York in 1879; in Philadelphia in 1889; and was translated into French by Dr Olivier in 1886 and by Dr Bétrix in 1891.
*The Uselessness of Vivisection upon Animals as a Method of Scientific Research*, 8vo, Birmingham, 1882; reissued in America in 1883, and translated into German, Dresden, 1883. It is full of fallacies.
*Lectures on Ectopic Pregnancy and Pelvic Haematocele*, 8vo, Birmingham, 1888.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003191<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Shastri, Keshav Devdatta (1922 - 2013)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757852025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-20 2015-03-13<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375785">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375785</a>375785<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Keshav Devdatta Shastri was a general surgeon at Mid Ulster Hospital, Magherafelt, Northern Ireland. He studied medicine at Grant Medical College, Bombay, India, gaining his MB BS in 1946 and his FRCS in 1953. Prior to his appointment in Northern Ireland he was head of the department of surgery at the Rabindra Nath Tagore Medical College, Udaipur, India. He died on 3 January 2013. He was 91.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003602<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Smith, Rutherford John Pye (1848 - 1921)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757862025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375786">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375786</a>375786<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The third son of Ebenezer Pye Smith (qv). He was born in London in 1848, studied at Guy's Hospital, and in 1876 settled in general practice at 45 Glossop Road, Sheffield. In 1877 he was elected Surgeon to the Public Hospital and Dispensary, which subsequently became the Sheffield Royal Hospital. The buildings were inadequate and antiquated, but Pye Smith, following Listerian methods, devoted himself to improvements, which were gradually effected, on the surgical side. A careful surgeon without being brilliant, his results were good, and he gradually came to be ranked as one of the leading surgeons of the district. He was a slow worker and the day's work was got through laboriously. He was unable to depute details of his work to others; he liked himself to dress his cases in the hospital, even to applying the bandages. In some ways he kept in touch with developments of surgery; on other points he was very conservative. He was a leading Congregationalist, much engaged in religious and philanthropic work, being greatly assisted by Mrs Pye Smith, kindly and tolerant in the fullest sense. He was, moreover, engaged in the development of the University of Sheffield, in Municipal Education, in the British Medical Association, and in the General Medical Council. He was also Consulting Surgeon to the Montague Hospital, Mexborough, and Medical Defence under the Workmen's Compensation Act. He spent his holidays on walking tours in the British Isles, delighting in scenery, church architecture, music, and painting.
In 1908, at the age of 60, he retired from the active staff of the Sheffield Royal Hospital, and became Consulting Surgeon. In that year he delivered an address on surgery at the Sheffield Meeting of the British Medical Association. At the same time the University conferred upon him the degree of ChM. He had been elected Professor of Surgery at the University on its constitution in 1905, and was an important member of the Faculty both on its senate and council. He represented the University on the General Medical Council from 1911-1919.
He continued his surgical practice, and on the outbreak of the War (1914-1918) served throughout on the staff of the Wharnecliff War Hospital, the 3rd Northern Territorial General Hospital, Sheffield. He was overtaxed by the work, but regained a measure of health at his country house, Clyde, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, until he succumbed to a two days' attack of influenza on March 23rd, 1921.
By his will he left, subject to his wife's life interest, £1000 for the Chair in Surgery at the University of Sheffield, as well as bequests to the Royal Sheffield Hospital and other bodies. His elder brother, Philip Henry Pye Smith, MD, was the Physician to Guy's Hospital who edited the posthumous work by Hilton Fagge, *Textbook of Medicine*.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003603<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nugent, Richard (1819 - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750112025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375011">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375011</a>375011<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was for nine years in the West Indies, and was at one time Surgeon to the Wolverhampton Union Workhouse and Fever Hospital. He practised finally at Cleobury Mortimer, Salop, where he died on December 6th, 1860.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002828<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching West, William Corner (1811 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756592025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375659">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375659</a>375659<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and practised at Yarnton Lodge, Great Malvern, where he was Surgeon to the Dispensary and Accoucheur to the Great Malvern Lying-in Charity, Physician and Surgeon to the Malvern Rural Hospital. He died on June 15th, 1884.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003476<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wetherhead, Thomas (1816 - 1871)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756602025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375660">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375660</a>375660<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, practised at Prees, and was Medical Officer of the Prees district of the Wem Union, Shropshire. He died at Prees on November 2nd, 1871.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003477<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Whatman, James ( - 1881)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756612025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375661">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375661</a>375661<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Belonged to a Kentish family with which Wharton Jones (qv) was connected; practised at Rocky Hill Terrace, Maidstone, and was Surgeon to the Kent County Gaol and to the Lunatic Asylum. He died long after his retirement, about 1881 or 1882.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003478<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wheeler, Thomas Rivington (1818 - 1883)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756622025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30 2019-01-25<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375662">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375662</a>375662<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The only son of Thomas Lowe Wheeler (1790-1849), an apothecary, and Clarissa Anne Wheeler née Wells (1791-1875). His grandfather was Thomas Wheeler junior (1754-1847), Apothecary to St Bartholomew's Hospital, the details of whose life are recorded in the *Dictionary of National Biography*.
Thomas Rivington Wheeler was educated at St Paul's School and St Bartholomew's Hospital, and practised at his father's house, 61 Gracechurch Street, and afterwards at 3 Newcastle Court, College Hill, Cheapside. He moved later to The Grove, Blackheath, and was Surgeon to the Kent Dispensary. He contested unsuccessfully the post of Surgeon-Apothecary to St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1847, when he was beaten by Frederick Wood (qv). He was a Member of the Court of Examiners, an Examiner in Arts, and a Liveryman of the Society of Apothecaries, but was never of the Court. He took but little interest in his profession and is described as being incorrigibly idle. He was, however, a good cricketer, fly-fisher, pedestrian, and field botanist he had an excellent memory, was exceedingly clever with his fingers, but was very bad-tempered. He lived for some years at Sundridge in Kent, but moved to 5 Albion Terrace, Ramsgate, and died there on December 19th, 1883.
He married his cousin Maria Wheeler in 1844, from whom he separated, as both were bad-tempered. There was one son, Thomas Henry Wheeler. T R Wheeler presented the Society of Apothecaries in 1863 with the portrait of his grandfather, Thomas Wheeler, which now hangs in their Hall.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003479<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Paterson, Andrew Melville (1862 - 1919)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750922025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375092">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375092</a>375092<br/>Occupation Anatomist<br/>Details Born at Manchester in 1862, the son of the Rev J C Paterson, Presbyterian Minister; studied at the Manchester Grammar School and Owens College, then proceeded to Edinburgh, where he graduated MD brilliantly with a thesis on the "Spinal Nervous System of the Mammalia". He then acted as Demonstrator of Anatomy at Edinburgh and afterwards at Owens College. In 1888 he was elected Professor of Anatomy at Dundee, and here he established a reputation as a teacher, also as a writer of anatomical articles by his work in Cunningham's *Text-book of Anatomy* (1902), and further by his *Anatomist's Note Book* and his *Manual of Embryology*. In 1894 he was elected to the recently founded Derby Chair of Anatomy in the University of Liverpool, and under him the Anatomical Department made great progress. Whilst Dean of the Medical Faculty from 1895-1903 he took a prominent part in the construction of the university buildings.
In spite of administrative work he made a number of contributions to anatomy, in particular on the sternum, the sacrum, and the limb flexures. In 1903-1904 he was Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology at the College and gave three lectures on "The Development and Morphology of the Sternum". He became President of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and a member of the Association of American Anatomists.
He examined in anatomy at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and London, also for the Indian Medical Service; he was appointed to the Conjoint Board in 1912, having been elected FRCS in 1910. Although not practising, he was attracted to the mechanical aspects of surgery. He was greatly interested in the establishment of the Liverpool Dental Hospital, for which, as Treasurer, he assiduously raised funds, always regretting that dentistry was not, as other specialties, an integral part of medicine.
During the War (1914-1918) he held a commission in the RAMC, rising to Lieutenant-Colonel, first working at the Orthopaedic Centre at Alder Hay, then as Assistant Inspector of Military Orthopaedics under Sir Robert Jones, and he discharged his duties with the greatest thoroughness by organizing centres. At the same time he suffered the grievous loss of his son, Lieut Paterson, at the Battle of Jutland.
Never in robust health, he yet possessed a tireless energy. He played golf and at one time was captain of the Royal Liverpool Club. In the course of his military duties he returned from London to Liverpool, fell ill of bronchopneumonia, and died at 21 Abercromby Square on February 13th, 1919. His funeral at Mosely Church was attended by representatives of the City and of the University, and by many closely attached friends. He was survived by his widow (*née* Beatrice Eadson), a son, and three daughters.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002909<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Toogood, William (1820 - 1882)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754642025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375464">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375464</a>375464<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Ashbourne, Derbyshire, where he died on January 17th, 1882.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003281<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Tothill, Frederick Disting (1810 - 1876)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754652025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375465">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375465</a>375465<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of the Rector of Hittesleigh, Devon. He received his early education from his father, and his professional training, first at the Devon and Exeter Hospital, and then at St Bartholomew's Hospital. He settled in London after qualifying and began practice as Resident Surgeon at the Children's Infirmary, Broad Street, Golden Square. Succeeding to a small practice in the neighbourhood, he was appointed Surgeon to the 'C' Division of the Metropolitan Police by Sir John Fisher, and also to HM Commissioners of Woods and Works Establishment and to the Constabulary of the Royal Parks. He died at his residence, 8 Charles Street, St James's, on June 29th, 1876.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003282<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Toulmin, Francis (1803 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754662025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375466">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375466</a>375466<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospital. He practised with his elder brother, Frederick Justus Toulmin (qv), and Edward Dennis Hacon (qv) at Maitland Place, Clapton, and Mare Street, Hackney, and was Consulting Surgeon to the Infant Orphan Asylum at Wanstead. Later he was Surgeon to the Invalid Asylum, Stoke Newington, and practised on his own account. He was Consulting Surgeon to the Invalid Asylum at the time of his death. He died on March 13th, 1884.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003283<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Paton, Edward Percy (1867 - 1908)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750942025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375094">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375094</a>375094<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Canonbury in March, 1867. He went to Paradise House School, and whilst still a pupil there he matriculated at the University of London. He then entered St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he greatly distinguished himself both at the MB and MS examinations of the University.
He was House Surgeon to Morrant Baker (qv), and afterwards Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and, at the Hospital for Sick Children, Surgical Registrar and Anaesthetist. In 1896 he was appointed Surgical Registrar to Westminster Hospital; in 1899, Assistant Surgeon; in 1906, Surgeon to Out-patients. In the Medical School he began as Lecturer in Surgical Pathology in 1896. In 1902 he became Sub-Dean; in 1904, Dean; and carried through the negotiations by which the teaching of the preliminary science subjects, also anatomy and physiology, were transferred to King's College.
Paton was a remarkably able surgeon, both as an operator and teacher. Westminster Hospital and School formed half of his life's objective. The other half was concentrated upon the Mildmay Mission Hospital, Shoreditch, to which he was Surgeon.
Under a quiet reserved manner, he was recognized by his friends as a man of the highest integrity based on religious convictions, yet broad-minded. The students recognized that he was their staunch friend in spite of straightforward and firm criticisms. Equally efficient as Superintendent of a Sunday School, he could control turbulent Cockney children. He ably edited the *Westminster Hospital Reports* (1901-7, xii-xv), and contributed an account of cases of subphrenic abscess (1899, xi, 109) and cancer of the colon (1902, xiii, 137); he was also the author of papers in the *Edinburgh Medical Journal* (1902, NS xi, 248), the *British Medical Journal* (1903, ii, 1389), and the *Clinical Journal* (1905, xxvi, 90, 104) on various infective diseases of joints, all indicating that he was becoming a surgeon of the first rank.
He practised in Park Street, Grosvenor Square, and then at 53 Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square. He examined at the Apothecaries' Hall, first in anatomy and then in surgery.
Early in 1908 he was attacked by an obscure septicaemic infection which manifested itself first vaguely by episcleritis and malaise. Then one day at the Hospital he rapidly became paraplegic and was put to bed. A peculiar spinal meningitis produced attacks of increasing severity. He described a feeling as if his thigh was being inflated like the tyre of a bicycle, until it occasioned agony of pain, for which morphia injections became obligatory. The attack was followed by profuse sweating, clear fluid filled the ears and ran out upon the pillow, the nurses had to change his saturated bedclothes every half-hour. In the intervals he was himself, and he bore a most painful illness with fortitude until worn out.
He died on September 10th, 1908. No organisms were identified in the cerebrospinal and other fluid. There were no marked changes, either naked-eye or microscopic, in the spinal cord, but a partial megacolon. He was unmarried, and was buried in Abney Park Cemetery.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002911<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Paul, John (1793 - 1861)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750952025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375095">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375095</a>375095<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Graduated at Edinburgh. He served as Surgeon in the Royal Navy and afterwards practised in Elgin, where he was Physician to Gray's Hospital. He died in London on February 11th, 1861.
Publication:
"Removal of a Cancerous Tumour from Below the Tongue, with Some Remarks on the Operative Surgery of the Tongue." - *Edin Med Jour*, 1858-9, iv, 200.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002912<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Peach, George A (1778 - 1856)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750962025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375096">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375096</a>375096<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on June 30th, 1778, and was one of the last to become a Member of the Old Company of Surgeons, the Charter instituting the College bearing date March 22nd, 1800. He joined the Army as Surgeon's Mate, unattached, on March 11th, 1800. He was gazetted Assistant Surgeon to the 35th Foot on the following April 14th, and transferred to the Royal Horse Guards on April 11th, 1803. He was again transferred to the 52nd Foot on the following August 15th, and to the 9th Dragoons on June 15th, 1809. He saw active service at Copenhagen in 1807, at Walcheren in 1809, and in the Peninsula. He died at Milbrook, Blandford, Dorsetshire on July 21st, 1856, according to a letter from his daughter dated June 6th, 1859.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002913<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Peacock, Henry (1813 - 1900)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750972025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375097">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375097</a>375097<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at the London Hospital, then joined the Royal Navy, and served as Assistant Surgeon on HMS *Crocodile* in 1837 and 1840, engaged in the suppression of the slave trade. After further service he was appointed Medical Officer to Chatham Dockyard in 1842, and was Staff Surgeon to the Royal Dockyard Battalion until his retirement in 1862. He then practised at Ludbrook, Herefordshire, and acted as Assistant Physician to the Gloucester General Infirmary, and Medical Officer to the Gloucester Provident Dispensary. He later moved to The Lawn, Great Malvern, and then to Bath, where he died on June 5th, 1900.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002914<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Nutt, Richard Clarke (1803 - 1894)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750142025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375014">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375014</a>375014<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Served as a Naval Surgeon, retiring with the rank of Fleet Surgeon. He resided for many years at Plymstock, Devon, where he died on October 4th, 1894. He was then the oldest Naval Medical Officer and the Senior Pensioner of Greenwich Hospital.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002831<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Oakden, William Marshall (1886 - 1928)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750152025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375015">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375015</a>375015<br/>Occupation General surgeon Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Born on December 19th, 1886, at Sherwood, the son of William Oakden of Bank House, Retford. He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Retford, and at the Nottingham High School under G J Turpin, DSc. He obtained a foundation scholarship at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in December, 1905, but did not matriculate in the University until October, 1906. He took first-class honours in the first part of the Natural Science Tripos in 1909. He then entered St Thomas's Hospital with a scholarship and subsequently gained the Bristowe Medal. He served as Casualty Officer, House Surgeon, Resident Anaesthetist, and Clinical Assistant in the Ear Department at St Thomas's Hospital, and as Resident Assistant Surgeon and Surgical Registrar at St George's Hospital. He was sent to Salonika as surgical specialist with the acting rank of Major RAMC during the War, in 1919 he was appointed Orthopaedic Surgeon at Springfield Park Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Liverpool, and in 1920 became Senior Assistant Surgeon at Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton.
On the opening by the Metropolitan Asylums Board of St Luke's Hospital, Lowestoft, for the treatment of surgical tuberculosis in 1922 Oakden was appointed Medical Superintendent. He died unmarried at St Luke's Hospital on August 12th, 1928.
Oakden was singularly shy and reserved, with a curiously hesitating manner of speech. He proved himself a good organizer and a fine administrator, but his bias was towards medicine rather than surgery.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002832<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Obré, Henry ( - 1867)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750162025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375016">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375016</a>375016<br/>Occupation General surgeon Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Was at one time Assistant Surgeon to the Marylebone Infirmary, and at the time of his death was Surgeon to the Western Ophthalmic Hospital and the Royal Humane Society. He was a member of the Harveian Society, of which he was President in 1851, and a member of the Pathological Society. He died at his residence, 1 Melcombe Place, Dorset Square, London, on November 12th, 1867.
Publications:
"On a Case of Strangulated Obturator or Thyroideal Hernia Successfully Relieved by Operation." - *Med-Chir Trans*, 1851, xxxiv, 233.
"Case of Peculiar and Fatal Bleeding from the Mucous Lining of the Vagina of a Child." - *Lancet*, 1857, ii, 336.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002833<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching O'Brien, Peter Joseph (1806 - 1882)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750172025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05 2022-10-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375017">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375017</a>375017<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Galway on November 19th, 1806, and received his professional training at Calcutta Medical College and at St George's Hospital. He was Uncovenanted Medical Officer with the Gwalior Contingent from March 2nd, 1846, to November 19th, 1853, when he joined the Bengal Army as Assistant Surgeon, being promoted to Surgeon on November 15th, 1864. He was nominated for the Army by J Cotton on the recommendation of Sir James Ronald Martin (qv) for his services as an Uncovenanted Medical Officer. His active service included Central India (1844-1850), when he was present in minor operations; Burma (1852-1853), when he was at the capture of Ava; and during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858), when in the Central India Campaign. He took part with the 3rd Bombay European Regiment in the actions at Madapura and Betwa, the siege and storm of Jhansi, the action of Kunch, and the capture of Lahuri and Kalpi (Medal with Clasp). He retired on July 6th, 1866, practised for a time at Tudor Square, Tenby, South Wales, and died at St Helier's, Jersey, on March 24th, 1882.
**See below for an expanded version of the original obituary which was printed in volume 1 of Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows. Please contact the library if you would like more information lives@rcseng.ac.uk**
Peter O’Brien was a surgeon in India. He was born in Galway on 19 November 1806. On 24 May 1822 he was listed for the first time in the *Bengal Almanac* as an assistant apothecary attached to the 38th Regiment of Foot. On 7 October 1825 he went with the regiment to Burma for the First Burma War and was promoted to apothecary, serving in the field hospital at Rangoon.
The Burma War ended in 1826 and, a year later, in July 1827 in Calcutta, he married Alice Hemsol Linford, the daughter of William Linford of the 14th Regiment of Foot and Martha Linford.
In 1831 O’Brien was working at the Simla Dispensary. From 1831 to 1842 he practised in Calcutta, becoming interested in treating tetanus and other convulsive diseases with Indian hemp or ganja. In 1842, after 21 years’ service, he applied to retire, which was granted. He received a pension of £60 per annum.
Leaving his wife and children in India, he sailed to London on 17 October 1842 and studied at St George’s Hospital. He was admitted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England on 9 June 1843.
He returned to India, and, in March 1846, he joined the newly formed Gwalior Contingent, a body of troops in the service of Maharajah Scindia, the pro-British ruler of Gwalior. He was classified as an ‘uncovenanted civil surgeon’ – a lower rank of surgeon – or named in records as a ‘doctor’. He served in various infantry and cavalry regiments of the Gwalior Contingent until 1853, when on 19 November, at the age of 47, he was made an assistant surgeon of the Bengal Medical Service.
At the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, he was serving with the Gwalior Contingent at Lullutpore in the northwest. As well as being the civil surgeon he was also the joint magistrate. O’Brien managed to use his tact and linguistic ability to calm a very tense situation. Instead of the garrison officers and wives being killed, the mutinous Indian officers and troops saluted O’Brien and turned their horses towards Gwalior. There then followed three months of privations at the garrison, but eventually the officers and wives were released and walked to Saugor, where O’Brien was attached to the 3rd Bombay European Regiment.
In 1858 he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and on 15 November 1864 he was made a surgeon, at the age of 57. He finally retired on 6 July 1866. For his service in Burma he was awarded the Army of India medal with the clasp Ava.
He went to England, where for a few years he practised in Tenby, south Wales. He then moved to an address in Bayswater, London. He died in St Helier, Jersey, on 24 March 1882 at the age of 75.
Paul Hellier<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002834<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching O'Connor, Thomas (1813 - 1896)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750182025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375018">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375018</a>375018<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Westminster Hospital. He practised throughout his life at The Limes, March, Cambridgeshire, and died on July 4th, 1896. He was one of the earliest members of the British Medical Association.
Publications:-
*Notes on the Effects of Ergot of Rye Administered in 104 Cases*, read before the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon Branch of the British Medical Association in 1865; published separately, 1865.
"Tracheotomy in Croup." - *Brit Med Jour*, 1857, 43.
"Haemorrhage from the Navel 17 Days after Birth." - *Ibid*, 1860, 618.
"Case of Imperforate Rectum and Malformed Colon, with Post-mortem." - *Ibid*, 957.
Numerous other papers on various surgical and medical subjects.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002835<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Odell, William (1851 - 1925)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750192025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375019">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375019</a>375019<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Educated at St Paul's School, Stony Stratford, and at Hertford Grammar School. He received his professional training at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he acted as Registrar in the Ophthalmic Department. From 1873-1878 he was Hon Medical Officer and House Surgeon to the Hertford Hospital. He was in private practice in Hertford from 1878, and then went to Toronto, where he remained till 1889. Returning to England, he took up his residence in Torquay, where he practised and held many offices. At the time of his death he was Consulting Physician to the Torquay Western Hospital for Consumption; Consulting Surgeon to the Erith House Institute for Invalid Ladies; Physician to the Temple Lodge Home for Inebriates; Medical Referee to the Mount Vernon Hospital for Consumption; and had been President of the Torquay Medical Society and Torquay Natural History Society. He was elected a Member of the British Medical Association in 1874, was Representative of the Torquay Division in the Representative Body from 1904-1909, and was Chairman of the Division from 1906-1907.
During the War (1914-1918) Odell was Physician to the Western Auxiliary Medical Hospital in Torquay. He was Hon Life Member of the St John Ambulance Association, and as a Local Secretary of the Epsom College Foundation devoted much time and energy to its support. He was a Corresponding Member of the Medical Society of Ontario. He died at Ferndale, his Torquay residence, on August 21st, 1925.
Publications:-
Odell's writings, which deal chiefly with tuberculosis, include:-
*Scientific Aspect of Dr Koch's Remedy*, 8vo, London and Torquay, 1891. *Recreation*, 8vo, London and Torquay, 1893.
*Torquay, a British Health Resort*.
*Physique of the British Nation*, 12mo, Torquay, 1903.
*Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis with Ichthyol*, 8vo, Torquay, 1909.
*Further Evidence of the Value of the Foregoing Treatment*.
"Injury to the Spine." - *Lancet*, 1874, ii, 450.
"Case of Hydrophobia: Chloroform: Death." - *Ibid*, 1876, ii, 84.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002836<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching O'Donnell, Henry (1813 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750202025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375020">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375020</a>375020<br/>Occupation General surgeon Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he matriculated in 1828. He was at one time Medical Officer of the Cholera Hospital and Revenue Police, and Assistant Surgeon of the Royal Infirmary, Ennis, then Medical Officer of the Dispensary and Constabulary, Killard, Ireland. At the time of his death he was Clinical and Hon Surgeon of the Royal South London Ophthalmic Hospital, Medical Referee of the Albion Assurance Society, and a member of the South London Medical Association. He practised at 1 Albert Terrace, London Road, SE, where he died on February 6th, 1870.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002837<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ogilvie, Fergus Monteith (1862 - 1918)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750212025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375021">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375021</a>375021<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born on November 2nd, 1862, the son of Alexander Ogilvie, of Sizewell House, Suffolk. He entered Rugby in May, 1876, and left on account of ill health in the autumn of 1877. He matriculated from King's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in Arts in 1884. He received his professional training at St George's Hospital, studying ophthalmology at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital and the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital, at both of which he was Chief Clinical Assistant. He was also Ophthalmic Assistant and Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy at St George's.
He went to Oxford in 1899, and in 1900 became the partner of Robert Walter Doyne (qv), being appointed Assistant Surgeon to the Oxford Eye Hospital, and Consulting Surgeon to the same on his retirement from medical practice in 1905, when he also became Chairman of the House Committee of that institution. Mrs Ogilvie, his mother, founded the Margaret Ogilvie Readership in Ophthalmology in the University of Oxford in 1913, a post afterwards held by Doyne.
Ogilvie was widely known outside his professional work as an ornithologist, a cultivator of orchids, and a fencer. He was President and a generous supporter of the Oxford University Fencing Club.
He died of pneumonia at his residence, 72 Woodstock Road, Oxford, on January 17th, 1918, and was buried at Wolvercote Cemetery, his grave being lined with the orchids he had assiduously cultivated. His widow and a daughter survived him. His chief scientific papers were contributed to the *Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society*. From 1910-1912 he was on the Council of that Society.
Publications:
"Optic Nerve Atrophy in Three Brothers." - *Trans Ophthalmol Soc*, 1896, xvi, 111.
"One of the Results of Concussion Injuries of the Eye - 'Holes' at the Macula." - *Ibid*, 1900, xx, 202.
"A Peculiar Form of Hereditary Congenital Cataract" (with E NETTLESHIP), 8vo, plate and chart, London, 1906: reprinted from *Trans Ophthalmol Soc*, 1906, xxvi, 191. This form of cataract is often known as 'Doyne's' or 'Coppock's' cataract.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002838<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Okes, John (1793 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750222025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375022">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375022</a>375022<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was one of the twenty children of Thomas Verney Okes, Surgeon to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, a medical author in extensive practice. John Okes's brother, Dr Richard Okes (d1888), was Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and editor of *Musae Etonienses* (new series 1796-1833). John Okes was for many years one of the Surgeons to Addenbrooke's Hospital, and died in 1870.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002839<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Oldham, Charles James (1845 - 1907)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750232025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375023">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375023</a>375023<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Came of the family to which belonged Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, who founded Manchester Grammar School in 1515, and Netley Abbey, besides being co-founder of Brasenose College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
The son of James Oldham (qv), he received his professional training at Guy's Hospital, where he was House Physician, House Surgeon, and Resident Accoucheur, and at the Sussex County Hospital. He was at one time Resident Medical Officer at the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children, London, Clinical Assistant at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields, and Assistant Surgeon at the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital. He went to 53 Norfolk Square, Hove, in 1870, and lived later at 1 Brunswick Place in partnership with his father, James Oldham (qv). Here his skill as an oculist brought him a large practice. He was Senior Surgeon to the Sussex and Brighton Hospital for Diseases of the Eye, Surgeon to the Brighton and Hove Dispensary, and at one time President of the Brighton and Sussex Medico-Chirurgical Society. At the time of his death he was Treasurer to the last-named Society and Consulting Surgeon to the Brighton Blind Asylum, besides holding his Surgeoncy at the Eye Hospital and his post at the Dispensary. From 1897-1899 he served on the Council of the Ophthalmological Society, and at the time of his death was Vice-President. In 1886 he was President of the Ophthalmological Section of the British Medical Association.
He was well known in the profession, and in private life devoted himself to music and to the collection of rare instruments. Among the latter were three valuable 'Stradivarius' violins, a viola and a violoncello by the same famous maker. For the last-named he paid a price which ran into four figures, and one violin and the viola formed part of the set of instruments which Stradivarius is said to have made for the King of Spain of the time. Another of the violins once belonged to Rode, a great violinist of his day. Oldham was a Director of the Royal Academy of Music, and was the very active President of the Brighton Sacred Harmonic Society.
His death occurred at his residence, 38 Brunswick Square, Brighton, on January 24th, 1907. As being of Founder's kin he left £3000 to Manchester Grammar School, "to be applied for the advancement of learning as the authorities may think fit", besides the residue of his estate, which it was thought might range between £7000 and £10,000. Another clause in the will ran that he "peremptorily requested and desired that no person be appointed as an additional trustee or executor of his will who shall be either a solicitor, a Jew, or a German although he may be a British subject, but that he desired rather that a competent business man in a responsible position, such as a bank manager, shall be appointed."
Publication:
At the International Ophthalmological Congress, held in London in 1872, Oldham read a paper on "An Improved Refracting Ophthalmoscope." - *Rep Int Ophthalmol Congress*, 1873, iv, 119.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002840<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Oldham, James (1817 - 1881)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750242025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375024">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375024</a>375024<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on January 17th, 1817, and after being privately educated was apprenticed to Dr Pye Smith, father of Dr Philip Henry Pye Smith, of Guy's. He entered at Guy's Hospital as a student in 1838 and was dresser to Aston Key.
James Oldham, though not strong either in frame or in health, was able throughout a long life to keep up probably one of the largest private practices in the country (1842-1880). He was an ideal general practitioner, and was a generous benefactor of his neighbourhood, spending much of his fortune in charity. He bought and maintained a coffee-house tavern, and almost entirely supported St Christopher's Home for Sick Children at Haywards Heath, besides contributing liberally to the church and schools of the town.
He was at one time President of the Brighton and Hove Medico-Chirurgical Society, and at the time of his death was Consulting Surgeon to the Brighton and Hove Lying-in Hospital. He died on December 26th, 1881, after a long and tedious illness, at his country residence, Haywards Heath, an estate to which he had retired in 1880. By his marriage with Anna, second daughter of Thomas Brame Oldfield, of Champion Hill, Surrey, he had issue three sons and two daughters, who survived him. Charles James Oldham (qv) was in partnership with him, his son's Brighton address being 1 Brunswick Terrace.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002841<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Oldham, Riton ( - 1881)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750252025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375025">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375025</a>375025<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Received his professional training at St Bartholomew's Hospital. He practised at West Hartlepool, where he was Medical Officer of Health and Town Improvement Commissioner. He lived in Church Street, and after his retirement was Hon Local Secretary and Treasurer of the Medical Benevolent College, Epsom, and a Member of the British Medical Association. He died at West Hartlepool on February 5th, 1881.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002842<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Baker, Seán Christopher (1923 - 2008)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750262025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Pierce Grace<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-07 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375026">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375026</a>375026<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details At the edge of Bantry town, by the harbour, is a beautiful walk called Béicín loop. The way markers for this heritage walk are dedicated to the memory of Seán Baker, who was chairman of Bantry Town Commissioners and, for many years, the sole county surgeon at Bantry Hospital. Seán truly practised general surgery; a typical list would range from thyroidectomy, to gastrectomy, to pining a fractured neck of femur, to prostatectomy. Lots of west Cork tonsils and adenoids were also removed, and trauma was grist to his mill. Being of a generation of surgeons who were well trained and knew what to do, he just got on with it, and rarely referred patients to Cork, which was a 56-mile journey by bad roads. In the words of one of his contemporaries, he was last of the 'county surgeon king emperors'.
Seán Christopher Baker was born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, in 1923. He was the second son of Michael J Baker and Bridget Baker (née O'Dwyer). His secondary schooling was at St Flannan's College, Ennis, where the dominant recollection of students from the depressed 1930s was of being half-starved. In 1943, during what was called the 'Emergency' in Ireland, and the Second World War everywhere else, he entered University College Dublin at Earlsfort Terrace to study medicine. He was an excellent student and declared an early interest in surgery by winning both the university's and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital's gold medals in surgery in 1949.
In June 1953 he took the fellowship examination of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and spent the evening before going around the Dublin hospitals with some of his co-examinees, looking for likely cases. It was a fool's errand, as none of the cases they saw turned up in the exam. However, he was successful and celebrated in the usual manner at 'the Swan' in York Street, at the back of the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. He later added the English FRCS to his credentials.
From 1951 to 1953, Seán Baker was a registrar at the Mater Hospital, Dublin, before following the path, well-trodden by Irish doctors, to Britain, where he became a consultant surgeon to the Archway group of hospitals from 1955 to 1957. Along the way he met and married an anaesthetic colleague, Marie Courtney, in 1954. However, home beckoned, and in 1957 he returned to Ireland as county surgeon at Monaghan County Hospital. In the late 1950s the county was still the administrative unit for health in Ireland and each had a county hospital for acute care and a county home for the long term care of the elderly and disabled. County surgeons worked on their own and in many hospitals the permanent medcial staff comprised one surgeon and one physician, the latter being responsibe for obstetrics. Disconcertingly, sometimes the county hospital existed across two sites, for example, in County Wexford, with the medical hospital in one town and the surgical hospital miles away in another. In 1959 Seán Baker moved south to Bantry, where he would spend the rest of his life looking after the patients of west Cork and contributing significantly to the local community and to the medical profession in Ireland.
While working in Bantry, Sean Baker published a number of reports in the *Journal of the Irish Medical Association* of interesting cases he had treated there, including 'Spontaneous epigastric haemorrhage' (*J Ir Med Assoc*. 1959 Jun;44[264]:178-9) and 'Spontaneous rupture of the urinary bladder' (*J Ir Med Assoc*. 1964 Mar;54:96-7).
In the 1970s an attempt was made to regionalise the Irish hospital system, which would have reduced the number of county hospitals considerably. Seán Baker was to the fore in ensuring that Bantry Hospital would not be a casualty of that process. He became chairman of the Southern Health Board, with responsibility for administering health services in Cork and Kerry, and in 1977 he was appointed to the centralised consultants' appointment board, Comhairle na nOspidéal. Nationally, he was active in the Irish Medical Union (IMU), a representative trade union for Irish doctors founded in 1962. He later became president of the IMU and a trustee of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association when it was established in 1987. He was a strong advocate of an independent medical profession and was involved in politics, medical and local, all his life. In Bantry he was instrumental in enhancing the town square and erecting a statue to his hero, Theobald Wolfe Tone, a leader of the eighteenth century United Irishmen.
Tall with white hair, he had a commanding presence and bounding energy. He had two children, Letty and Mary, was a keen golfer and an excellent fly fisherman. He was greatly loved in Bantry and esteemed for the work he did there.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002843<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bansal, Satish Chandra (1938 - 2008)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750272025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-07 2014-10-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375027">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375027</a>375027<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Satish Chandra Bansal was an orthopaedic surgeon who worked in Kansas, USA. He gained his FRCS in 1971.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002844<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching DeBakey, Michael Ellis (1908 - 2008)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3750282025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Roger M Greenhalgh<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-07 2013-09-02<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002800-E002899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375028">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375028</a>375028<br/>Occupation Cardiovascular surgeon<br/>Details Michael DeBakey was a pioneering cardiovascular surgeon. He was born on 7 September 1908 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, one of five children of Shaker and Raheeja DeBakey, Lebanese immigrants who had first gone to Canada and then Louisiana. He would refer to himself as a 'cajun', to denote this pathway. The whole family, who spoke French at home, were expected to achieve: they rose at 4am because it was considered sinful to lie in bed. His father was a pharmacist and his mother a seamstress. He liked the doctors who came into his father's shop and wished to become one of them. He did not remember a time when he was uncertain of his future occupation.
He studied at Tulane University, New Orleans, where he was influenced by the surgeons Rudolph Matas and Alton Ochsner. In his spare time he became involved in research in the department of medicine. The research team wished to bypass the circulation and were making better progress with the oxygenation than with the pump mechanism. In other words, they could replicate the lungs more easily than the pumping action of the heart. DeBakey researched every kind of pump by reading journals in engineering libraries. He said that he was especially useful as he could read original works in French and in German, as well as English. Eventually he came up with the idea of what became the 'roller pump' for open heart surgery and the problem was solved, unfortunately, no one else saw so clearly the potential for this discovery.
In 1935, he went to Strasbourg (to work with René 'Papa' Leriche) and Heidelberg (with Martin Kirschner). Alongside Leriche was Jean Kunlin, who was soon to do the first leg bypass, but DeBakey described Kirschner as the better technical surgeon and Leriche as a great thinker.
In 1948 he became chairman of the department of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. The Methodist Hospital became his base within Baylor College of Medicine, of which he became chancellor and for which he raised huge sums of money, over $200 million.
In 1953 he was to adapt Dacron to replace the abdominal aorta diseased by aneurysm. He went to a shop for ladies' undergarments, where, he said, he 'felt distinctly uncomfortable'. He took a length of Dacron home and sewed it into a tube and put it into dogs. 'It worked so I used it for humans.' The inert Dacron bypass thus came into practice and remains central to open surgical practice today, 60 years later.
Cid Dos Santos (later professor in Lisbon), son of Reynaldo Dos Santos, head of surgery at the university, was asked to remove a thrombus from a femoral artery. His father gave the instruction. Cid pulled a little hard and out came part of the arterial wall and by chance, the first endarterectomy was performed, by mistake. The result was surprisingly good. DeBakey was first to use this new method on a blocked carotid artery on 8 August 1953 and this worked as well. He did not write it up for 19 years. The reason for this delay is uncertain, but he said that time needed to elapse to be sure that it was safe procedure. Felix Eastcott of St Mary's Hospital was of a similar vintage to both DeBakey and Cid Dos Santos, and reported the first carotid procedure in November 1954.
The associates of DeBakey were also very distinguished, especially Denton Cooley and Dr Stanley Crawford, both of whom would not have been the men they were without the example of DeBakey. The difference was that Stanley Crawford recognised this and attributed all of his success to 'Mike'. Denton did not, and incurred Mike's wrath.
Once, when visiting the president of the United States in Washington, it is alleged that DeBakey received congratulations that his centre had just put in the world's first mechanical heart. The problem was that DeBakey had forbidden Denton Cooley to use the mechanical heart, which DeBakey had declared was not yet ready. Legend has it that Cooley was sacked forthwith. However, Cooley went on to build the Texas Heart Institute, which towered over the Methodist Hospital where DeBakey worked. They did not speak for years, but were reconciled before DeBakey died. 'They were both great men and friends of mine,' said Stanley Crawford, who felt that one hospital was too small for both egos.
DeBakey went on to operate on the Duke of Windsor, the Shah of Persia and President Yeltsin in Moscow. He was a celebrity and appeared on the front page of *Time* magazine.
With all great people there is another side. He came over as difficult to approach, except to those that he would allow to be close. This is possibly because his attitude was that every moment had to be filled with doing something of significance. He demanded standards higher than many could achieve. He was disappointed if a resident did not have as wide an education as he had had. He demanded good results. DeBakey was indeed a great technical surgeon and had difficulty accepting that some mere mortals fell below his own very high standards.
Those few who had the privilege to see DeBakey at the bedside saw a memorable doctor- patient relationship. He had a way of reassuring patients that they were now in his hands and that he would personally see to it that all would be well. The patients, doctors and nurses around him realised that he was absolutely dedicated to their wellbeing. His interaction with his patients was an object lesson that no one would ever forget.
It was known by all that he was not just a great surgeon and inventor, but that his presence raised the horizons and ambitions of those around him.
Michael DeBakey died on 11 July 2008 at the age of 99, just as his 100th birthday celebrations were being planned. His first wife, Diana Cooper DeBakey, died in 1972. He was also predeceased by his sons, Ernest O DeBakey and Barry E DeBakey. He was survived by his wife, Katrin, daughter Olga and sons Michael and Denis.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002845<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Roden, Thomas Clark (1818 - 1888)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753142025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375314">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375314</a>375314<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at University College, London, and at Queen's College, Birmingham. He first practised at 8 Newhall Street, and at Soho Hill, Handsworth, Birmingham, and was Surgeon to the National Guardian Life Assurance Society. He then went into practice at Rothbury House, Llandudno, was Physician to the Sanatorium, and died there on August 26th, 1888.
He gained the Warneford Prize for the year 1838 with an essay on "The Valvular Structure of the Veins Anatomically and Physiologically Considered", an essay having the objective of the Bridgwater Treatises. It was published in 1839 with the Oxford imprint. In 1858 he contributed to the *British Medical Journal*, p. 370, a paper on the "Topography and Climate of Llandudno".<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003131<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Roden, William (1814 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753152025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375315">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375315</a>375315<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Knowle, Warwickshire, he was articled to a general practitioner of the neighbourhood, studied at Queen's College, Birmingham, and graduated in Arts and Medicine at St Andrews. He settled in Kidderminster and practised throughout at Morningside, Kidderminster, latterly in partnership with Henry Edward Langford.
He was active both in municipal and parliamentary politics, was a member of the Corporation and four times Mayor of Kidderminster, also Medical Officer of Health and Medical Referee to various Assurance Societies. Three or four years before his death he was temporarily disabled by an attack of apoplexy, but was able to resume work; a few weeks previously he had presided at a meeting to consider the cause of a severe epidemic of enteric fever then raging in the town, when an ingravescent form of apoplexy recurred whilst he was on his morning round; by the evening he had lost speech, and he died three days later, on October 19th, 1884.
He had sought relaxation in horticulture, frequently contributed to horticultural journals, and spent the afternoon of his last day before taking to bed in visiting his much-loved greenhouse and garden.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003132<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Roeckel, Joseph Waldemar (1851 - 1894)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753162025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375316">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375316</a>375316<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Bath; he came of a musical family and was himself an accomplished pianist. He studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and also visited Leipzig, Vienna, and Paris. He held various posts: House Surgeon to the Royal United Hospital, Bath, and to St Mark's Hospital for Fistula, London. He was also for a time Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital; Clinical Assistant at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields; Clinical Assistant in the Ophthalmic Department, and Demonstrator of Anatomy, at the London Hospital; and Surgical Assistant at Charing Cross Hospital.
He practised during fifteen years at 53 Margaret Street, London, W, and was Surgeon to the National Orthopaedic Hospital and Surgeon to the Bolingbroke Hospital. Meanwhile he was a constant attendant at medical societies and ranked as a rising surgeon. He became, however, a great sufferer from gout, and in search of a drier climate joined Herman Lawrence in practice at Fitzroy, Melbourne, where during two years his courteous manner, undoubted ability, and his musical and literary accomplishments won him many friends. While on a visit to Ballarat, he was found dead in bed on September 10th, 1894, death being attributed to an overdose of cocaine.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003133<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Roe, Samuel Crozier (1788 - 1851)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753172025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375317">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375317</a>375317<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on March 31st, 1788, and entered the Army as Surgeon's Mate on the Hospital Staff, unattached, on June 4th, 1808, and on August 4th was gazetted Assistant Surgeon to the 23rd Regiment of Foot. He was promoted to Surgeon in the same regiment on May 26th, 1814, exchanged into the 14th Foot on July 6th, 1815, joined the 55th Foot on May 22nd, 1817, the 28th Foot on April 29th, 1819, the 7th Dragoon Guards on February 15th, 1831, the 38th Foot by exchange on November 23rd, 1832. He was promoted to the Staff (1st Class) on September 17th, 1839, and to Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals on December 30th, 1845.
His active service included the Battle of Corunna in 1809; the Expedition to Walcheren; the Peninsular Campaign, 1811-1814, including the Battle of Albuera; the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos; and the Battles of Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthez, and Toulouse. Thus his award was the Silver Medal with ten Clasps. He died at Madras from the effects of an accident on September 4th, 1851.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003134<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, Arnold (1798 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753182025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375318">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375318</a>375318<br/>Occupation Dental surgeon<br/>Details Born at Martley, Worcestershire; was apprenticed to a chemist in Worcester, and served with Messrs Allen & Hanburys, the chemists, in Plough Court, EC. He afterwards started in business for himself in Cheapside, but soon began to study medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and was admitted MRCS in 1830. He began to practise as a dentist in Regent Street before he obtained his diploma; he was appointed Dental Surgeon to St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1837. He served as an Examiner on the Dental Board of the Royal College of Surgeons of England from 1860-1865 and was elected FRCS in 1853. He took an active part in the formation of the Odontological Society, contributing the first paper read before the members in 1857, was elected the third President in 1859, and undertook the duties of Hon Treasurer from 1861-1867. He was also one of the founders and early supporters of the Dental Hospital and London School of Dental Surgery. He practised successfully at 26 Hanover Square, and died there on March 18th, 1870.
Rogers was one of the leaders amongst the band of men who converted dentistry into a profession in England (*see* Tomes, Sir John). A testimonial presented to him in 1867, which was signed individually by every member a the Odontological Society, states that - "In the course of a long life spent in the arduous and toilsome duties of your profession you have gained for yourself a character of no ordinary kind - a reputation for extreme courtesy and kindness by your patients, and a reputation for urbanity and extreme ability by your professional brethren, who alone can be considered competent judges of this last qualification."
An engraved portrait by Cochran after a photograph, and a Woodbury type photograph, are in the College Collection. There is a three-quarter-length oil painting, sitting left, in the possession of the Royal Society of Medicine.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003135<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers-Harrison, Charles Henry (1811 - 1890)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753192025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375319">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375319</a>375319<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on September 18th, 1811, at Gibraltar, where his father, a military officer, was stationed. He used to say that for recurring fits when a younger man he had been bled from the arm twenty-five times in the course of a year, besides having some four dozen leeches applied, and had yet continued strong, vigorous, and active, had enjoyed sport, and through a long life had sustained the fatigues of general practice. He was apprenticed to Joseph Langstaff (qv), of St Martin's Lane, and had Erasmus Wilson (qv) as a fellow-apprentice. He afterwards studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and the University of Edinburgh. He first practised in London as Surgeon to St Pancras Infirmary, and published *Deformities of the Spine and Chest, successfully treated by Exercise Alone and without Extension, Pressure or Division of Muscles* (8vo, 29 plates, London, 1842). He had a warm supporter and friend in Sir Anthony Carlisle.
Later he practised at Clapham and was Surgeon to the South Lambeth, Stockwell and North Brixton Infirmary. He worked with much success and won the unbounded confidence of his patients for more than forty years. As one of the oldest members of the British Medical Association he served on the Council. He was also a Fellow and for some years a careful Treasurer of the Medical Society.
In early life of fine physique and strong, in later life he was troubled with gout and bronchitis, which weakened him perceptibly until his death at Vine House, 55 Stockwell Road, London, SW, on September 27th, 1890. He was twice married and left three sons and two daughters, one son being a Surgeon Major IMS.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003136<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, Henry Philip (1836 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753202025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375320">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375320</a>375320<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon during 1859 and 1860. In 1861 he was House Surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. He then went out to the Mauritius, where he practised at Rose Hill, Plaines Wilhelms, was Government Medical Officer, and Medical Referee to the Civil Service Commission and English Insurance Companies. He died at Boursalt Curepipe, Mauritius, on April 16th, 1884.
Publications:-
"Notes on the Epidemic Malarial Fever of the Mauritius." - *Trans Epidemiological
Soc*, 1866-73, iii, 200.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003137<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, John Henry ( - 1879)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753212025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375321">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375321</a>375321<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Studied at Middlesex Hospital, where he was House Surgeon, and in Paris. He settled in practice at East Grinstead and became Medical Officer and Physician to the Cottage Hospital, the Hartfield Dispensary, and the East Grinstead Dispensary; also to the Almshouse known as Sackville College, which figures in Fred Walker's picture, "A Haven of Rest". He died at East Grinstead on October 18th, 1879.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003138<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, James Macdonald (1857 - 1911)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753222025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375322">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375322</a>375322<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Middlesex Hospital, and entered the Royal Navy Medical Service in 1884. In 1890 he was awarded the Gilbert Blanc Gold Navy Medal for distinguished proofs of skill, diligence, and learning in the exercise of his professional duties. He had become Fleet Surgeon attached to HMS *Orontes* when, at a meeting held to establish King Edward VII Sailors' Rest at Malta, he died suddenly on January 14th, 1911.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003139<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, Peter ( - 1854)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753232025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375323">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375323</a>375323<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised as a surgeon at Looe, near Liskeard, Cornwall, and in the last few years of his life at Albany Place, Plymouth. He died in or before 1854.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003140<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, Samuel (1802 - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753242025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375324">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375324</a>375324<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Wassell par Hayles, Worcestershire, the son of Danish Rogers, barrister. He joined the Madras Army as Assistant Surgeon on December 12th, 1827, was promoted to Surgeon on January 3rd, 1843, and retired on September 3rd, 1848. He died at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on March 21st, 1860. He was one of the twenty-nine officers of the IMS who were elected Fellows on August 26th, 1844.
Publication:-
As editor of the *Madras Quarterly Medical Journal* during 1839-1844 Rogers published "Reports on Asiatic Cholera in Regiments of the Madras Army from 1828 to 1844", which was also separately published in 1848.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003141<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Rogers, Thomas King (1850 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3753252025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-11-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003100-E003199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375325">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375325</a>375325<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at University College Hospital, where he was Fellowes Clinical Medallist in 1875, Ronald Martin Medallist in 1877, Demonstrator of Physiology, and also House Physician. He joined the Madras Army as Surgeon on March 30th, 1877, was Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Examiner to the Government, and died at Madras on June 12th, 1884.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003142<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Townley, James (1808 - 1888)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754782025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003200-E003299<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375478">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375478</a>375478<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Educated at St George's Hospital. He practised at Kennington, first at Harley-ford Place, and then at 302 Kennington Park Road, SE. Up to the time of his death he was Hon Physician to the Royal Female Philanthropic Society. He was a Fellow of the Medical Society of London, of the Linnean and of the Meteorological Societies. He died on April 18th, 1888.
Publications:
Townley contributed to the *Lancet*, 1862, i, 538, a paper on "Parturition without Pain", which, in its republished form, *Parturition without Pain or Loss of Consciousness*, ran through three editions, 12mo, London; 2nd ed, 1862; 3rd ed, 1863.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003295<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wotton, Henry (1836 - 1885)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758312025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375831">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375831</a>375831<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at University College, London. He practised at Kensington, and at the time of his death was Surgeon-Accoucheur to the West London Lying-in Hospital. He died at his residence, 15 Notting Hill Terrace, on Christmas Day, 1885, from the effects of a self-administered dose of prussic acid. The jury at the coroner's inquest, held on December 29th, after having heard several witnesses, returned a verdict of "Suicide whilst in a state of unsound mind". The unfortunate physician, bearer of an historic name, was suffering from meningitis and had long been in a weak state of health and much overworked. His death was feelingly alluded to by Sir George Johnson, who quoted appropriately from "Aylmer's Field" when referring to this event in his Presidential Address before the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society (March 1st, 1886):-
"This frail bark of ours, when sorely tried,
May wreck itself without the pilot's guilt,
Without the Captain's knowledge."
Henry Wotton had been for twenty years a Fellow of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society. He was a member of the Oriental Club, Hanover Square, and had a country residence at Hillside, Ayot St Peter, Welwyn, Herts.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003648<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wotton, Henry Rendle (1810 - 1875)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758322025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375832">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375832</a>375832<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at 17 Cavendish Square, London, W, and died on June 15th, 1875.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003649<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Ger, Ralph (1921 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3747282025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby N Alan Green<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-28 2012-10-31<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374728">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374728</a>374728<br/>Occupation Anatomist General surgeon<br/>Details Ralph Ger was a clinical anatomist and innovative surgeon, who spent most of his working life in New York at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He emigrated from South Africa during the period of apartheid, and obtained much of his surgical training in the United Kingdom after war service in the South African Medical Corps.
Born on 20 February 1921, he was brought up in a modest home in a working class neighbourhood of Cape Town. His father, Morris Ger, emigrated as a young man from Lithuania. In his adopted country he worked first as a butcher and then as a meat inspector. He married Mary (née Shattenstein), who was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants. Ralph had an older brother, Lazarus, who became an accountant and, a younger sister, Zelda.
Ralph went to the local school and matriculated at the age of 15, during which time he also received teaching in the synagogue. Subject to bullying, his undoubted scholastic ability, a natural flair in sports and his considerable height countered the verbal abuse and stone throwing he experienced on his way to school. He had visions of becoming a veterinary surgeon, but at the time the only centre for this was at the University of Pretoria, where the tuition was in Afrikaans and not in English. Ralph turned to medicine. Entering the University of Cape Town, he graduated at the early age of 21 in 1942. From 1938 he was appointed as a student demonstrator in the department of anatomy. At university he excelled in many sports: he enjoyed playing soccer in the Cape Town league, and was excellent at tennis and table tennis. For most of his adult life Ralph was a keen golfer. Indeed, his retirement present was a new set of golf clubs.
He obtained his licence from the South African Medical Council on completion of house appointments at Grey's Hospital, Pietermaritzburg. In 1944, Ralph joined the South African Medical Corps as a lieutenant and was posted to a military hospital as a medical officer on the tuberculosis ward. He was then ordered to board the Liberty ship *Nirvana*, a well-worn vessel built in the USA and billed as a 'mule ship', capable of only a few knots and used to transport mules from South Africa to Karachi for use in the Burma campaign. Ralph was responsible for the welfare of the crew and the muleteers, although at times he was called on to help the ship's 'vet' relieve large bowel obstructions by dis-impaction of solid faeces.
He returned to South Africa when peace was declared and was posted to the medical division at Springfield Hospital, Natal, before being discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain. Ralph continued to demonstrate anatomy for a further year in Cape Town, but decided on a career in surgery rather than pure anatomy. In pursuit of this he decided to continue his training in the United Kingdom, as did so many South African, Australian and New Zealand doctors, and became a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Anatomy held no terrors for him and he passed the primary FRCS in 1948, before going to the Walton Hospital, Liverpool, as a junior registrar in surgery. At the time large numbers of post-war trainees were competing for posts in the UK, but family circumstances dictated that Ralph should return to South Africa, where he spent a year as a resident at the Somerset Hospital, Cape Town. Returning again to the UK, Ralph registered as a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh to prepare himself for the final FRCS examination.
He obtained posts as a registrar in the UK, firstly at the Wingfield-Morris Hospital in Oxford in orthopaedics (in 1952) and then at St Catherine's Hospital in Birkenhead during 1953. Study did not come easily as the posts were very busy, and sleep deprivation almost drove him to a nervous breakdown. A short-lived early marriage failed, and this did not help his health. It was in Liverpool that he worked for a superb teacher with a great knowledge of basic sciences, Alfred Mark Abrahams, and during this period he passed the final FRCS, first in Edinburgh and then in London. The Abrahams were very hospitable and Ralph met their three-year-old son, Peter, who was later to become a doctor and is now an anatomist. Little did Ralph know that he and Peter would later be co-authors of *Essentials of clinical anatomy* (London, Pitman, 1986). Ralph's final posts in the UK were at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, and St Thomas' Hospital throughout 1954, as a senior registrar in general surgery and urology.
When he returned to South Africa he went to Baragwanath Hospital, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for over a year in 1955. This well-known trauma centre was very busy and his future wife, Dorrit, was working there as an occupational therapist.
Dorrit Neumann was the only child of Jacques Neumann and Charlotte Neumann née Silberberg. Jacques was born in Würzburg, Germany, and graduated from the University of Hamburg and built up a successful practice there as a consultant physician. In 1937 Dorrit's parents emigrated to Johannesburg in order to escape the horrors of Nazi persecution. Jacques Neumann repeated three years of medical training in order to practice in South Africa as a general practitioner. It is believed that Charlotte Neumann's family all died in the Holocaust: she herself died when her only daughter, Dorrit, was 11.
Ralph Ger spotted this tall and attractive occupational therapist on the hospital tennis courts and, having tracked Dorrit down to the appropriate department, invited her out for a meal - the beginning of a long courtship. They married in 1958 in Johannesburg, by which time Ralph had an increasing private practice as a surgeon in Cape Town, whilst still retaining a strong interest in anatomy as a lecturer in the medical school. He had other appointments between 1958 and 1966, as a consultant in surgery at Cape Town University Medical School and was attending surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital. He was also an examiner in basic sciences for the College of Physicians, Surgeons and Gynaecologists of South Africa, and became the director of programmes in anatomy to the college.
He was also appointed to the staff of Somerset Hospital, a non-white institution. As he wrote in an unpublished memoir: 'This appointment brought joy to my heart, because I was able to do something to improve the situation that had arisen in a country where the civil rights of the majority of the population were non-existent. I always had mixed feelings of living in a racist community, but the apartheid government was reaching new lows. I met a man who belonged to a Christian organisation and who was trying to ameliorate the conditions under which the blacks lived, and I arranged a weekly clinic for those who needed surgery, driving them to hospital where I could treat them.'
Some university students became militant on the problem of apartheid, and one of their number recognised that their actions might lead to situations needing medical care. Ralph agreed to treat them, irrespective of the cause of their problems.
One night the security police visited the Ger home and, after a thorough search, took Ralph to prison, where he was interrogated throughout the night. He was released in the morning, only to find that the student who had asked for medical support had had his accommodation ransacked by the police several days earlier. The police had found an address book incriminating Ralph Ger as the movement's medical attendant. The very next day, following his release, the front page of an Afrikaans newspaper pictured Ralph as the 'movement's doctor'. His hard-earned hospital appointments were immediately terminated by order of the government.
Emigration for Ralph and Dorrit and their three children seemed the only option. He turned to a South African friend, 'Effie' Ephron, who was working at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine and had also trained in the UK. Following his advice, Ralph travelled to the USA and was successful at an interview for a post at the Lincoln Hospital, managed by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. So began a long association with the Albert Einstein, after sad farewells to friends and relations in South Africa.
Ralph and Dorrit settled in Great Neck, New York. Their three children all attended local schools and had successful careers. Their daughter Amanda married Jerry Gitilitz after studying early childhood education. Their son, Michael, studied mechanical engineering and now works for Oracle. Kevin, the youngest, studied aeronautical engineering and works for Jetstar airlines in Australia.
Ralph Ger's long association with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine encompassed a 10-year post as assistant professor of surgery from 1966. He soon became chief of surgery at the Jack D Weiler Hospital on the campus of the medical college. Happily Ralph had access to the dissecting room and, by 1968, Ralph and his colleague 'Effie' Ephron had reshaped the anatomy course with an emphasis on clinical anatomy.
Ralph left the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1986 to become chair of the department of surgery at Winthrop University Hospital on Long Island, but he continued his commitment to the Einstein anatomy courses for another 20 years, as a popular, witty lecturer. He gave his last lecture in 2009, at the age of 88, on the abdominal wall and hernias. So popular was his teaching that he received many awards. Using a blackboard, coloured chalks and very few projected slides, he was able to make his subject come alive and easily remembered. He was a logical choice as director of courses on operative surgery.
Ralph played a major role in the creation of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) in 1983. He first went to the 1982 Liverpool meeting of the British Association of Clinical Anatomists (BACA). He was also pleased to find at national meetings that many American surgeons shared his concerns and vision for teaching relevant clinical anatomy. He became president of AACA after Ollie Beahrs of the Mayo Clinic and Robert A Chase of Stanford University, California, and was the driving force for the publication of the transactions of AACA meetings, first in *American Surgeon*. Later he and Ray Scothorne, Regius Professor of Anatomy at Glasgow University, became the first editors of *Clinical Anatomy*, a joint publication of AACA and BACA.
Many innovations in his surgical practice were based on sound anatomical principles, and were the source of numerous publications and scientific presentations. Ralph was one of the first to perform laparoscopic hernia repair: he was a pioneer in the use of muscle transposition to aid healing of chronic ulcers in many areas of the body, including sacral sores, lower limbs and feet.
Ralph and Dorrit were gracious and warm hosts and friends. Guests were met with Ralph's winning smile. He was very knowledgeable when golf tournaments were televised, and any spare moments on his way back from hospital duties were spent at a driving range at his country club. Wimbledon fortnight was compulsive viewing in the Ger household. They were also fond of theatre, visiting Stratford-upon-Avon for performances of the bard's works.
Ralph Ger died on 6 April 2012. He was survived by Dorrit, his children, Amanda, Michael and Kevin, and his grandchildren, Jason, Andrew and Alexa.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002545<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jacobson, Isaac ( - 2002)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3747292025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2012-06-28 2014-07-04<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002500-E002599<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374729">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/374729</a>374729<br/>Occupation Urological surgeon Urologist<br/>Details Isaac Jacobson was a urological surgeon in Cape Town, South Africa. He was educated at SACS (South African College Schools) in Newlands, Cape Town, and then went on to study medicine at the University of Cape Town, qualifying in 1935.
He travelled to London intending to train as a surgeon, but, with the intervention of the Second World War, joined the RAMC. He served in the Army for six years and was imprisoned in France. He worked in hospitals in France and Germany caring for fellow prisoners of war, until he was banned from practising medicine because he was Jewish. After three years he was repatriated to London, where he was based until his demobilisation in 1945.
He gained his FRCS in 1947 and returned to Cape Town in 1948. He joined Groote Schuur Hospital as a urologist and a lecturer at the University of Cape Town. During his 54 years' service at Groote Schuur he helped found the uro-oncology combined clinic and advanced stoma therapy in Cape Town. In 1998 he was made an honorary member of the South African Urological Association.
Outside medicine, he enjoyed reading literature and playing the violin.
In 1940 he married Joan. They had three daughters, Carolyn, Linda and Mandy, six grandchildren and a great grandchild. Isaac Jacobson died on 10 July 2002. His family survived him.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002546<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wraith, Samuel Hope (1816 - 1865)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758332025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375833">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375833</a>375833<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and practised at Over-Darwen, Lancashire, where he was Medical Officer of Health for the Darwen District of Blackburn Union and Certifying Factory Surgeon. He died on August 14th, 1865.
He published a case of Caesarean section on a woman the subject of osteomalacia (*Prov Med Jour*, 1843, v, 329). A woman, aged 43, had been first confined without difficulty of a living child in 1831; again of a living child in 1834 with a little more difficulty, for osteomalacia had already set in. In 1839 she was in labour for the third time, when owing to the pelvic deformity embryotomy was performed. At her fourth labour, which occurred at term in 1843, the osteomalacia had so advanced as to reduce the pelvis to one and a half inches in the conjugate and two and a half inches in the iliac diameter. Delay followed, and the foetus had not shown signs of life for twelve hours, but a consultation with two colleagues concluded that the woman could not be otherwise delivered than by Caesarean section. The incision extended from the umbilicus to the pubes, the dead foetus and placenta were quickly extracted, after which the uterus contracted only slightly and haemorrhage continued. Three sutures were inserted into the external wound. The woman survived for three hours. No post-mortem examination was allowed. Nothing is said of squeezing the uterus nor of inserting sutures into it; death was attributed to haemorrhage.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003650<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wray, Charles (1859 - 1922)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758342025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375834">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375834</a>375834<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born in Yorkshire; studied at the London Hospital - during which time, in 1880-1881, he was Prosector at the Royal College of Surgeons - at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, where he acted as Clinical Assistant, and at the Royal Eye Hospital. He practised as an ophthalmologist at Croydon and also had consulting-rooms at 36 Victoria Street, London, SW.
In 1887 he took charge of the newly opened Ophthalmological Department at the Croydon General Hospital. He also acted as Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Infirmary, to the Croydon Council Schools, and in London was Surgeon to the Western Ophthalmic Hospital. In Croydon he practised at Bank Chambers, North End. He was an active member of the Croydon Branch of the British Medical Association and exhibited several series of important cases of eye disease at the clinical meetings. He gained a vast experience, had a sound judgement, and was a skilful and careful operator. He also lectured on optics at Hoatherley's Art School.
He was a tall, fresh-coloured, vigorous Yorkshireman, with a zest for small controversies, a diligent reader in the College library. He died in a London nursing home on February 13th, 1922, being survived by his widow.
Publications:-
"Extraction of Transparent Lenses in High Myopia." - *Trans Ophthal Soc*, 1895, xv, 233.
"Two Cases of Ectopia Lentis." - *Ibid*, 1914, xxxiv, 165.
"Ptosis Treated by Cautery." - *Ophthalmoscope*, 1908, vi, 767.
"Points in Treatment of Corneal Ulcers." - *Ophthal Record*, 1912, xxi, 252.
"Treatment of Lachrymal Stenosis." - *Proc Roy Soc Med* (Ophthal. Sect.), 1913-14, vii, 40.
"Conical Cornea with Raynaud's Disease." - *Ibid* (Ophthal Sect), 1914-15, viii, 97.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003651<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wren, Erasmus (1815 - 1905)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758352025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375835">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375835</a>375835<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in England and went out to Tasmania under engagement to the Imperial Government. Later he removed to Deniliquin, Co Townsend, New South Wales, to practise in partnership with Dr Noyes. In 1874 he went on to Wagga Wagga, where for a long period he was a Government Medical Officer in the Wagga District. There he was at one time President of the Riverina Club. He only retired from active duty when his health began to fail a short time before his death at Wagga Wagga on March 6th, 1905.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003652<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Perkins, John Steele (1808 - 1898)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751132025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375113">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375113</a>375113<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals, and practised at Exeter, where he was Surgeon to the West of England Institution for the Blind; Surgeon, and later Brigade Surgeon, to the Devon Volunteer Artillery; Medical Officer of Health for Exeter, and to the Corporation of the Poor; Surgeon to the Devon and Exeter Refuge for Discharged Prisoners, and to the Humane Society; and Examining Surgeon for the Royal Navy. He practised at various addresses, became the oldest of Exeter surgeons, and died on January 28th, 1898.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002930<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bell, Thomas (1792 - 1880)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758372025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375837">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375837</a>375837<br/>Occupation Dental surgeon Zoologist<br/>Details Born at Poole, Dorsetshire, on October 11th, 1792, the only son of Thomas Bell, a surgeon. He entered Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals in 1813 and was appointed Dental Surgeon to Guy's Hospital in 1817, holding the post and lecturing on Dental Anatomy until 1861. In 1836 he was appointed Professor of Zoology at King's College, having already lectured on the subject of comparative anatomy at Guy's Hospital. He was elected FRS in 1828 and was one of the Secretaries from 1848-1853. He was for eleven years a Vice-President of the Zoological Society, where he had been one of the originators of the scientific meetings. He was President of the Linnean Society from 1853-1861, and under his guidance the society advanced greatly, and in spite of strong Government opposition became housed in Burlington House. He was also President of the Ray Society from its foundation in 1843 until 1859.
He died at Selborne in Hampshire at The Wakes, which he had bought from Gilbert White's grandniece, on March 13th, 1880.
Bell was a pioneer in raising dentistry to the rank of a profession - work which was continued by Salter and by the Tomes - father and son. His work, *On the Anatomy and Diseases of the Teeth*, published 8vo, London, 1829 (2nd ed, 1835), was largely a compilation from Hunter, Blake, and Fox. He was a very good administrator, and a man of such attractive manners as to gain the confidence of young and old in every class of life. He published a classic edition of White's *Natural History of Selborne* in 1877, with a pleasing memoir of Gilbert White. In his house at Selborne he made a collection of relics and memorials of White, which he was always willing to show to admirers of the naturalist. A fine mezzotint portrait of Bell by Nobel after the painting by Taples is in the College Collection.
Publications:
*History of British Quadrupeds, including the Cetacea*, 8vo, London, 1837; 2nd ed (with R F TOMES and E R ALSTON), 1874.
*History of British Reptiles*, 8vo, London, 1839.
*History of British Stalk-eyed Crustacea*, 8vo, London, 1853.
*Monograph of Testudinata*, 8 parts, fol, London, 1833-42.
*Monograph on Fossil Malacostracous Crustacea*, 4to, London (Palaeontographical Society), 1857-62.
"On Chelonia of the London Clay" in *Fossil Reptilia of London Clay* (with R Owen), 4to, London (Palaeontographical Society), i, 1849-58.
*Catalogue of Crustacea in the British Museum* i, *Leucosiadoe*, 12mo, London, 1855.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003654<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bell, William ( - 1878)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758382025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375838">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375838</a>375838<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Received his professional training at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals. He was for many years in general practice in Eastgate, Rochester. His death occurred on December 12th, 1878.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003655<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wrench, Edward Mason (1833 - 1912)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758392025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375839">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375839</a>375839<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in London on July 1st, 1833, the son of the Rev T W Wrench, Rector of St Michael's, Cornhill; studied at St Thomas's Hospital, where he was Assistant Resident Accoucheur. He received a commission as Assistant Surgeon to the 34th Foot dated November 3rd, 1854, went to the Crimea, and for three months did duty in the trenches with the 28th Regiment. He was present at the assault on the Quarries and at the two attacks on the Redan, on the second of which only half of the assault party returned uninjured. He was in charge of wounded from Inkerman at the hospital in the Russian Military School, Balaclava, and afterwards was present at the capture of Sebastopol on September 8th, 1855. He was mentioned in dispatches and received the Crimean Medal with Clasps, also the Turkish Medal. The dispatches mentioned his courage, coolness, and professional skill under very heavy fire at the Redan; in his hospital duty he was associated with Miss Florence Nightingale.
On his return to England Wrench was transferred on August 22nd, 1856, to the 12th Lancers, and went out to Madras in medical charge of two squadrons. The regiment was at Bangalore at the outbreak of the Mutiny, and Wrench joined a detachment, which marched north through Central India, to prevent the mutineers from advancing south. The march, after eight months, led up to the Battle of Banda, where 500 rebels were killed, and to the capture of the Palace of the Rajah of Rewah, whence a million pounds' worth of gold and silver were carried away in forty carts. This was the largest capture of prize money during the Mutiny, a private soldier's share being £75, and a Colonel's reaching £3,000.
Wrench re-embarked for home with a portion of the regiment from Calcutta in April, 1860, and served with the regiment until appointed Surgeon to the seventh Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth when he resigned on December 2nd, 1862, after receiving the Indian Medal and Clasps.
He lived at Park Lodge, Baslow, and attended the Duke and the guests, including the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, who decorated him as a Member of the Victorian Order for long military as well as personal service in 1893. Wrench was allowed to take a photograph of the King.
He joined in 1864 the 3rd Battalion of the Derbyshire Volunteers, serving as Ensign and Lieutenant until 1870, when he was gazetted Surgeon. He retired in 1900 with the rank of Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel. He also became President of the Midland Branch of the British Medical Association, and during the Sheffield Meeting in 1908 conducted a party over Chatsworth. He was much interested in local archaeology and geology, and was a President of the Bakewell Naturalist Field Club.
Sir George Malin, in 1919, described an interesting series of reminiscences of the Crimea given by Wrench in relation to Simpson's pictorial record of the war.
Wrench practised latterly in partnership with his nephew, R H Jackson, of Bakewell, and with his son-in-law, R S C Edleston, of Baslow. He also acted as Surgeon to the Whitworth Hospital, Darley Dale, as Certifying Factory Surgeon, and Medical Referee. He had been appointed JP in 1898, and was accustomed to bicycle to Magistrates' meetings. On March 12th, 1912, whilst passing through Buxton, he died from heart strain.
He married in 1861 his cousin, Anne Eliza, daughter of William Kirke, of East Markham Hall, Nottinghamshire, and celebrated with her their golden wedding in 1911. Of their four children two sons became MRCS. He was a man of military bearing to the last. There is a good photograph in the College collection of Mr and Mrs Wrench taken at their golden wedding.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003656<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wright, Alexander ( - 1864)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758402025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375840">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375840</a>375840<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Alexander Wright, of Norton Sheffield, apparently as a student, wrote an essay entitled, "An Essay on the Influence of Air and Soil as Affecting Health" (8vo, Birmingham, 1836), dedicated to Dr Arnold of Rugby as "The Patron of Youthful Merit". He died at Boerne, Texas, on July 28th, 1864.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003657<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wright, George Arthur (1851 - 1920)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758412025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375841">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375841</a>375841<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The second son of the Rev Henry Edward Wright, Rector of Vange, Essex, and later of Litton, Somerset. He was educated at Marlborough School and matriculated at Oxford as an unattached, or non-collegiate student on Oct 16th, 1869. He took a 1st class in the Natural Science School in 1874 and was an Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy under Professor George Rolleston. He then entered Guy's Hospital, was Gold Medallist in Surgery in 1877, acting as House Surgeon and Surgical Registrar. He was also an Assistant in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1880 he was appointed Resident Surgical Officer at the Royal Infirmary, Manchester, and in 1882 was elected Assistant Surgeon also Surgeon to the Pendlebury Hospital. As he was restricted to the former post for eighteen years, he devoted himself more especially to the surgery of childhood. This led to his chief publication in conjunction with Henry Ashby, *The Diseases of Children, Medical and Surgical* (1889, with subsequent editions); also other publications on the surgery of children, including "The Evacuation of Spinal Abscesses without Drainage" and Hip Disease, 1887. On becoming Surgeon to the Infirmary in 1900 he was appointed Consulting Surgeon at Pendlebury Hospital. Having for some years been Lecturer on Operative and Practical Surgery, in 1900 he succeeded Tom Jones (qv) as Professor of Surgery until 1911, when he retired on reaching the age limit. As Senior Surgeon he was largely concerned with the negotiations which led to the transference of the Infirmary from its old site in Piccadilly to the New Buildings in Oxford Road. He was an excellent clinical teacher and held classes for senior students at his own house; he was also instrumental in establishing a students' hostel at Lester House.
From 1906-1910 he was a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was also an Examiner in Surgery at Manchester, as well as at Oxford, Birmingham, and Liverpool.
At the commencement of arrangements for Territorial Hospitals, Wright was selected in 1908 as First Administrator of the Second Western General Hospital. On the outbreak of the War (1914-1918) he was put in charge of the Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital at Worseley Hall, and was next placed in command of the Surgical Section of the Queen Mary Hospital at Whalley with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
In private life, being without children himself, he was devoted to children as well as to animals. He spent his spare time at a country house in Cheshire, where he engaged in gardening, fishing, and shooting. In June, 1919, he retired to Sidmouth and lived at The Old Orchard, Britwell Valley. He died at Sidmouth on March 23rd, 1920, and was cremated at Golder's Green. He was survived by Mrs Wright.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003658<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wright, James Dennis ( - 1864)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758422025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375842">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375842</a>375842<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was gazetted Assistant Surgeon to the Grenadier Guards on November 11th, 1824, was promoted to Battalion Surgeon on May 11th, 1832, and to Surgeon Major on February 7th, 1845. He retired on half pay on December 29th, 1854, and died in 1863 or 1864.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003659<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wright, Robert Temple (1843 - 1902)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758432025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375843">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375843</a>375843<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in April, 1843, the son of Robert John Wright, land surveyor of Thorpe Episcopi, Norfolk. He received his professional training at King's College, London, where he was a scholar (1863), and at the University of Edinburgh. He held various house surgeoncies, and then entered the Indian Medical Service of Bengal in 1869. His promotions were as follows: Date of first commission, February 1st, 1869: Assistant Surgeon, Bengal; Surgeon, July 1st, 1873; Surgeon Major, April 1st, 1881; Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel, April 1st, 1889; Brigade Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel, January 2nd, 1894; retired, June 20th, 1894. In the course of his service it appears that he was employed in all the provinces of the Bengal Presidency except Assam.
In 1873 he was Officiating Professor of Anatomy at the Lahore Medical College, when he was appointed Civil Surgeon at Peshawar. Here a remittent fever attacked him with such virulence that he was given two years' sick leave. Ordinary treatment in Europe having failed, he was sent to Carlsbad by Sir Joseph Fayrer (qv), and derived so much benefit from the waters that he twice returned there. He attributed his ability to remain in the service to this spa. He described the virtues of the water in the *Indian Annals of Medical Science* and in the *Indian Medical Gazette*, and showed how "powdered natural mineral salt of Carlsbad" can stand the Indian climate. "Anglo-Indians", says Temple Wright's biographer in the *Indian Medical Record* (1894), "can now be treated with it in India…and many a worn-out official has been able by its use to hold out till he could claim his pension, without losing money by a costly trip to Europe."
Temple Wright now began to be known as a very ready writer, and during the Afghan War of 1879-1881 the principal medical officers of two out of the three columns, on the Kurram and on the Kandahar lines, applied for his services as secretary. He was sent to Kandahar and remained there with the 8th Bengal Cavalry until the evacuation of the country in April, 1881. He acted as Secretary to the Principal Medical Officer, and at once won the confidence of his confreres. Everything that could be settled in the PMO's office was settled at once, even if the Secretary had to sit up till midnight (as sometimes happened) to answer letters. The retirement of the invading forces through the Bolan Pass in April and May, 1881, was a complete contrast to the 'March of Death' through the Khyber Pass on the northern line of invasion, described by Dr George Evatt, AMS, the well-known authority on medical arrangements in armies. The Bolan retirement, with a temperature in the tents of 117° F, was effected without casualties, though some 40,000 people (troops and followers combined) were concerned.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003660<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wright, William (1794 - 1868)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758442025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375844">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375844</a>375844<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at Nottingham, where he was surgeon to the General Hospital, and having become Consulting Surgeon, his opinion continued to be highly and deservedly valued throughout the Midland Counties. He died at 40 Pelham Street Nottingham, on January 7th 1868.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003661<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wright, William Kelson (1811 - 1894)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758452025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375845">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375845</a>375845<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Bristol of a military family; studied at St Bartholomew's and University College Hospitals. He then went as Ship's Surgeon, and on one of his voyages saved the life of a sailor whose leg had been torn open by a large hook.
He next for thirty-five years practised at Brixton, and was so successful in practice that he was elected FRCS in 1852. He died, after a long and painful illness, at 9 Brixton Hill on August 15th, 1894, at the age of 84.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003662<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wyatt, George Robert (1814 - 1895)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758462025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375846">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375846</a>375846<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at King's College Hospital, and practised first for some years in Queen Street, Oxford, where he was Medical Officer to the Eleven United Parishes of the City, and to the House of Industry. After 1870 he practised in Naples, at several addresses. By 1890 he had returned to 37 Upper Tulse Hill, South London. He died at Green Lanes, Stoke Newington, on April 17th, 1895.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003663<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wyatt, John (1825 - 1874)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758472025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375847">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375847</a>375847<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The eldest son of James Wyatt, of Lidsey, near Chichester, by his wife, Caroline, born October 22nd, 1825, and baptized in the parish church of Aldingbourne, Sussex, on October 28th, 1825.
He entered the Army as Assistant Surgeon on June 17th, 1851, was gazetted Surgeon on April 9th, 1857, and Surgeon Major on January 9th, 1863, being attached during the whole of his service to the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards. He saw active service in the Crimea, and was present at the Battles of the Alma, Balaclava, and Inkerman, and at the siege of Sebastopol. At Inkerman his horse was shot under him. He received the Crimean Medal with four Clasps, the Turkish Medal, and the knighthood of the Legion of Honour.
He was selected by the War Department in 1870 to act as Medical Commissioner at the head-quarters of the French Army during the Franco-German War, and was present in this capacity through the whole of the siege of Paris. He rendered important services to the sick and wounded as a member of the Société de Secours aux Blessés and was attached to an ambulance. He was decorated CB for his services in 1873, died at Bournemouth on April 2nd, 1874, and was buried in the Brompton Cemetery.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003664<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wybrants, Jonathan (1818 - 1883)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758482025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375848">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375848</a>375848<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Obtained a number of qualifying diplomas in London, Aberdeen, and Dublin. He practised at Shepton Mallet, Somerset, was Physician to the Hospital there, and Coroner to the South-Eastern Division of Somersetshire, in relation to which he published *The Trial of Joseph Hodges for Rape* (8vo, Shepton Mallet, 1861). He was a member of the British Medical Association, and died at Shepton Mallet on January 1st, 1883.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003665<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wylde, Robert Tracey ( - 1903)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758492025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06 2013-11-29<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375849">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375849</a>375849<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital and practised first in Argyle Street, London, WC. Although he passed the examination for the FRCS in 1859 he failed to pay the fees, and so remained on the list of MRCS. He emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, where he was a member of the South Australian Medical Board, Surgeon to the Adelaide Hospital, to the Convalescent Hospital, and to the Home for Incurables. He was a Member and Treasurer of the South Australian Medical Association. He retired in 1891 and lived for some years at Semaphore, a watering-place, where died in 1903.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003666<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Wylie, John (1790 - 1852)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758502025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375850">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375850</a>375850<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on May 20th, 1790, the son of George Wylie, of Glasgow. He entered the Madras Army as Assistant Surgeon on June 11th, 1812, being promoted to Surgeon on July 1st, 1825, to Superintending Surgeon on February 1st, 1838, to Inspector-General of Hospitals on December 18th, 1846, to Surgeon General on August 1st, 1850, and to Physician General on January 1st, 1851. He saw active service in the Third Maratha, Pindari, or Dekkan War (1817-1818), and took part very gallantly in the Battle of Corygaum, being mentioned in dispatches (GOCC, Jan 21st, 1818). He received the CB on August 17th, 1850, when the Order of the Bath was first conferred on medical officers. He retired on February 12th, 1851, and on leaving Madras received the well-deserved compliment of a General Order of the Governor in Council, expressive of the sense entertained of his "highly meritorious services during a lengthened period of thirty-seven years".
Physician General Wylie died suddenly at his residence at Arndean, Dollar, NB, on June 16th, 1852. He is cited by Lieut-Colonel Crawford (History of the Indian Medical Service, 1914) as one of the twenty-nine officers of the Indian Medical Service to be elected FRCS on August 26th, 1844.
The following appeared in the *Monthly Journal of Medical Science* (Edinburgh), 1852, xv, 228:-
"Dr Wylie was one of the medical officers of the Queen's and EIC's services, who were, in 1850, selected for admission into the Military Order of the Bath. The honour thus conferred on Medical Officers of the public services has been universally recognized as a merited, though somewhat tardy, compliment to the profession generally, and to the individuals who were thus distinguished. To none of them was the admission into a military order more appropriate than to Dr Wylie who, at an early period of his career, was called upon to render to his country a service more purely military than it commonly fails to the lot of a medical officer to perform. The exploit is notorious to every servant of the EIC; but many of our readers may not have heard of the affair of 'Corygaum' where one professional brother fell, and another bore a conspicuous part in achhieving a victory under desperate circumstances.
"The following account of this remarkable combat is taken from a divisional order of Brigadier-General Smith, of 7th January, 1818.
"'The commanding officer having received the official accounts of an attack made by the Peishwah's army on a small detachment, commanded by Captain Staunton, of the 2nd battalion 1st regiment Bombay NI at the village of Corygaum, has great satisfaction in publishing the particulars NI, general information, and in holding it up to the force, as one of the most brilliant examples of gallantry and perseverance recorded in our Indian annals.
"'This detachment, consisting of a detail of Madras artillery and two six-pounders, 2nd battalion 1st regiment NI, about 600 strong, and about 300 auxiliary horse, the whole under Captain Staunton, marched from Seroor to Poonah, at 8 pm, on the 31st December, and reached the heights overlooking Corygaum about ten o'clock in the forenoon, 1st January, from whence the whole of the Peishwah's army, estimated at 20,000 horse, and several thousand infantry, were discovered in the plain south of the Beemah River.
"'Captain Staunton immediately moved upon the village of Corygaum, with the intention of occupying it, and had scarcely succeeded in reaching it with his detachment, when he was attacked in the most determined manner by three divisions of the Peishwah's choicest infantry, supported by immense bodies of horse, and the fire of two pieces of artillery.
"'The enemy's troops were stimulated to their utmost exertions by the presence of the Peishwah on a distant height, attended by the principal Mahratta chiefs, who flattered his Highness with the prospect of witnessing the destruction of this gallant handful of British troops.
"'The enemy obtained immediate possession of the strongest parts of the village, from which it was found impossible to dislodge them, and the possession of the remaining part was most obstinately contested from noon till nine pm, during which time almost every pagoda and house had been repeatedly taken and re-taken, and one of the guns at one time was in possession of the enemy.
"'Towards the close of the evening, the detachment was placed in the most trying situation. At this period nearly the whole of the artillerymen were killed or wounded, and about one-third of the infantry and auxiliary horse. The exertions which the European officers had been called upon to make in leading their men to frequent charges with the bayonet had diminished their numbers. Lieutenant Chisholm of the Artillery and Mr. Assistant-Surgeon Wingate, 2nd battalion 1st Bombay NI, were killed; and Lieutenants Swanston, Pattinson, and Connellan were wounded, leaving only Captain Staunton, Lieutenant Jones, and Mr Assistant-Surgeon Wylie nearly exhausted, to direct the efforts of the remaining part of the detachment, who were nearly frantic from the want of water, and the almost unparalleled exertions they had made throughout the day, without any sort of refreshment, after a fatiguing march of twenty-eight miles.
"'Under cover of the night, they were enabled to procure a supply of water; and at nine pm the enemy were forced to abandon the village, after sustaining an immense loss in killed and wounded.
"'The British character was nobly supported throughout the whole of the arduous contest by the European officers, and a small detail of Madras artillery.
"'The medical officers also led on the sepoys to charges with the bayonet, the nature of the contest not admitting of their attendance to their professional duties; and in such a struggle, the presence of a single European was of the utmost consequence, and seemed to inspire the native soldiers with their usual confidence of success.
"'At daylight on the 2nd, the enemy were still in sight, but did not renew the attack, although it prevented the troops, whose ammunition was nearly expended, from procuring any supply of provisions.
"'Captain Staunton, however, made provisions for moving according to circumstances; and the manner in which that officer availed himself of the few resources which remained to him after such a contest, to prosecute his march and bring away the numerous wounded of his detachment, is highly praiseworthy.
"'The detachment moved, during the night of the 2nd, upon Seroor, which they reached at nine o'clock on the forenoon of the third, having had no refreshment from the 31st December.
"'Captain Staunton brought in nearly the whole of the wounded, and both guns and colours of the regiment, which the enemy had vainly hoped to present as trophies to the Peishwar.
"'Dr Wylie's own account of his share in this transaction is highly characteristic of the modesty which distinguished him. Writing to a friend a few days afterwards, he says: "Swanston, who was twice wounded - severely, very early in the day - I took him to a pagoda, dressed him, and also Lieutenant Connellan, and some others; but I did not remain long, finding it absolutely necessary to render the two remaining officers all the assistance in my power, in another way."'
"Some of the circumstances connected with the action at Corygaum are illustrative of the neglect with which it was formerly too much the custom to treat the services of medical officers. In a general order by the Governor in Council, promulgated in the succeeding month, embodying the very divisional order from which we have quoted above, and also in a general order by the Commander-in-Chief, we have the thanks of Government conveyed to the captain and lieutenants, to the native commissioned and non-commissioned officers and privates, but the name of Dr Wylie is omitted from both. It is, however, only just to the memory of the Governor-General, the Marquis of Hastings, to state that, in his general order of March 18th, Dr Wylie is mentioned by name along with the other officers."<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003667<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Pern, Alfred ( - 1915)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751162025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375116">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375116</a>375116<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Thomas's Hospital, and practised at Botley, Hampshire, where he was Medical Officer of Health, and Medical Officer to the South Stoneham Union and Workhouse. He was also Assistant Surgeon to the 8th Hants Rifle Volunteers. He died in 1915.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002933<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Perrin, Thomas ( - 1926)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751172025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375117">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375117</a>375117<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Thomas's and the London Hospitals. He was Ophthalmic House Surgeon at St Thomas's and Clinical Ophthalmic Assistant at the London Hospital. He was then Assistant Medical Superintendent of the City of London Union Infirmary, Bow. During the War (1914-1918) he was Surgical Specialist to the Curragh Camp, Colchester, and at Wimereux. Having afterwards settled in practice at Aylesbury, he was Surgeon to the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital in partnership with Dr James Shaw, of High Street, Aylesbury. He was an active member and Secretary of the local Branch of the British Medical Association. He was very popular, with an unassuming manner, kindly and courteous to patients, keen and scientific, always ready to help and co-operate with his colleagues. He died at 10 Temple Square, Aylesbury, on October 3rd 1926.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002934<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Perry, John (1804 - 1879)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751182025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375118">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375118</a>375118<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St George's Hospital, and practised at 4 Eaton Square, where he was Surgeon to the Chelsea, Brompton, and Belgrave Dispensary. He died in retirement at 46 Gillingham Street, Eccleston Square, London, SW, on February 19th, 1879. His photograph is in the Fellows' Album.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002935<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Perry, John George ( - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3751192025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-09-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E002000-E002999/E002900-E002999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375119">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375119</a>375119<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and later held various posts - Surgeon to the Foundling Hospital and to St Marylebone Infirmary; Secretary to the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society; and Medical Inspector of Prisons. He was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He lived at 12 Westbourne Street, Hyde Park Gardens, and died in 1870.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E002936<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Dennis, Frederic Shepard (1850 - 1934)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3761362025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-05-01<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003900-E003999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376136">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376136</a>376136<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born 17 April 1850 at Newark, New Jersey, the son of Alfred Lewis Dennis and Eliza Shepard, his wife. He was educated at Winchester Academy, Connecticut, where he made an intimate and lasting friendship with W H Welch, afterwards professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University. From Winchester Academy he went to the Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, and from there to Yale University where he graduated in 1872. He received his medical degree from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York in 1874, and in 1876-77 took postgraduate medical courses at Heidelberg and under Von Langenbeck in Berlin and Lister in Edinburgh. He was admitted MRCS in 1877.
Returning to the United States he was appointed instructor in surgery at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, becoming professor of surgery there from 1883 to 1898. During this period he was instrumental in persuading Andrew Carnegie to found the Carnegie Pathological Laboratory in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College. He was selected to act as professor of clinical surgery at Cornell University in 1898, and retired from office in 1910 with the title of emeritus professor. He was president of the American Association of Surgeons, a founder of the Harlem Hospital, a Fellow of the Clinical Society of London, and a member of the German Surgical Congress. Dennis was a great surgeon and a great teacher, who did much to popularize the practice and teaching of Lister in the United States. He died on 8 March 1934 at 1136 Fifth Avenue, New York, aged 83.
Publications:-
*The American Textbook of Surgery*. Philadelphia, 1892; 2nd edition, 1895. (Editor)
*A System of Surgery*, in 4 vols. Philadelphia, 1895-6. (Editor)
*A Memoir of James R Wood, MD*. New York, 1884; 24 pages with portrait; and again the same year: 31 pages with portrait.
*Selected Surgical Papers*, 2 vols., with portrait and bibliography. New York, 1934.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003953<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Denyer, Stanley Edward (1869 - 1931)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3761372025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-05-01<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003900-E003999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376137">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376137</a>376137<br/>Occupation General surgeon Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details The second son of Alfred Denyer, a merchant in the City of London, born in London 26 February 1869, his mother's maiden name being Sarah Mary Ann North. He matriculated from Queens' College, Cambridge and graduated BA after gaining second-class honours in Part 1 of the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1894. He then acted for a time as demonstrator of and an examiner in anatomy at the university and as director of studies in natural science at Queens' College. At Guy's Hospital he was pathological assistant and held the Gee Fellowship. On the outbreak of the South African war he volunteered for service, was awarded the medal with five clasps, and received the CMG for taking command and bringing out of action the RHA battery to which he was attached, when all the combatant officers were either killed or wounded.
During the war of 1914-18 he was medical inspector of the Humber garrison, and was afterwards on the staff of the Alderhey Orthopaedic Hospital, was twice mentioned in despatches, and acted temporarily as lecturer on anatomy at the University of Liverpool. As medical inspector it was his duty to act as sanitary officer of the large camps in Holderness, and he was indefatigable during the severe attacks of influenza which visited these camps. He began to practise in Hull in 1915, was physician for ten years to the Royal Infirmary, and served as librarian and president of the Hull Medical Society, and as chairman of the East Yorks and North Lincs division of the British Medical Association. He married in 1905 Sarah Irene, daughter of Foster Wilson of Kendal, who survived him with two sons and three daughters. Mrs Denyer died on 25 January 1948 at Buckhurst Hill. Denyer died at Hull on 25 February 1931.
Publications:-
Bacteriological examination of urine in enteric fever. (MD thesis) *Guy's Hosp Rep*. 1902, 56, 153.
Case of encephalitis lethargica simulating hydrophobia, with D E Morley. *Brit med J*. 1921, 1, 191.
Treatment of pernicious vomiting in pregnancy by gastric lavage and carbohydrate rectal feeding. *Ibid*. 1924, 2, 455.
Tetanus treated by intracisternal injections of antitetanic serum. *Lancet*, 1928, 2, 119.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003954<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Firth, Sir Robert Hammill (1857 - 1931)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762302025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376230">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376230</a>376230<br/>Occupation Tropical medicine specialist<br/>Details Eldest son by the second marriage of John Firth, who was in the educational department of the HEICS, and of Maria, his wife, daughter of Major Robert Hammill, 18th Royal Irish Regiment, was born in Bombay, 1 December 1857. He was educated privately by the Rector at Ware, Herts, and then at University College, London, and he matriculated from Oriel College, Oxford, but never graduated, as his studies were interrupted by a visit to a brother in South America. He joined the Army Medical Department as a surgeon on 3 August 1883, becoming colonel AMS 13 November 1912, and retiring 25 December 1917. He was awarded the Alexander memorial prize and medal in 1888 and in 1891, and the Parkes memorial prize and medal for hygiene in 1889 and again in 1892.
His first tour of foreign service was in India, where he served with the Hazara expeditionary force in 1888, receiving the medal and clasp. In 1892 he was appointed assistant professor of hygiene at the Army Medical School, Netley, and held the post until 1897, J Lane Notter being professor. On completing his five years' tenure as assistant professor, Firth returned to India, and took part in the operations during the Tirah expedition on the North-West Frontier 1897-98 and gained the medal with two clasps. Having by this time become known for his work on hygiene, for he had published conjointly with Lane Notter a standard work on *The theory and practice of hygiene*, he was detailed to investigate the causes of an increase in sickness due to enteric fever amongst the troops at Rawalpindi, and was subsequently sent to Lucknow to work at the bacteriology of dysentery. The results of his investigations were published in the *British Medical Journal*, 1902, 2, 936 and 1094, under the title "The influence of soil, fabrics, and flies in the dissemination of enteric infection", and "A comparative study of some dysentery bacilli" in the *Journal of the RAMC*, 1903, 1, 436. The latter paper was issued jointly with Major W H Horrocks and is extremely well illustrated. In 1906 he was appointed instructor at the School of Army Sanitation, when it was first established at Aldershot, and in that position he laid the foundations of the knowledge which was used to such good effect in the war of 1914-18. He proceeded again to India on the termination of his appointment, and on his return filled for a time the position of Sanitary Officer at Army Headquarters, a post which was abolished on 1 December 1912, the title being ADMS (Sanitary).
In March 1915 he became ADMS of the 20th Division of the British Expeditionary Force in France, and in September 1915 he was appointed DDMS of the 11th Corps, a position he held until May 1917, when he retired on reaching the age limit and was transferred to the Havre base. For his services he was mentioned three times in despatches, received the Victory and Allied medals, was decorated CB (mil) in 1918 and was invested KBE (mil) in 1919. He was a Grand Officer of the Order of Avis of Portugal, and in 1919 received a silver medal from the municipality of Havre in recognition of the medical services rendered to the civil population of the town. In 1924 he was awarded a well-earned "good service reward".
He was for many years a member of council and examiner at the Royal Sanitary Institute, a member of council of the Royal Institute of Public Health, and a Fellow of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. From 1927 to 1931 he was president of the Army Medical Officers' Widows and Orphans Fund. He was also a member of the Société de Médecine militaire française and at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association held at Swansea in 1903 he held office as vice-president of the section of state medicine.
He married on 15 March 1884 Mary, eldest daughter of William Knight, solicitor, of Cardiff and Appledore, Devon, who died before him leaving one daughter. He died on Saturday, 6 June 1931, at his house in Finchley Road, NW.
Firth carried on the tradition of Army sanitation which began with Parkes and it was largely due to the interest in his subject which he excited in officers of the combatant forces during the time he was in charge of the School of Army Sanitation at Aldershot that the British forces maintained so good a record of health during the war of 1914-18.
Publications:-
*The theory and practice of hygiene*, with J Lane Notter. London, 1896. This work practically replaced the excellent *Manual of practical hygiene* prepared especially for use in the medical service of the Army, which was written by E A Parkes in 1864 and was edited from the fifth edition in 1878 by Professor de Chaumont. The third edition of *The theory and practice of hygiene*, published in 1908, was brought out by Firth alone; the ninth edition appeared in 1921.
*Practical domestic hygiene*, with J L Notter. London, 1897.
*Military hygiene, a manual of sanitation for soldiers*. London, 1908.
*Musings of an idle man*. London, 1919.
Editor of the *Journal of the RAMC*. vol. 1, 1903. The succeeding volumes were edited by David Bruce.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004047<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Fisher, Edward Fow (1878 - 1948)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762312025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376231">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376231</a>376231<br/>Occupation Gynaecologist<br/>Details Born on 23 July 1878 at Shere, Surrey, one of the two sons of George Fisher, MRCS 1867, who practised there, and Mary Ann Ramsden, his wife. He was educated at Epsom College, entered the London Hospital with the Epsom scholarship in 1896, and subsequently served as interne and externe resident accoucheur, receiving-room officer, and house surgeon.
After postgraduate study at Edinburgh University, Fisher set up in practice as a gynaecologist at Edinburgh. He was for a time physician for the diseases of women at the Royal Public Dispensary, and later joined the staff of the Deaconess Hospital, becoming eventually consulting gynaecologist. He practised at 7 Buckingham Terrace, Edinburgh.
During the war of 1914-18 Fisher served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy; he was mentioned in despatches.
Fisher married on 1 June 1915 at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Nancy Stenhouse. He died at Woodford, Cramond Road North, Barnton, Midlothian, on 25 September 1948, aged 70, survived by his wife and their two married daughters.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004048<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Treves, William Knight (1843 - 1908)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754862025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003300-E003399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375486">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375486</a>375486<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Dorchester in 1843, and therefore ten years senior to his brother, Sir Frederick Treves, Bart (qv). He was educated at St Thomas's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon. He was then appointed Resident Surgeon at the Royal Sea-Bathing Infirmary, Margate, and thus began a long and honourable connection with that town.
In 1870 he started in private practice in partnership with William F Hunter and William H Thornton, JP. In 1872 he was made Surgeon to the Royal Sea-Bathing Infirmary and held office until 1901, when he became Consulting Surgeon. He was early appointed District Medical Officer, and later Medical Officer of Health, and held this office for some twenty years. On the termination of his partnership he withdrew almost entirely from general practice and devoted himself to surgery, especially to that of tuberculosis, for which he had special opportunities. In this he was conspicuously successful. The wide reputation enjoyed by Margate as a resort for the tuberculous and as a haven for the convalescent is due in very large measure to Treves. He founded the Margate Cottage Hospital, and was successively its Surgeon, Consulting Surgeon, and President.
Treves practised for many years at 32 Dalby Square, latterly in partnership with William Greenwood Sutcliffe, his neighbour, and with his son, Frederick Boileau Treves. After a period of ill health, which caused him to withdraw from his manifold activities, he died on October 14th, 1908, and was buried in Margate Cemetery.
Publications:-
"The Condition of the Circulation in Scrofula." - *Lancet*, 1871, i, 568.
"Excision of Knee-joint, and the Condition of Rest Necessary to be Maintained." - *Ibid*, ii, 463, 508.
"Treatment by Excision of Masses of Scrofulous Glands." - *Ibid*, 1888, ii, 105. *On the Diagnosis and Treatment of Scrofulous Glands*, 8vo, London, 1889. *Present Methods of Treating Tuberculosis (Section 5): The Surgical Aspect*, 8vo,
London, 1903.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003303<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Blight, William Lyne (1861 - 1940)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760312025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-10<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376031">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376031</a>376031<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born 20 July 1861 at Blewick Antony in the parish of Torpoint in Cornwall, the seventh child and second son of the eleven children born to William Lyne Blight, farmer, and Caroline Treliving, his wife. He was educated at the Independent College, Taunton, now called Taunton College, at Guy's Hospital, where he was assistant demonstrator of practical physiology, and at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne School of Medicine. He practised first at Walthamstow, next at Diss in Norfolk, and from 1894 in Cardiff. He was president of the Cardiff Medical Society during the years 1914-15 and delivered the opening address, on arterio-sclerosis, an abstract of which was published in *The Lancet*, 1915, 1, 1167. After the war of 1914-18 he served as a member of the neurological and special appeal boards.
He married Clara, daughter of Henry Wigfield of Sheffield, on 6 September 1916. She survived him but without children. He retired from practice in 1925 and lived at Bournemouth until his sudden death on 29 May 1940. Blight is described as a quiet and solitary practitioner who was never in robust health and kept himself to himself. He had a general and panel practice and was greatly respected by his professional colleagues and patients, but he never showed any aptitude for or interest in surgery. He was a staunch freemason and a devout churchman, holding strong evangelical views. His hobbies were gardening and continental travel.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003848<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Trew, William (1815 - 1851)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754882025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003300-E003399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375488">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375488</a>375488<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The only son of Thomas Trew. He was Demonstrator of Anatomy at St Thomas's Hospital, and practised as a surgeon at 19 Woburn Place, Russell Square, WC, and then at Great Marlow, Bucks. His death occurred at his father's residence at St Peter's, Thanet, on February 24th, 1851.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003305<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Tripe, Cornelius (1784 - 1860)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754892025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003300-E003399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375489">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375489</a>375489<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was Physician to the Devonport Dispensary at the time of his death. He died on December 21st, 1860.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003306<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Stone, Thomas Arthur (1797 - 1864)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760342025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376034">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376034</a>376034<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of Arthur Daniel Stone, MD, by his wife, a sister of Dr John Clarke and of Sir Charles Clarke. His father, Arthur Daniel Stone, was educated at Charterhouse School and at Oxford, and was beaten for the Radcliffe Travelling Scholarship by Sir Francis Milman. Subsequently he was a Censor and Harveian Orator at the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician to the Charterhouse from 1807-1823.
Thomas Arthur Stone was born in Charterhouse Square on March 3rd, 1797. He was educated at Westminster School, which he left at Bartholomewtide in 1807, and at Charterhouse from 1810-1818. He then entered at St George's Hospital, and also attended the Windmill Street School. He was Clinical Clerk to Sir Everard Home who had been an assistant to Stone's uncle, Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, Lecturer on Midwifery and Diseases of Women. After 1821 he lectured along with Henry Davies in Windmill Street School until 1830. Later the two were appointed joint lecturers at St George's Hospital, and they lectured also at the School in Grosvenor Place.
Stone was a good and popular lecturer, and in succession to his uncle, Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, got a large practice as an accoucheur among wealthy patients, whilst continuing to practise as a general surgeon. The fashionable practice was the supposed purification of the blood by free purging and local bloodlettings. Stone continued the purging whilst giving up bleeding. He formed a museum from the previous collection of Drs Osborne, John Clarke, and Sir Charles Clarke, which he presented to St George's Hospital. He was one of the Medical Officers of Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital up to the time of his death; he also acted as President of the Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Medical Men, and was instrumental in obtaining the Society's Charter from Queen Victoria.
Stone, although he kept notes of patients, did not take part in medical discussions, nor did he publish anything. He was kind and popular, held high views concerning professional ethics, and was a sportsman fond of exercise. He married the eldest daughter of the Rev Robert Gream, of Rotherfield, and sister of Dr Gream. This lady, distinguished for personal beauty and piety, died in 1853, leaving four sons, none of whom followed their father's profession. Stone enjoyed robust health until after an attack of 'bilious fever', from which he died at 30 Grosvenor Street, W, on August 20th, 1864.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003851<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Trousdale, William Maw (1814 - 1889)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754922025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003300-E003399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375492">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375492</a>375492<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at University College, London. He practised at West Butterwick, near Bawtry, Yorkshire, where he was Medical Officer of the Gainsborough Union. He then moved to West End Park, Harrogate, where he practised till the time of his death. He died on January 8th, 1889.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003309<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Tubby, Alfred Herbert (1862 - 1930)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754932025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003300-E003399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375493">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375493</a>375493<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Born on May 23rd, 1862, of a South Country yeoman stock, the son of Alfred Tubby, a corn merchant living in Great Titchfield Street, London, and his wife, Frances Roe. His father died a few months after his birth, and he received his early education at Christ's Hospital (the Bluecoat School), then situated in Newgate Street, EC; to this School he was subsequently Surgeon and an Almoner. At Guy's Hospital he distinguished himself as a Prizeman, and at the University of London he won the Gold Medal in medicine and gained honours in forensic medicine, anatomy, and materia medica at the MB examinations, the Gold Medal in surgery in 1887, and graduated MS in 1890.
He studied at Halle and Leipzig, the results of his German training perhaps being shown in the interest which he afterwards took in the treatment of the paralyses following anterior poliomyelitis. Oskar Vulpius, of Heidelberg, in 1897 advocated the treatment of these paralyses by means of tendon transplantation, and the first book written by Tubby in collaboration with (Sir) Robert Jones appeared in 1903, entitled *Modern Methods in the Surgery of Paralysis*.
He became Surgeon to the Evelina Hospital and to the National Orthopaedic Hospital (which was incorporated as the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital) in 1891, and in 1894 was elected Assistant Surgeon to Westminster Hospital, becoming Surgeon in 1898. Here he was placed in charge of the Orthopaedic Department, was Lecturer on Clinical and Orthopaedic Surgery, and served as Dean of the Medical School. He also held the post of Consulting Surgeon to the Hospital for Diseases of the Hip at Sevenoaks.
He was the first Secretary in London of the British Orthopaedic Society in 1894, which comprised a small but active body of surgeons and did good work in organizing orthopaedic surgery until it was replaced in 1918 by the British Orthopaedic Association. In 1901, in conjunction with Sydney Stephenson, he was a founder of the Society for the Study of Disease in Children. At the British Medical Association he was Secretary of the Section of Diseases of Children at the Portsmouth Meeting in 1899, President of the same section at Exeter in 1907, and of the Joint Section of Orthopaedics and Diseases of Children at Newcastle upon-Tyne in 1921. In 1912 he was President of the Hunterian Society, and as Orator took the Surgery of Paralysis as his subject. He had considerable legal experience and acted as assessor in surgical cases. In 1912, too, he served as President of the Section of Diseases of Children at the Royal Society of Medicine.
Tubby received a commission as Major in the RAMC when the Territorial Force was formed in 1908, and was called up on the outbreak of war in 1914 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel attached to the 4th London General Hospital. In 1915 he was seconded for service as Consulting Surgeon to the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force with the temporary rank of Colonel AMS, but was soon transferred to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, remaining at Alexandria until 1919. For his services he was thrice mentioned in dispatches, and was decorated CMG in 1916 and CB in 1918. He found time in 1916 to make some archaeological discoveries at Chatby, near Alexandria, of which he published an account in the *Egyptian Gazette*. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on March 6th, 1924. He died at Hastings on February 23rd, 1930, survived by Beatrice, the second daughter of William Payne, of the Chamber of London, whom he married in 1890, and one daughter.
Tubby was a man of many interests. He was a surgeon who did much to make orthopaedics a speciality and to raise it above the mechanical period of its evolution. He was a good sportsman and shot deer and wild boars, an Alpine climber, an excellent linguist, and an archaeologist. As Prime Warden of the Ironmongers' Company he knew how to manage the business affairs of an important City Company and to dispense Civic hospitality with becoming eloquence. He was, too, loyal in friendship and a man of understanding. He was well known on the Continent and qualified himself to practise in Italy. He was the recipient of a Gold Medal of the 1st class from the Accademia Fisico-Chemica Italiana "for distinction in Science and the Humanities" on Feb 8th, 1915; and was also a corresponding member of the Aznerk3an Orthopaedic Association.
Publications:
*Deformities: a Treatise on Orthopaedic Surgery intended for Practitioners and Advanced Students*, 8vo, 15 plates, London, 1896. This work soon became a standard text-book. The 2nd edition was entitled
*Deformities, including Diseases of the Bones and Joints: a Text-book of Orthopaedic Surgery*, 2 vols, 8vo, 70 plates, bibliographies, London, 1912. The 2nd edition was not only rearranged but was practically rewritten. It is profusely illustrated.
*Appendicitis*, 8vo, London, 1900.
*Clinical Lectures on the Various Forms of Infra-abdominal Suppuration*, 8vo, London, 1901.
*Modern Methods in the Surgery of Paralysis, etc*. (with R JONES), 8vo, London, 1903.
"The Advance of Orthopaedic Surgery," 8vo, London, 1924; lectures reprinted from *Clinical Jour*, 1924, liii, 481, etc.
*A Consulting Surgeon in the Near East*, 8vo, London, 1921.
"Reminiscences of Chamois Hunting." - *Alpine Journal*.
Article on "Chamois Hunting" in *British Sports and Sportsmen*.
"Excavations at Chatby." - *Bull de la Soc d'Archéol*.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003310<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Tucker, Edward E (1814 - 1869)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3754942025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2012-12-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003300-E003399<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375494">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375494</a>375494<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at the Devon and Exeter and the London Hospitals. From 1837-1865 he was Surgeon to the Abersychan Ironworks and Varteg and Golynos Ironworks. He practised at Shrewsbury, and died there on July 30th, 1869.
Publication:
"Case of Excision of the Knee-joint." - *Med Times and Gaz*, 1859, ii, 356.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003311<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Fisher, Frederic Richard (1844 - 1932)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762322025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376232">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376232</a>376232<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Fisher was born at Salisbury in 1844, and entered St George's Hospital in 1863. After serving the usual term of a year as house surgeon and an additional three months owing to a death vacancy, he was asked in 1871 to take the post of house physician for six months. The post was additional to the normal staff and was created to take the place of "Apothecary", which had just been abolished. These offices, including a house surgeoncy at the Salisbury Infirmary in 1869, occupied him from 1867 to 1871. He then held various appointments as resident surgeon to distinguished people, until he settled in London and was appointed surgeon to out-patients at the Victoria Hospital for Children, Chelsea, in 1874, and surgeon to the National Orthopaedic Hospital in 1875 on the appointment of a fourth surgeon. In 1879 he became surgeon to the Surgical Aid Society. Increasing deafness obliged him to relinquish these posts: the Victoria Hospital in 1879, the National Orthopaedic Hospital in 1906, and the Surgical Aid Society in 1910. He retired to Salisbury in 1910 and was given an annuity from the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund in 1929. He died unmarried at 95 Crane Street, Salisbury, on 18 January 1932, aged 87.
Fisher was one of the last pupils of W J Little, physician to the London Hospital, who performed the first subcutaneous tenotomy in London in 1837 (see the memoir of Louis Stromeyer Little). Like his teacher he was an exponent of subcutaneous surgery and gradual methods of correcting deformity. He did good work on the aetiology of paralytic deformities of the foot, and was the first to explain clearly the mode of development of pes cavus. He classified it into two types: talipes arcuatus and talipes plantaris. He was particularly successful in the treatment of clubfoot. His method was that of gradually unfolding the foot and correcting first the varus and then the equinus, spending several weeks or even months in the process. His favourite splint was the Scarpa's shoe, the use of which has long been abandoned. He also devoted much time to the study of spinal curvature, and was amongst the first to observe that a severe total scoliosis could occur without rotation. Fisher was a keen and skilful fly-fisher. When the bromide dry plate was popularized he took up photography as a means of clinical record, and also became a very skilful photographer of landscapes.
Publications:-
Essays on the treatment of deformities of the body. Lectures on clubfoot:
(i) Lateral deviation of the spine. *Lancet*, 1885, 1, 378.
(ii) Paralytic deformity of the spine. *Ibid*. 1889, 1, 112, 165, 214, 505.
(iii) The contracted muscles of infantile paralysis. *Ibid*. 1905, 2, 585.
Orthopaedic surgery, in Ashurst's *Encyclopaedia of Surgery*, 1886, 6.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004049<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Fisher, John Herbert (1867 - 1933)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762332025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-05<br/>JPEG Image<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376233">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376233</a>376233<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born at Hillingdon, Middlesex, on 1 October 1867, the second child and second son of Ben James Fisher, MICE and Sarah Veale, his wife. Soon after his birth the family moved into Devonshire, and Fisher was educated at Exeter School, where he gained an exhibition and was a scholar. In 1887 he entered St Thomas's Hospital as Tite scholar and became afterwards Musgrave scholar and prizeman, so that in later life he used to say that it had cost his father nothing to educate him. He twice obtained the first College prize as the head of his year, and at the end of the curriculum he won the Treasurer's gold medal which was looked upon as the blue ribbon of the school. At London University he graduated MB in 1894, being placed in the first-class honours list at the MD examination, and winning the gold medal and scholarship in surgery at the BS. He was equally good at football, playing forward at "rugger" for his county as well as for the Hospital.
At St Thomas's Hospital he filled the posts of obstetric house physician, house surgeon, clinical assistant in the aural department, and ophthalmic house surgeon to Edward Nettleship. In 1895 he was appointed ophthalmic surgeon to out-patients in the Hospital on the resignation of Nettleship, and in 1915 he became surgeon and lecturer on ophthalmic surgery, positions he resigned in 1924. In the medical school of St Thomas's Hospital he was demonstrator of anatomy 1895-1903, dean 1904-7, chairman of the committee of medical and surgical officers, president of the Medical and Physical Society, and president of the Rugby Football Club.
At the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields, after acting as clinical assistant to Edward Nettleship and William Lang, he was appointed surgeon in 1900. He resigned in 1927 on reaching the age limit, and was then invited to join the Committee of Management. At the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom he was elected a member in 1915, was secretary 1907-10, vice-president 1918-20, an4i president 1920-22. He delivered a remarkable presidential address of "The personal equation". At the Royal College of Surgeons he lectured; in 1930 as Hunterian professor of surgery and pathology upon; "Perforating wounds of the eyeball, and the localization of foreign bodies, in the eye by X-ray examination", and in the same year he delivered the Bradshaw lecture, when he took as his subject "Ocular movements and judgements". He served as a Member of Council from 1923 to 1931. During the war he was gazetted captain RAMC(T) on 18 August, 1915, and served with the 5th London General Hospital, a unit which was stationed at St Thomas's Hospital.
He retired from practice in 1928 but retained the posts of ophthalmic referee to the Civil Service Commission and to the Ministry of Pensions. For some years he had charge of one of the trachoma schools in London, and was a member of the Prevention of Blindness Committee and of the editorial committee of the *British Journal of Ophthalmology*. He had also been president of the Council of British Ophthalmologists. He married in 1899 Euphemia Helen, daughter of Samuel Dinwoodie, of Dumfries, who survived him with a son and daughter. He died on 4 April 1933; Mrs Fisher died on 13 June 1944, at Arrochar, Dumbartonshire.
Fisher throughout his life was an influence for good, on account of his sterling character and high principles. Both in writing and speech he gave his views clearly and concisely. He was a fluent and decisive lecturer, and an impressive clinical teacher. As a chairman or member of committee he was almost ideal, for he was firm and judicial, quick to sift the essential from the non-essential, and well able to express his judgement lucidly and on occasion emphatically. As an ophthalmic surgeon he was noted for his exceptional knowledge of all the structures appertaining to the eye. In any discussion that might arise upon some obscure case he was able to give an immediate and detailed account of the anatomical bearings of the symptoms. His love of anatomy was shown in his chief publication, his textbook of *Ophthalmological anatomy*.
Publications:-
*Ophthalmological Anatomy with some illustrative cases*. London, 1904.
*British Journal of Ophthalmology*, 1933, 17, 381, gives a bibliography of his writings.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004050<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Fitzmaurice-Kelly, Maurice Anthony Miller (1878 - 1931)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762342025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376234">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376234</a>376234<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born 12 September 1878 at St Charles Square, London, W, the second son of Thomas Kelly, colonel in the Egyptian Army, and Catherine Fitzmaurice, his wife. His elder brother, James Fitzmaurice-Kelly (1857-1923), was Professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of London, 1916-20 (see *DNB*).
Maurice was educated at St Charles' Roman Catholic College and entered St Mary's Hospital in 1897, after winning the senior entrance scholarship in natural science. In 1903 he was house physician, and became in succession house surgeon, casualty officer, and surgical registrar in the Hospital, and demonstrator of anatomy 1906-08 in the medical school.
He joined the RAMC during the first week of the war in August 1914 and was ordered to Antwerp, but the city having fallen before his arrival he was landed at Boulogne and attached to the 13th General Hospital, in the equipment of which he took a great share. Afterwards he was surgical specialist at Calais, where the severe winter of 1916-17 injured his health. He continued to work until the summer of 1918, when he was invalided home and was appointed officer in charge of the surgical wards at the Royal Pavilion Hospital, Brighton. He had by this time developed a reputation as an orthopaedic surgeon, and was also attached to the Shepherd's Bush Special Surgical Hospital and to Queen Mary's Auxiliary Hospital at Roehampton.
Demobilized at the armistice he settled in Brighton, was elected surgeon to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, to the Hove General Hospital and, as assistant surgeon, to the Royal Sussex County Hospital. He married on 10 June 1914 Elsie Marguerite Garrett, who survived him with four daughters. He died at 35 Brunswick Square, Hove, on 5 January 1931.
Fitzmaurice-Kelly was amongst the earliest to point out that the methods of amputation used in civil practice were unsuitable for use in cases of gunshot wounds of the limbs in wartime. He advocated therefore a return to the older practice of immediate circular amputation at the seat of injury, without exposing any fresh surface and without the use of sutures; a secondary flap amputation being performed later, if it proved to be necessary. He also recommended a method of amputating at the hip joint by means of a posterior flap, the head of the femur being left in the acetabulum. The patient was afterwards provided with a "tilting table". He was a slow operator, but was extremely careful in planning his operations and in carrying out the details of after-treatment. He was a clear thinker and a good speaker.
Publications:-
Amputation at the hip joint by a posterior flap. *Proc Roy Soc Med*. 1920-21, 14, Surgery, p 169. The operation is described in greater detail in H W Carson's *Modern operative surgery*. London, 1924, 1, 141.
Some common deformities of the foot and their treatment. *Proc Brighton and Sussex med-chir Soc*. 1920-21, p 27.
Diagnosis in urinary surgery. *Ibid*. 1922 23, p 75.
Cure of hernia. *Ibid*. 1926-27, pp 1-10.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004051<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Fitzsimons, James (1897 - 1949)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762352025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-05 2013-07-16<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376235">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376235</a>376235<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born 14 February 1897, the ninth child and third son of George Fitzsimons, a farmer, and his wife, *née* Haining. He was educated at Dumfries Academy, Scotland, and Waitaki Boys High School in New Zealand. He received his medical training at Otago Medical School, Dunedin, and later at Guy's Hospital, and took the Fellowship in 1927.
Fitzsimons practised for the rest of his life in Auckland, New Zealand. He married in 1926 Miss Ringland, daughter of T H Ringland, of Napier, New Zealand, and died at 83 Remuera Road, Auckland, on 10 December 1949, aged 52. His wife survived him, with a son and two daughters.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004052<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Clogg, Herbert Sherwell (1874 - 1932)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762362025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06 2014-11-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376236">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376236</a>376236<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Wandsworth, SE, the second son of the Rev William Henry Clogg, a Wesleyan minister, and Mary King Sherwell, his wife. He was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, and the University College of South Wales. He received his medical training at Cardiff and afterwards at Charing Cross Hospital. At the University of London he gained the gold medal in anatomy and the gold medal at the MS examination in 1902. In 1900 he was appointed resident medical officer at Charing Cross Hospital, in 1903 he was appointed assistant surgeon, and at the time of his death was senior surgeon. He was also a member of the staff of the Evelina Hospital and of the South Eastern Hospital for Children. He acted as consulting surgeon to the Bute Hospital at Luton from 1915, to the Putney Hospital, and to the Chesham Cottage Hospital. From 1923 he was a member of the Court of Examiners at the Royal College of Surgeons. For many years he took an active interest in the Royal Society of Medicine, and acted as editorial secretary of the section of surgery. At the annual meeting of the British Medical Association in 1910 he was honorary secretary of the section of surgery.
He married Mildred King on 24 March 1906, who survived him with one son. He died, after a very short illness, on 21 December 1932 and was buried at Chipstead, Surrey. Clogg did much good work unostentatiously. He set a high standard of surgery and was blessed with two main attributes which go far towards making a master craftsman: a perfect pair of hands and a calm demeanour which was never ruffled. He seldom spoke at meetings, but when he did so his observations were astute and practical.
Publications:-
*The stomach, Intestine and pancreas*, with W C Bosanquet, MD London, 1909.
The rectum and anal canal, in Choyce's *System of Surgery*. 3rd edition 1932, 2, 556.
Hernia in children. *Brit J Child Dis* 1906, 3, 375.
Inguinal hernia in the child. *Clin J* 1913-14, 42, 465.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004053<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Colledge, Lionel (1883 - 1948)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762372025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376237">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376237</a>376237<br/>Occupation Otolaryngologist ENT surgeon<br/>Details Born 5 October 1883, the son of Major John Colledge of Lauriston House, Cheltenham, he was educated at Cheltenham College, at Caius College, Cambridge, and at St George's Hospital Medical School. After a period as demonstrator of anatomy at King's College in the Strand, he was appointed assistant aural surgeon at St George's, and ultimately became consulting surgeon in the ear and throat department. Before reaching his thirtieth birthday he was appointed assistant surgeon to the Golden Square Throat Hospital, and became in due course consulting surgeon to the Royal National Throat, Nose, and Ear Hospital, whose formation he had largely promoted by the amalgamation of the Golden Square and the Central London Hospitals. At the Royal National he also inaugurated the Institute of Laryngology and Otology, and he was one of the founders of the British Association of Otolaryngologists. During the war of 1914-18 he served in France, with the rank of captain, RAMC, as aural surgeon to the first army, British Expeditionary Force.
Returning to London he was soon appointed aural surgeon at St George's, where he later succeeded H S Barwell as senior surgeon, and also to the West End Hospital for nervous diseases and the Royal Masonic Hospital; and he was consulting laryngologist to the Royal Cancer Hospital. After his retirement from St George's, under an age limit, he became surgeon to the ear and throat department of the Prince of Wales Hospital, Tottenham. Colledge made his name known all over the world by his brilliant surgical application of researches undertaken in collaboration with Sir Charles Ballance and Sir St Clair Thomson. He had come into close contact with them through his service as honorary secretary of the sections of otology and of laryngology, respectively, at the Royal Society of Medicine. With Ballance he undertook repair of nerve injuries in the larynx and the face; with Thomson remarkably successful treatment of cancer of the throat. Thomson and Colledge's *Cancer of the larynx* marks an epoch in the literature of its subject. He subsequently became president of each of those sections of the society. He stayed in London through the war of 1939-45, taking full charge of the throat departments at St Mary's and at the Cancer Hospital; he was also consulting otologist to the Royal Navy. He was for many years an examiner for the Conjoint diploma in laryngology and otology; he delivered the Semon lecture in the University of London in 1927, and the Lettsomian lectures at the Medical Society of London in 1943. He was an excellent and copious writer.
Colledge married Margaret, eldest daughter of Admiral J W Brackenbury, CB, CMG. He became paralysed from acute coronary disease, and died, after eighteen months' illness, at his home 2 Upper Wimpole Street on 19 December 1948, aged 65. He was survived by his wife and their daughter Cecilia Colledge, well known as a skater. His only son Maule was reported missing from an air-raid over Berlin in September 1943. Colledge was a good linguist and a keen visitor of foreign clinics. He was elected to honorary membership of the American, French, and Hispano-American societies of his specialty. He was a burly, active man, stubborn and dogmatic in debate, and hid his benign and generous nature under a forbidding manner; trivial irritations upset him more easily than the blows of fortune which struck his later years. He had an extensive and encyclopaedic knowledge of his specialty. His amusement, rarely and briefly enjoyed, was shooting.
Publications:-
Further results of nerve anastomoses, with Sir Charles Ballance and Lionel Bailey. *Brit J Surg* 1925-26, 13, 533.
Laryngectomy for cancer of the larynx (Semon lecture). *Brit med J* 1927, 2, 834.
*Cancer of the larynx*, with Sir St Clair Thomson. London, 1930.
Malignant tumours of the pharynx and larynx, in Rodney Maingot's *Postgraduate surgery*, 1937, vol 3, p 4841.
Ear diseases. British encyclopaedia of medical practice, vol 4, 1937, p 402.
Larynx diseases. The same, vol 7, 1938, p 612.
Pharynx diseases. The same, vol 9, 1938, p 570.
The pathology and surgery of cancer of the pharynx and larynx (Lettsomiam lectures). *Trans Med Soc Lond* 1940-43, 63, 306.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004054<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Collier, Horace Stansfield (1864 - 1930)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762382025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376238">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376238</a>376238<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The elder son of Alfred Henry Collier, LSA (1884), who afterwards. practised at Cranford, near Hounslow, Middlesex, and of Sarah Stansfield, his wife. He was born on 15 July 1864 at Shore Hill, Littleborough, Lancashire. He was educated by a private tutor until he entered St Mary's Hospital as a medical student. Here he gained scholarships in medicine, surgery, and pathology, and served as house physician, house surgeon, ophthalmic house surgeon, resident medical officer, and assistant anaesthetist. He then acted for a few months as surgeon in the Glen shipping line, and on his return to England acted as resident clinical assistant to the Leicester Infirmary and fever house, being subsequently appointed clinical assistant at the London Fever Hospital. He was demonstrator of anatomy in the medical school of St Mary's Hospital from 1894 to 1898, and in 1897 was elected assistant surgeon to the hospital. From 1897 to 1902 he was surgical tutor and from 1906 to 1911 he lectured on surgery, jointly with James Ernest Lane, FRCS. In 1898 he was appointed surgeon to the Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street, where some years earlier he had been the senior resident medical officer. He was also surgeon to Lord Mayor Treloar's Home and College for Crippled Children at Alton, Hants.
His health began to fail in 1911 but he continued to act as teacher of surgery at the Royal Army Medical College in Grosvenor Road, and during the European war he served with the rank of captain, RAMC (T) as a member of the staff of No 2 General Hospital. He died, after long, retirement, at Teynham, Kent on 26 February 1930, having married Margaret, daughter of Robert Young of Clontarf, Co Dublin, who survived him but without children. James Stansfield Collier, FRCP his younger brother, was physician to St George's Hospital and died 9 February 1935. Collier was a good teacher and an excellent surgeon. He devoted himself at first more especially to the surgical diseases of children but soon acquired a large practice in general surgery. He overtaxed his strength and was thus led into drug-taking habits. Outside his profession he was interested in horses and horse-breeding, riding and hunting.
Publications:-
*An index of treatment by various authors*, edited by Robert Hutchison and H S Collier. Bristol, 1907; 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions 1908; 5th edition 1910; 6th edition 1911.
Introductory address to students. *St Mary's Hospital Gazette*, 1900, 6, 108.
Surgery of the Appendix, *ibid* 1900, 6, 124.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004055<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Collier, Mark Purcell Mayo (1857 - 1931)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762392025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376239">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376239</a>376239<br/>Occupation Otolaryngologist ENT surgeon<br/>Details Born 20 May 1857 at Bohemia House, Turnham Green, the sixth of the seven sons of George Frederick Collier and his wife Mary Anne Stanley. His father matriculated from Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 15 March 1827 but never graduated in the university; he was an MD of Leyden and was surgeon to the household of HRH the Duke of Clarence, afterwards King William IV. G F Collier's grandfather was (probably) John Collier, MCS. Mayo Collier was educated at Godolphin Grammar School, Hammersmith, at University College, London, and at St Thomas's Hospital. He went to the Dardanelles in 1878 as soon as he had obtained the LSA and was placed in medical charge of the expedition at the end of the Russo-Turkish war.
On his return to England he was assistant house physician and house surgeon at St Thomas's Hospital, and in 1881 was elected assistant surgeon to the North-west London Hospital at Haverstock Hill, now the Hampstead General and North-west London Hospital. He became surgeon to the hospital in 1901 in succession to Frederic Durham, FRCS. By that time he had devoted himself to the study of diseases of the throat, nose, and ear. He resigned therefore his office of surgeon, and was appointed surgeon to this department, then newly established at the hospital. In 1902 he was president of the British Laryngological and Rhinological Association.
In 1892 he was appointed to the staff of the National Hospital for Diseases of the Heart with the title of consulting surgeon. In 1889 he delivered three lectures as a Hunterian professor at the Royal College of Surgeons upon the physiology of the vascular system, which were published. Early in his career he was assistant demonstrator of anatomy in the medical school of the London Hospital, and was a lieutenant in the East London Royal Engineers (Volunteers). He married on 27 March 1901 Florence, elder daughter of Dr Spooner Hart of Calcutta and Brocklesby, Corona, Australia, but had no children. He died at Kearsney Abbey, Kent on 20 September 1931 and was buried in Brookwood cemetery.
Publications:-
Removal of the tongue and floor of the mouth by a new method. *Lancet*, 1885, 2, 340.
Functions of the sinus of Valsalva and auricular appendages. *Proc Royal Society*, 1887, 42, 469.
*On the physiology of the vascular system*. London, 1889.
*An address on the present position of nasal surgery and the causation of deflection & of the nasal septum*. Brit Laryng and Rhinolog Association London, 1892.
*Chronic progressive deafness its causation and treatment*. London, 1905.
*The throat and nose and their diseases*, with Lennox Browne. London, 1886.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004056<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Collins, Edward Treacher (1862 - 1932)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762402025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376240">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376240</a>376240<br/>Occupation Ophthalmologist<br/>Details Born 28 February 1862, the second son of W J Collins, MD, of King's College, Aberdeen, who practised at 1 Albert Terrace, Regent's Park, NW and his wife, Mary Anne Francisca, eldest daughter of Edward Treacher, a descendant of the Huguenot family of Garnault; his elder brother was Sir William Job Collins, FRCS, whose distinguished career is described below. Treacher Collins was educated at University College School, then in Gower Street, and at the Middlesex Hospital. From 1884 to 1887 he was house surgeon at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields; was pathologist and curator of the museum there 1887-94; was elected surgeon in 1895 in succession to John Couper, FRCS, and consulting surgeon on his retirement in 1922. He was for some years secretary of the medical board of the hospital and took a great part in the removal of the charity from Moorfields to a new site in the City Road. He was secretary of the Ophthalmological Society 1898-1901, vice-president in 1905, was awarded the Nettleship medal in 1917, and became president in the same year. During this year, 1917, he was instrumental in founding the Council of British Ophthalmologists, of which he was president in succession to J B Lawford, FRCS. He delivered the Bowman lecture in 1921, taking as his subject "Changes in the visual organs correlated with the adoption of arboreal life and the assumption of the erect posture", a masterly, comprehensive, and very interesting survey of the whole subject.
Collins was the official representative of the British government at the American Ophthalmological Congress in 1922, and in 1925 he was elected for the second time president of the Ophthalmological Society on the occasion of a convention of English-speaking ophthalmologists which met in London with the object of re-establishing the international congresses of ophthalmic surgeons which had been interrupted by the European war. In 1927, after a meeting at Scheveningen under the presidency of Professor van der Hoeve, an international council of ophthalmologists was formed with Collins as the first president. He thus took his place beside Sir William Bowman, von Graefe, Donders, and Ernst Fuchs as a leader in ophthalmology. In 1931 he was given the Mackenzie medal and took "The physiology of weeping" as the subject of his address.
He married in 1894 Hetty Emily, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Jasper Herrick of Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. The honeymoon was spent in a journey to Ispahan, where he had been summoned to treat the eyes of the Shah's eldest son. He was rewarded with the Order of the Lion and Sun, wrote *In the kingdom of the Shah*, and became lastingly interested in Persian art, more especially in the carpets and faience. He died 13 December 1932, survived by his widow, by a son, Leslie Herrick Collins who had been called to the bar, and by a daughter, Christabel. Treacher Collins died 10 April 1949.
As a young man Treacher Collins was a rugby footballer who played for the Middlesex Hospital; in later life he was a follower of the Queen's buckhounds. He was of medium height, clean shaven, courteous, and pleasant address. He was popular alike with students and patients, and was a sound teacher, a skilful operator, a loyal colleague, and a faithful friend. He did much to advance the science of ophthalmology by long and patient work both on naked-eye and microscopical preparations while he was curator of the museum and pathologist at Moorfields. At the Royal College of Surgeons he was Erasmus Wilson lecturer in 1900. He was ophthalmic surgeon to Charing Cross Hospital and to the Belgrave Hospital for Children, visiting ophthalmic surgeon to the Metropolitan Asylums Board ophthalmia schools at Swanley, Kent, consulting surgeon to the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital and to the Oxford Eye Hospital, lecturer on ophthalmology at Charing Cross Hospital, at the London School of Tropical Medicine, and at the Oxford University Postgraduate School of Ophthalmology. He left £500 to the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital for benevolent purposes, and £500 to the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom.
Publications:-
*Researches into the anatomy and pathology of the eye*. London, 1896.
*History and traditions of the Moorfields Eye Hospital*. London, 1929.
*Arboreal life and the evolution of the human eye*. Philadelphia, 1922.
*Pathology and bacteriology of the eye*. London, 1911; 2nd edition, 1925.
*In the kingdom of the Shah*. London, 1896.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004057<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Collins, Sir William Henry (1873 - 1947)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762412025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376241">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376241</a>376241<br/>Occupation Businessman<br/>Details Sir William Henry Collins was the most munificent benefactor in the history of the College, his gifts for the endowment of the scientific departments being comparable to, but surpassing, the great donations of Sir Erasmus Wilson and Sir Buckston Browne. He gave £100,000 to endow the professorship of human and comparative pathology in 1943, and a similar endowment for the professorship of human and comparative anatomy in 1945, and in 1946 a third hundred thousand for the general endowment of the scientific departments; both the professorships were named after him. He was awarded the Honorary Medal in 1944 for his services to the advancement of surgery, and was elected an Honorary Fellow in 1945.
Collins made his fortune chiefly in the Cerebos Salt Company, which he joined as a young man, and became its managing director in 1916. He was also associated with other large companies, including Fortnum and Mason, Crosse and Blackwell, and Carreras. During a severe illness his life was saved by three successful surgical operations, and he determined as far as possible to devote his wealth to promoting the welfare of the sick. He gave £25,000 to the Middlesex Hospital in 1933 to provide an X-ray diagnosis department, which was called after him. He was elected a governor and later a vice-president of the hospital. He was also closely associated with the King Edward VII Hospital at Windsor, of which he became chairman. He gave £20,000 to rebuild the out-patients department, provided new boilers for the hospital at a cost of £10,000 in 1942, and in 1938 after his appointment as chairman he made a New Year gift of £10,000 in the hope of setting an example to others according to their means. His gifts to the College are detailed above. He was knighted in 1944 at the birthday honours.
Collins was a tall, thin man; there is a bronze bust of him by Epstein at the College and another at the Middlesex Hospital, and several photographs in the College's collection. His first wife died before him; he married secondly in 1946 Mrs Norah Royce-Callingham, who survived him; there were no children. Collins died on 30 November 1947, aged 74, at Wexham Park, Slough, and was buried at Bishops Sutton, Alresford, Hampshire.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004058<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Collins, Sir William Job (1859 - 1946)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762422025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376242">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376242</a>376242<br/>Occupation Ophthalmologist Welfare reformer<br/>Details William Job Collins was a man of powerful intellect and character, who showed early promise of great achievement as a surgeon and ophthalmologist, but turned aside from his medical career to promote liberal reforms in the life and welfare of his fellow citizens, through a long life of service to the university, city, and county of London, and to the country at large, both in Parliament and through a large number of public and private commissions and societies. His fluent voice and pen were always ready to serve the causes which he had at heart. He was born in London on 9 May 1859, the eldest son of William Collins, MD of 1 Albert Terrace, Regent's Park, and Mary, eldest daughter of Edward Treacher; for fuller particulars see the foregoing account of his younger brother, Edward Treacher Collins, FRCS, who achieved distinction as an ophthalmologist.
He was educated at University College School, then still in Gower Street, and at St Bartholomew's Hospital, which he entered in 1876 after winning the Jeafferson exhibition for classics and general knowledge. He served the hospital as ophthalmic house surgeon and extern midwifery assistant, and in 1884 was assistant demonstrator of anatomy in the medical college. Collins however came to disbelieve in the value of vaccination and vivisection, and as he always had the courage to speak and write vehemently in support of his beliefs, he spoilt his chances of promotion in his own hospital, where he had been educated in strictest traditions of Harvey and Jenner. He had been a scholar and gold medallist of London University and graduated in science in 1889, the year in which he qualified as MRCS, and took the MB BS in 1881. He made postgraduate studies in ophthalmology at Utrecht and proceeded to the London MD in 1882, the FRCS in 1884, and the MS in 1885. With this equipment Collins seemed destined to rise high and quickly in the profession. He was elected to the staff of the Royal Eye Hospital and the Western Ophthalmic Hospital, and was for many years ophthalmic surgeon to the Temperance Hospital and to the Hampstead and Northwestern Hospital. In 1897 he published a useful treatise on *Cataract*, which reached a second edition in 1906.
Already in his early thirties, Collins began to show his interest and aptitude for public affairs. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Vaccination 1889-96, and from 1893 till 1927 he served on the senate of London University, being vice-chancellor 1907-09 and again 1911-12. He was elected a member of the London County Council for St Pancras in 1892, became vice-chairman in 1896, and as chairman in 1897 presented the Council's address to Queen Victoria at her diamond jubilee. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Liberal candidate for London University in 1895 and again in 1900, when Sir Michael Foster, FRS, was elected; he was returned by a large majority for West St Pancras in 1906. He was temporary chairman of committees in 1910, but went out at the general election that year. He was re-elected for Derby in 1916 and held the seat till the general election of 1918.
He had advocated providing a central ambulance service for London while serving in the LCC in 1901. A bill for this end promoted by the Council was thrown out by the Lords in 1906, and a departmental committee of the Home Office was appointed with Collins as one of the three members. This committee reported in 1909 in favour of the service, but while his two colleagues recommended that the Metropolitan Asylums Board should be the ambulance authority, Collins recorded a dissentient view in favour of the LCC. Collins now introduced his Metropolitan Ambulances bill in Parliament, and it became law in 1909; the LCC was however reluctant to operate the Act and the Ambulance Service only came into being in 1914. Collins wrote an account of the service, its beginnings and its great development, in *The Times*, 21 March 1939.
Collins served on many other commissions of enquiry: Royal Commission on vivisection 1906-12; select committee on the hop industry 1908; independent chairman of the Cumberland joint district board under the Coal-miners' Minimum Wage Act 1912; the committee on accidents to railway servants 1914-19; chairman of the Sussex agricultural wages committee 1920-39; Treasury committee on university colleges; chairman, civil servants conciliation and arbitration board 1917-18. He was British plenipotentiary to the international opium conferences at The Hague in. 1911, 1913, and 1914 and wrote for the *British Medical Journal* on opium problems. His book on the *Ethics and law of drug and alcohol addiction* was a piece of wise and humane reasoning. He was for thirty years chairman of the Central Council for district nursing for London, and on his retirement in 1944 was elected its first president. He was honorary secretary of the League of Mercy 1899-1928, a trustee of the City parochial charities and a member of the City Churches commission 1919-20. Collins was elected an honorary liveryman of the Turners Company in 1909. He was a Justice of the Peace and a Deputy-Lieutenant for the County of London and was appointed Vice-Lieutenant in 1925. He had been knighted in 1902 and was created KCVO in 1914.
During the first world war Collins served in France as a Red Cross commissioner with particular charge of ophthalmic matters. In 1918 he was Doyne memorial lecturer, speaking on "Ophthalmology in the war" at Oxford, and received the Doyne medal. He had published a manual on *Gunshot wounds of the eye* in 1917. His political study, *The aetiology of the European conflagration*, 1915, aroused some interest. He was a member of council of King Edward's Hospital Fund for London, and in 1919 signed a minority report in favour of more generous pensions for hospital officers, having previously, as a private member of parliament, secured similar improvement for asylum officers. He was president of the Medico-legal Society 1901-05, and on three occasions led deputations to different Lord Chancellors advocating the reform of death certification. He was president of the Sanitary Inspectors Association; he had himself taken the certificate of London University in sanitary science in 1887 with a gold medal; and was chairman of the Chadwick trust and the Northwestern Polytechnic. Collins was not content only to carry on the work of earlier liberals, but wrote biographies of his heroes Sir Samuel Romilly (1908) and Sir Edwin Chadwick (1924). He also made serious excursions into philosophy, publishing a study of Spinoza, and in 1905 an essay on physic and metaphysic; he was a protestant with unitarian affiliations. Collins was an active member of the Huguenot Society of London, and as its president 1926-29 gave an address on Ambroise Paré, the great Huguenot surgeon of the sixteenth century. He was one of the three founders of the Anglo-Batavian Society in 1921, and a vice-chairman of it when reconstituted as the Anglo-Netherlands Society.
He married in 1898 Jean Stevenson Wilson, elder daughter of John Wilson, MP for Govan, for many years a sister at the Temperance Hospital. Lady Collins threw herself heartily into her husband's interests in the public and charitable affairs of London, and became a leading vice-president of the League of Mercy. Her house at Beachy Head near Eastbourne was a centre of sympathy for every liberal cause. Lady Collins was long a victim of arthritis; she died at 1 Albert Terrace, Regent's Park, on 29 January 1936, and was buried at Hampstead Old Churchyard. There were no children of the marriage. Collins survived for eleven years, dying at Albert Terrace on 12 December 1946, aged 87. A memorial service was held in Crown Court Scottish presbyterian church, Covent Garden, on 30 December 1946. Collins was of medium height, broad-shouldered, with a fine head. His somewhat Olympian manner and rhetorical style of speech hid a warm-hearted friendliness. He represented the best type of independent citizen from the professional class of the later nineteenth century.
Principal publications:-
*Specificity and evolution*. London, 1884; 2nd edition 1890; 3rd edition 1920; the first edition was dedicated to Herbert Spencer.
*Cataract*. London, 1897; 2nd edition 1906.
*The man versus the microbe*. Redhill, 1903; 2nd edition 1929.
*Physic and metaphysic*. London, 1905.
*Sir Samuel Romilly's life and work*. London, 1908.
*The ethics and law of drug and alcohol addiction*. London, 1916.
*Gunshot wounds of the eye*. Oxford, 1917.
Ophthalmology and the war (Doyne memorial lecture). *Trans Ophthal Soc UK* 1918, 38, 292.
Sir William Lawrence 1783-1867. *Brit J Ophthal*. 1918, 2, 497.
*The life and doctrine of Sir Edwin Chadwick*. London, 1924.
Ambroise Paré (Presidential address), *Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London*, 1929, 13, 549.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004059<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Stilwell, James (1797 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3759482025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003700-E003799<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375948">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375948</a>375948<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and practised for forty-five years at Uxbridge. He passed the FRCS examination on the second occasion on which it was held. He enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all classes by his cheerful, generous, kindly, and self-denying actions; retired from general practice and lived at Hillingdon, assisting his son in charge of the Moorcroft Private Asylum, which in due course was managed by his grandson. He died at Moorcroft House, Hillingdon, on October 29th, 1870.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003765<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Stockwell, Thomas Goldesborough (1823 - 1897)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3759492025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003700-E003799<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375949">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375949</a>375949<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Bath, where his father was in medical practice. He became a pupil in 1842 of the Surgeons, Norman and Brown, at the Royal United Hospital. After further study at St George's Hospital, he joined his father in practice and was appointed Medical Officer to the Eastern Dispensary. In 1860 he was elected Surgeon to the Royal Mineral Water Hospital, and in 1865 Surgeon to the Royal United Hospital.
He had for many years an extensive practice in Bath and neighbourhood, for he was resourceful, dexterous, and a model of the old school as an operator. He was, in addition, Surgeon to the Puerperal Charity, to the Royal School for Daughters of Officers on Lansdown, and to the Orphan School. In 1872 he was President of the Bath and Bristol Branch of the British Medical Association. He was the oldest surgeon in the city when he died at 6 The Circus, Bath, on November 2nd, 1897.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003766<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Corner, Edred Moss (1873 - 1950)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762562025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376256">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376256</a>376256<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born on 22 October 1873 at the Manor House, Poplar, the fifth son and ninth of the ten children of Francis Mead Corner, MRCS, JP, a general practitioner, who had married his cousin Anne Corner. The family derived from Lythe, near Whitby, Yorkshire. He was educated at Epsom College, where he was head prefect, captain of the XV and a member of the cricket XI, and throughout life took a keen interest in his old school. He was honorary secretary of the Old Epsomian Club 1907-20 and subsequently its president, and was a generous subscriber to the centenary fund which he inaugurated. He was a scholar and prizeman of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and took first-class honours in the natural sciences tripos part 1 in 1894. In the same year he took the London BSc. At St Thomas's Hospital, where he received his clinical training, he won further scholarships. At the Cambridge MB BS examination 1898 he was placed first in every subject, a distinction probably unique. He took the Conjoint qualification this year, and proceeded to the Fellowship at the end of 1899; the Cambridge master of surgery degree, then considered the blue riband of achievement, he took in 1906. Corner's intellectual ability was matched by his exceedingly tall, robust, and commanding personality.
He served as house surgeon at St Thomas's and at Leeds General Infirmary, and was elected assistant surgeon to St Thomas's in 1900. He was extremely popular as a demonstrator and lecturer. Corner built up a large private practice at 37 Harley Street, and served on the honorary staff of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, and at the Purley and Wood Green Hospitals. He was also surgeon to Epsom College. During the war of 1914-18 he was commissioned in the RAMC and promoted major. He was consulting surgeon to Queen Mary's auxiliary hospital at Roehampton, and organized an amputation clinic at St Thomas's.
Corner was interested in nearly every aspect of surgery, but more particularly in orthopaedics and abdominal surgery. At the College he delivered the Erasmus Wilson lectures in 1904 on "Acute infective gangrenous processes (necroses) in the alimentary tract", and the Arris and Gale lectures in 1919 on "The nature of scar tissue and painful operation stumps". He was a vice-president of the Medical Society of London and of the Harveian Society, to which he delivered a Harveian lecture. In the British Medical Association he was secretary of the section for the diseases of children at the 1907 annual meeting, and vice-president of the section of orthopaedics in 1912. He sat on the board of advanced studies in London University, and was a visitor for King Edward's Hospital Fund. In his younger days Corner was an experienced mountaineer; he was also a learned mycologist, and an appreciative student of architecture.
He married in 1903 Henrietta, daughter of James Henderson of the Gows, Ivergowrie, Dundee. Corner was reaching the peak of a most distinguished surgical career in the years immediately following the first world war, when he was struck down in his late forties by a familial degenerative nervous disease, whose progressive severity he bore with stoical resignation for nearly thirty years, dying at the age of seventy-six after long endurance of total blindness and severe lameness. On abandoning his consulting practice in London in 1921 he was for a time superintendent of a convalescent home at Great Missenden. He died at his own home Stratton End, Beaconsfield on 2 May 1950, survived by his wife, their son, who was a lecturer in botany at Cambridge, and their two daughters.
Publications:-
*Clinical and pathological observations on acute abdominal diseases*. London, 1904.
*The surgery of the diseases of the appendix*, with W H Battle. London, 1904.
*The operations of general practice*, with I H Pinches. London, 1907; 2nd edition 1908; 3rd edition 1910.
*Diseases of the male generative organs*. London, 1907.
*Male diseases in general practice*. London, 1910.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004073<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Corsi, Henry (1893 - 1950)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762572025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376257">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376257</a>376257<br/>Occupation Dermatologist<br/>Details Born in London on 23 November 1893, the eldest son of Cesare Corsi, an Italian provision merchant, and Alice Bertarelli, his wife. He was educated at Uppingham and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he took second-class honours in the natural sciences tripos part 1, 1916. He took his clinical training at St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was house surgeon to Girling Ball. After serving as resident surgical officer at the Miller Hospital, Greenwich, he came under the influence of Dr H G Adamson in the skin department at St Bartholomew's and specialized as a dermatologist. He was chief assistant to Adamson and to Dr A C Roxburgh for sixteen years 1926-42, and then became assistant physician, retiring in 1945. He was also surgeon to the Lock Hospital, but gave most of his interest to his work as physician to St John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin, where also he was librarian from 1946 and chairman of the medical committee from 1948, and president of the St John's Dermatological Society from September 1948. He was interested in the application of new remedies and therapeutic methods, but not himself a research worker; and was a sound, helpful teacher and a sympathetic clinician He was secretary of the dermatology section at the British Medical Association annual meeting in 1934.
Corsi was a man of wide cultivation, not only bilingual in English and Italian, but a good French and German scholar, a book collector, and a student of Dante. He was a prominent bridge player in "Our Whist Club" and a regular ski-er in Italy or Switzerland. He was a delightful and drily humorous after-dinner speaker. He was dogged by ill-health in his last years, following a car accident, and died suddenly in Switzerland on 1 January 1950, aged 56. Corsi married in 1924 Margaret Doyle, who survived him with a son and daughter. His house, 114 Harley Street, was destroyed by enemy action in the war of 1939-45 and he lost most of his possessions; he subsequently lived at 95 Harley Street.
Publications:-
Epithelioma of the skin: a review of treatment. *St Bart's Hosp J* 1938, 46, 28. Therapeutic uses of thorium x. *Lancet*, 1943, 2, 346.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004074<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Anderson, Alexander Richard (1855 - 1933)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3759552025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003700-E003799<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375955">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375955</a>375955<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Plymouth, 12 April 1855, eldest son of Colonel Richard Anderson, of the 56th Essex Regiment and afterwards of the KLI, and his wife Eliza Harriet Outerbridge. He received his medical education at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and as soon as he had qualified, was appointed resident surgeon on 31 January 1877 at the Nottingham General Hospital. He remained in this post for thirteen years until he was appointed surgeon in 1889. At the time of his death he was senior surgeon to the General Hospital, senior surgeon to the Bagthorpe Military Hospital, and an ex-president of the Nottingham Medico-chirurgical Society. He retired from practice in August 1923 and lived thereafter at Boscombe, where he died on 28 July 1933 and was buried in Boscombe cemetery. He is described as an excellent surgeon, a sincere friend, and a bad enemy.
Anderson married in 1890 Edith (d 1928), daughter of C E Tuck of St Giles, Norwich. His only child was killed in the war of 1914-18.
Publications:
Actinomycosis of the face and neck cured by operation. *Med-char Trans*, 1892, 75, 103.
Cases of perforated gastric ulcer treated by operation. *Notts medico-chir soc*. 1897.
Some remarks on the radical cure of hernia; 190 cases of operation for the cure of oblique inguinal hernia. *Brit med J*. 1901, 1, 263.
Twenty-six consecutive cases of gastroenterostomy. *Lancet*, 1905, 2, 944.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003772<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Anderson, George Reinhardt (1864 - 1931)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3759562025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003700-E003799<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375956">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375956</a>375956<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Eldest son and first child of Henry Bunting Anderson, MRCS and Elizabeth Reinhardt his wife. He was born at 78 East India Road, Poplar, E on 18 May 1864. He was educated at the Stepney Grammar School and at New College, Eastbourne. He received his medical education at St Thomas's Hospital, where he was house physician and resident accoucheur. In 1889 he was surgeon to the Gould cable repair expedition's SS *Faraday*, and on his return to England was house surgeon to the Wolverhampton Eye Hospital. He afterwards settled in general practice in Southport, and was lecturer on hygiene at the Victoria Science and Art Schools. In 1896 he was appointed honorary medical officer to the Southport Infirmary, a position he held until his resignation in 1924, when he was complimented by being elected consulting surgeon, having acted as chairman of the medical board from 1916 to 1924. During the war of 1914-18 he was surgeon to the VAD hospitals in the neighbourhood of Southport and was rewarded with the MBE.
Throughout his professional life he took an active part in Southport municipal affairs. He was a member of the town council for many years, became a borough magistrate in 1923 and was elected Mayor of the borough on 9 November 1924.
He married in December 1893 Eleanor Annie Burrows, who survived him with one son and three daughters.
He died on 2 July 1931 and was buried at Birkdale cemetery, after a service at the Mornington Road Wesleyan Church, Southport.
Publications:-
Case of strangulated obturator hernia in a woman aged 75. *Lpl med-chir J*. 1900, 20,271.
Five cases illustrating diseases of the gall-bladder. *Ibid*. 1908, 28, 133.
Three cases of intestinal obstruction. *Lancet*, 1904, 1, 1787.
Notes on a series of operations for the accidents and complications of gastric ulcer. *Ibid*. 1904, 2, 585.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003773<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bell, Leighton Craig (1923 - 2013)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762602025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2015-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376260">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376260</a>376260<br/>Occupation General surgeon Thoracic surgeon<br/>Details Leighton Craig Bell was a consultant general surgeon at Pontefract, Castleford and Goole hospitals. He was born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, on 17 February 1923 and studied medicine at Queen's University Belfast, qualifying MB BCh BAO in 1945. He gained his FRCS in 1952.
Prior to his consultant appointment, he was a senior surgeon to the government of Bahrain, a senior registrar in thoracic surgery to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, and a research fellow in thoracic surgery at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
Leighton Craig Bell died on 5 May 2013 in Ramsey, Cambridge. He was 90.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004077<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Blacklay, James Brydon (1921 - 2013)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762612025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Neil Weir<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2014-06-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376261">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376261</a>376261<br/>Occupation ENT surgeon<br/>Details James Bryden Blacklay was a consultant ENT surgeon to the South East Kent Health District from 1957 until his retirement in 1981. He worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Folkestone, with sessions at the Buckland Hospital, Dover, the William Harvey Hospital at Willesborough, Ashford, and the Victoria Deal Walmer and District War Memorial Hospital. He described his work as 'run of the mill for a provincial ENT surgeon', but found in it great satisfaction and prided himself on keeping his waiting lists short. Over time the pattern of work in his area changed, such that he was never without a challenge.
He was born on 16 February 1921 in Accrington, Lancashire, to Oliver Henry Blacklay, a general practitioner who had an Edinburgh FRCS and MD, and Emily Mabel Blacklay (née Forsyth), a teacher who had gained an Edinburgh MA. Educated at Crewe County Secondary School and Leys School, Cambridge, James Blacklay attended the London Hospital Medical College from 1938 to 1943.
Immediately after qualification, he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a surgeon lieutenant and for a time was shore-based in Ceylon. Later he served in V-class destroyers in the Far East Fleet.
He was demobilised in 1947 and returned to postgraduate training at the Hammersmith Hospital as a house surgeon to George Grey Turner and Ian Aird, both of whom he greatly respected. He moved on to the Royal Cancer Hospital (later renamed the Royal Marsden Hospital) as a house surgeon to Lawrence Abel and Ronald Raven. Blacklay had hoped to become a general surgeon, but after the Second World War competition was particularly heavy. Having gained the FRCS in December 1948, he eventually decided to switch to ENT and passed the diploma in laryngology and otology in 1953 whilst a registrar at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital. He completed his training as senior ENT registrar at King's College Hospital, from 1954 to 1957, and was appointed consultant ENT surgeon to the South East Kent Health District in 1957.
As a member of the British Medical Association, Blacklay served his local branch as honorary treasurer and honorary secretary. He was also a founder member of the Semon Club (an academic group of ENT surgeons named after the laryngologist, Sir Felix Semon).
In 1962 Blacklay bought Washington Farm, 10 acres of pasture, where for 30 years he single-handedly reared a flock of 35 breeding ewes. To add to this work, in 1977, he planted a small vineyard which produced 100-150 bottles of white wine per year, and kept bees.
James Blacklay married Margaret Elizabeth Calbourne (née Johnson) in 1948. They had two daughters: Sarah, born in 1950, who became a teacher, and Harriet, born in 1951, who qualified in medicine in 1975 and became a general practitioner. Her daughter, Eleanor, has become the fourth generation of her family to qualify in medicine.
James Blacklay died on 5 March 2013 at the age of 92. Predeceased by his wife, he was survived by his daughters, six grandchildren and one great grandchild.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004078<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bookallil, Anthony Joseph (1940 - 2013)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762622025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby John Christie<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2013-08-14<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376262">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376262</a>376262<br/>Occupation Neurosurgeon<br/>Details Anthony Joseph 'Tony' Bookallil was a neurosurgeon at Newcastle, New South Wales. He studied medicine at Sydney University, after completing a pharmacy degree, graduating with honours in 1967. He then completed two years residency at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, before heading to England, where he gained his FRCS and, in 1973, commenced on his neurosurgery training at Oxford.
At about the same time, it was decided that there was a need for a neurosurgery service in Newcastle. Advice as to a suitable candidate was sought, and Richard Gye suggested Tony. Tony was duly recruited and arrived in Newcastle in 1975, fresh from his training, where he was faced with the task of setting up a new specialty with no trained ward or theatre staff, no infrastructure, and the prospect of being almost constantly on call for an indefinite period of time (this lasted for 13 years, until a second neurosurgeon arrived in 1988). Luckily for the population of Newcastle, they had been blessed with a man with an enormously strong constitution, who could be up all night dealing with a head injury, and then come home, wake his children and take them to their swimming lessons. At that time the concept of safe working hours was still many years off.
Over 25 years he performed an estimated 6,000 operations, including back operations, disc removals, spina bifida corrections, brain tumour resections and head injury repairs.
Not content with a clinical workload far greater than any of his colleagues, Tony also became very involved in hospital life, serving in many positions on the medical staff council and division of surgery, including stints as chair of both. He was also involved with the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia, being on the organising committee for an extremely successful World Congress of Neurosurgery in Sydney in 2001.
Tony had an unswerving commitment to public medicine that continued well beyond his attempted retirement in 2002. After the best-attended retirement dinner that Newcastle had seen, he still came back whenever he was asked, to fill gaps in both the clinical roster and in administration.
Outside medicine, Tony's great loves were his family and his music. He was involved with choral singing in Newcastle and was president of the Newcastle Musica Viva committee. In his retirement he studied music at the University of Newcastle.
Tony died on 21 February 2013, aged 72, after a short illness. He was survived by his wife, Gay, children Marianne, Tom and Anthony, and his four grandchildren. His funeral was at Newcastle's Sacred Heart Cathedral, where he had been a member of the choir. As well as family, friends and colleagues, the service was notable for the large number of his patients who came to pay their respects. He left behind a very grateful city.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004079<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Bromley, Lance Lee (1920 - 2013)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762632025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby P E A Savage<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2014-04-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376263">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376263</a>376263<br/>Occupation Cardiothoracic surgeon<br/>Details Lance Bromley was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at St Mary's Hospital, London. He was born on 16 February 1920 to Lancelot Bromley, a surgeon at Guy's Hospital, and Dora Ridgway Bromley née Lee of Dewsbury, Yorkshire. Educated at St Paul's School, Lance Bromley obtained his 1st MB examination there and went up to Caius College, Cambridge, in 1938 to read medicine. On obtaining his 2nd MB, he was offered a place for his clinical training at St Mary's by the dean, Charles Wilson (Later Lord Moran).
The Blitz on London in the early 1940s forced the medical school to evacuate its students to Harefield Hospital near Uxbridge in northwest London, an Emergency Medical Services hospital in the grounds of a sanatorium for patients with tuberculosis. The students were taught medicine by George Pickering and surgery by David Levi. Lance, like many medical students, was much more interested in meeting real patients, although he admitted to being rather nervous and hesitant to begin with. It was an excellent beginning to clinical training and he was to see a variety of medical and surgical conditions, many of which were in a very advanced stage.
With the cessation of enemy bombing the medical school returned to Paddington. During this time he left the wards for three months - going back to anatomy and physiology and taking the primary examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Sport was not neglected and he was selected to play rugby for the Barbarians from 1940 to 1943. Around this time Lance was a demonstrator of anatomy and student clinical assistant in the neurology department, working with Wilfred Harris, who was an expert in treating trigeminal neuralgia by needling through the front of the face into the ganglion.
Qualifying in December 1943, Lance was appointed as a house surgeon to the senior surgeon at St Mary's R M Handfield-Jones, who was to become his 'father figure' and mentor. As the war with Germany continued, Bromley joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in December that year and was sent by troopship to India. While house surgeon to Thomas Field at the 40th West African General Hospital he was responsible for the care of West African troops fighting the Japanese with General Slim's 14th Army in Burma. There were many medical conditions, but filariasis and yaws were common conditions and a number of soldiers were suffering from schistosomiasis requiring cystocopy for diagnosis and follow up.
Back in London with the rank of captain, Lance passed the final FRCS examination and obtained an ex-service registrar post in general surgery at St Mary's soon, moving up to senior registrar. The first year was spent with R M Handfield-Jones, A E Porritt and John Simpson, an ENT surgeon; and the second with Arthur Dickson Wright. Lance recalled these being the two happiest and most interesting years of his life. The work was varied, with many acute conditions. Dickson Wright was a master technician who would tackle any surgical problem. Unfortunately he had no idea of time: arriving an hour or so late for his afternoon session only to mumble something and disappear, returning at 10.30pm with never a word to the waiting team.
In the summer of 1949 Lance's surgical appointment ended and he spent three months as a supernumerary registrar on the medical unit. Donald Brooks, a physician at St Mary's and the Brompton, urged him to apply for the resident surgical officer post at that hospital. Appointed in 1949, he worked with Clement Price Thomas, Bill Cleland and Norman Barrett. Pulmonary tuberculosis was still a common condition, with streptomycin just beginning to be introduced. Thoracic surgeons performed thoracoplasties and segmental lung resections. Adhesion section done via a thoracoscope was a common technique to induce a complete pneumothorax. Lung cancer was especially common, and resection was the only hope of cure at that time. Cigarette smoke was just being recognised as a cause, but little was done to discourage it. Price Thomas, having chain-smoked throughout his life, including during outpatient sessions, was to develop lung cancer himself.
On completion of the Brompton attachment, Lance was appointed extra senior registrar at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at the Hammersmith Hospital working with Bill Cleland, Hugh Bentall and Denis Melrose, who was developing a heart lung machine. While still at the Hammersmith Lance became a senior lecturer to the surgical unit at St Mary's under Charles Rob.
In 1952 he met a physiotherapist, Rosemary Anne Holbrook, at a party and they soon married. Shortly before taking up his consultant appointment Lance and Anne, with baby Christina, spent 10 months in the United States on an American Association for Thoracic Surgery travelling scholarship. Based at Harvard in the laboratories of Francis D Moore, whose vision of surgical teaching included physics, physiology, biochemistry, nutrition and metabolism, Lance saw at first hand the developments in cardiothoracic surgery which were to influence his subsequent approach to the specialty. While at Harvard Anne and Lance befriended H A F Dudley, who had a research post there, but who had left his wife and children behind in Edinburgh. Later Lance was to play a large part in encouraging Hugh Dudley, who by then had been 'transported' to Australia, to accept the offer of the chair in surgery at St Mary's.
In 1953 Lance was appointed as a consultant thoracic surgeon to St Mary's Hospital. These were exciting years, with the rapid development of cardiac surgery and he still had a part-time appointment at the Hammersmith, where cardiopulmonary bypass was being developed. The same year he was also appointed as a consultant general surgeon at Teddington Hospital for one half day a week, alternating an outpatients' clinic with an operating session. This rewarding appointment, away from the stresses of cardiothoracic surgery, continued until his retirement.
In the early 1950s the traditional work of the thoracic surgeon, pulmonary, pleural and oesophageal, was steadily expanding into the fields of cardiac surgery. Closed procedures such as valvotomy were soon augmented by more complex operations with the introduction of cardiopulmonary bypass. Cardiac and thoracic surgery was not an easy undertaking in those early days; patients were often very high risk and even 'too late' for salvage. Procedures now considered routine were pioneering operations. Each operation required different surgical skills and an understanding of varying physiological changes. One needed to be both a master of surgical technique and an expert in peri- and post-operative management. Initially Lance performed his own cardiac catheterisations until Edwin Besterman joined him as a consultant cardiologist, when they were able to form a joint cardiology surgical ward, with a happy and efficient nursing team and their own mini ITU. Before each operating session there would be a full team meeting at which every clinical detail and investigation result was considered with great care. At the end of each operation he would dictate a full description of the findings and procedure, often illustrated with a sketch, which was typed up immediately by his secretary. Lance was a very sound surgeon and a very calm one - never known to raise his voice. He appreciated his staff and always thanked the nurses and perfusionists after an operating session. St Mary's was fortunate at that time to have two pioneering peripheral vascular surgeons on the staff, H H G Eastcott and Ian Kenyon, and together they performed a number of ground-breaking procedures.
At the suggestion of Dickson Wright, Lance developed a link with medical services in Gibraltar and, with Edwin Besterman's connections in Malta, they made regular trips to these countries to see outpatients, perform bronchoscopies and arrange for complicated surgical cases to go to St Mary's for operations under health agreements between the UK and Gibraltar and Malta. With rheumatic fever common in those countries, there was no shortage of patients with mitral stenosis.
Although Lance never showed any outward signs of the pressure of his work, the inevitable failures affected him. He cared deeply for his patients and if one did not survive surgery he would often take the next day off for reflection; and in later years he would dream of his 'failures'. He was soon invited to join the London Society of Thoracic Surgeons, where the 'second generation' of thoracic surgeons (the first generation included Clement Price Thomas, Russell Brock and Thomas Holmes Sellors), who had had their training in London, would meet once a year 'to report to each other their two most dreadful mistakes in the previous year'. Meetings started with a topic review or presentation of surgical outcomes followed, after lunch, by the presentation of individual surgeon's 'Charlies'. The meeting was always followed by a good dinner. The Charlies Club met from 1952 to 1992 and the final minute recorded: 'When the Charlies were first set up it was thought by some of us that we might, as years went by, become pompous and thus unable to think of any mistakes we may have made. Happily this did not happen and from the first to the last clinical meeting the essential spirit of the Club prevailed and there was no lack of ghastly errors to report' (Royal College of Surgeons of England Archives. MS0148. London Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Minutes of Meetings of The Charlies Club. 1952-1992).
With an increasingly busy professional life, Lance and Anne moved from Roehampton to Hyde Park Crescent, a short walk from the hospital. Now with three daughters and a larger house, there was always extra room for visitors, and lonely trainees from the Antipodes were often to be found lodging in the attic. Lance was a family man and loved the evening meal with all the family in their basement kitchen. Family and friends joined together in a meal that would last for hours - with Lance fast asleep at the end of the table by the conclusion of the evening!
For most of Lance's consultant career he was supported only by senior registrars rotating through general or vascular surgery. In the 1970s surgery for coronary artery disease was developing rapidly as coronary angiography became readily available under the direction of consultant radiologist David Sutton. Now in his 50s, Lance was not happy with undertaking the fine suturing of artery and vein grafts, and delegated this task to a number of able general senior registrars who worked as his first assistant. In 1976 Stuart Lennox, on the staff of the Brompton Hospital, became a part-time consultant at Mary's. Having been 'solo' for so many years, Lance was able to slow down at last.
Lance enjoyed teaching and for several years was an examiner for the London final MB BS examination. Although he published a number of papers, he admitted to never being an academic and usually had to get up early to complete a paper to meet a deadline.
Lance found his year as chairman of the medical committee interesting and challenging. Working with the house governor, Alan Powditch, and the matron, Miss Douglas, he dealt with the personalities and idiosyncrasies of his colleagues with charm and efficiency.
Lance loved sailing and often said he would have liked to have been a yacht builder. Initially crewing for friends, he was able eventually to afford his own yacht and became a member of the Royal Ocean Yacht Club. Anne would usually accompany him (although she was easily seasick) and many of his friends and trainees were invited to join them on their Nicholson 32 *Murmur* sailing out of Newhaven or Gosport. On his retirement in 1980 at the age of 60, Lance became director of Medical and Health Services in Gibraltar for three years - where he could keep his last Nicholson boat *Sunmaid of Sussex*. In retirement he had time to take up golf again with renewed vigour and enthusiasm, and enjoyed gardening at their cottage at Barcombe.
An early pioneering cardiothoracic surgeon who developed the speciality single-handed in his hospital, Lance Bromley is remembered with affection by his colleagues as a man of great integrity, by his many surgical trainees as a teacher, mentor and friend who showed his concern and interest in their careers, and by his patients for his kindness, gentleness and surgical skill. He was devoted to his wife Anne and their three daughters Tina, Louise and Rachel. He died on 25 April 2013, aged 93.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004080<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Campbell, Allan Gordon (1916 - 2011)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762642025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Elizabeth Thompson<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2015-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376264">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376264</a>376264<br/>Occupation General practitioner General surgeon<br/>Details Allan Gordon Campbell, known as 'AG', was born on May 4, 1916, in Adelaide, the first child of Iris (née Fisher) and Gordon Campbell. His sister, Judith, was born in 1920.
Schooled at St Peter's College, Allan entered the University of Adelaide Medical School at 16. At university, he excelled at sprinting, as had his father. By remarkable coincidence both held the junior and senior State Sprint Championships and Inter-University 100 yards championship 30 years apart.
After graduating in 1938, Allan became Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH). His registrar, Dr Ina Fox, three years his senior, later became his wife. In 1940, he became an RMO at the Adelaide Children's Hospital. His grandfather, Dr Allan Campbell, who was married to Florence Ann (sister of Sir Samuel Way, Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Justice), founded the hospital in 1876.
Allan joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserve as Surgeon Lieutenant in 1939. During World War II, he served on the destroyer HMAS *Vendetta*. In 1941 following evacuation from Greece, Allan, then 25, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for service and bravery.
While on leave, he married Dr Ina Fox in 1942 at St Peter's College Chapel. After discharge, in 1945, Allan returned to Adelaide to join a general practice at Hindmarsh. He then began surgical training at the RAH. He gained Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1949 and Master of Surgery in 1950.
At that time, to practice in Australian public hospitals, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, England, was required. Allan attended Hammersmith Hospital, London, then Warrington General Hospital, Lancashire. He was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1951.
On return to Adelaide in 1953 Allan was appointed Honorary Assistant Surgeon at the RAH, becoming Honorary Surgeon in 1963. His vision - broader than usual at the time - included the surgery of trauma and lead to the mentorship of a succession of younger sub-specialty surgeons. Upon abolition of the honorary system in 1970, he became a Senior Visiting Surgeon in 1971. Throughout this time he held teaching appointments in Surgery and Surgical Anatomy at the University of Adelaide Medical School, was a member of the Curriculum Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, the Foreign Practitioners Assessment Committee, the Advisory Committees to the University of Adelaide, RAH and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and was Visiting Specialist in General Surgery to the Department of Repatriation.
In 1976 following establishment of Flinders Medical Centre, Professor Jim Watts offered Allan, then 60, the position of Senior Visiting Surgeon which he accepted. In those days, it was unusual for a Senior Surgeon to move from an established position to new territory, but Allan's sense of adventure, wisdom, practicality and humility ensured the move was successful. He retired from FMC in 1981, aged 65.
For years, Allan conducted his private practice from the Botanic Chambers opposite the RAH. He also visited Angaston and Mount Gambier Hospitals. Allan was a mentor and role model to several generations of surgeons and offered wise counsel in difficult clinical and management scenarios. He was a life member of the AMA.
Although a keen golfer, Allan chose rose-growing as his hobby, so he could be on call and near the family. It also provided opportunities to meet people outside of medicine. He was an adept horticulturalist. At its peak, his home garden boasted around 800 rose bushes, as well as camellias, orchids, hydrangeas and fruit trees.
Allan was involved with the Rose Society for 50 years. He was president in South Australia from 1974 to 1976, and nationally in 1975 and 1981. He was a judge at Rose Society Shows and a delegate to meetings of the World Federation of Rose Societies. For service to the Rose in Australia, he received the T A Stewart Memorial Award in 1976 and the Australian Rose Award in 1981.
Allan established rose gardens at various hospitals, including the RAH in 1976. A commemorative plaque was later placed its North Terrace end. Allan was a national representative on the Board of the National Rose Trial Garden at the Botanic Gardens. He established a rose garden at Pineview Retirement Village and his monthly notes on Rose Care were published in a book "Pineview Roses - A Rose Lover's Handy Guide", proceeds of which go to the Women's and Children's Hospital.
Allan and Ina were active members of their local church, St Chad's, Fullarton, for 50 years. Allan served on the Parish Council and was the Synod Representative for years. He was a generous financial supporter of the Parish. Allan and Ina held many open days of their garden in Fisher Street to raise funds for the Parish.
Allan and Ina celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1992. Allan was devastated when Ina died suddenly in 1998.
Allan died on June 29, 2011, aged 95. He is survived by his two daughters, Anne and Elizabeth and two grandchildren, Alexandra and Andrew. He is remembered as a hard-working, conscientious, talented, generous and humble gentleman who maintained dignity and humour until the very end.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004081<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Elmes, Christopher Robert ( - 2011)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762652025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Sarah Gillam<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2015-06-05<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376265">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376265</a>376265<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Christopher Robert Elmes was a surgeon who worked in Australia. He gained his FRCS in 1972 and was also a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He died on 26 July 2011.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004082<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hollender, Louis Francois (1922 - 2011)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762662025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby N Alan Green<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2014-09-24<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376266">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376266</a>376266<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Professor Louis-Francois Hollender was a well-known European general surgeon with interests in gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic disorders. He was head of the department of general surgery at the Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg, from 1970 until 1991, when he was awarded emeritus status. Over the years he trained lots of young surgeons from many countries in Europe and was a natural linguist, speaking easily in German, English and his native French, and being able to switch with ease from one to another in conversation.
He was born in Strasbourg on 15 February 1922. His father, Emile Hollender, was a pharmacist who married Clotilde Fritsch. He had one sister, Monique, who followed in her father's footsteps and became a pharmacist. After schooling at St Étienne private Catholic school in Strasbourg, he decided to study medicine; however, the Second World War intervened. Strasbourg and all of the Alsace region was annexed by the Third Reich, aided by the Vichy government. Robert Wagner, the head of the civil administration, acting directly under Hitler's orders, terrorised the local population. Some 50,000 people were expelled and many deported. All symbols of France were suppressed and the University of Strasbourg relocated to Clermont-Ferrand in central France in order to retain its French identity.
Many young men from Strasbourg were forced to enter the German Army, but Louis Hollender had other ideas. To avoid recruitment into the Wehrmacht, he went into hiding for several weeks. Having relocated to Clermont-Ferrand with the University of Strasbourg, he became active in various areas of the resistance movement and in August 1944 participated in the fighting for the liberation of Paris. For his actions he received several commendations, including a certificate for his sterling work in the defence of l'hotel de ville in Paris.
The liberation of the city of Strasbourg itself, as the Allies advanced into Germany, was highly symbolic. General Charles de Gaulle insisted that only French forces should retake the city, and General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque and his troops swore an oath to fight until their flag flew 'over the Cathedral of Strasbourg'. This was only achieved on 23 November 1944. It was some time before the university returned from central France and to normal activities, but Hollender was able to resume his studies and to pass his qualifying examinations in stages. In his MD examination, he obtained the highest praise from the judges for his dissertation.
From 1946 to 1950 Hollender served internships in Strasbourg's hospitals. His overall surgical training was undertaken under the guidance of A G Weiss and he rose through the surgical ranks from assistant in surgery to full surgeon in 1959. By 1969 he had become surgeon-in-chief to the department of general surgery and gastrointestinal services at Strasbourg, thereby replacing Weiss, his surgical mentor.
In 1947, during his earlier training years and in order to gain thoracic surgical experience, Hollender worked in London with Sir Clement Price Thomas, and later went to Stockholm for cardiovascular experience with Clarence Crafoord. At the Karolinska Institute, heparin prophylaxis had been in use since the 1930s, and Crafoord pioneered mechanical positive-pressure ventilation for thoracic operations, as well as performing the first successful repair of coarctation of the aorta in 1944. In this new but expanding field, Crafoord had a close rival, Robert E Gross of the Boston Children's Hospital, who had performed the first ligation of a patent ductus.
Hollender was a committed European, working in collaboration with departments in Strasbourg, Freiburg and Basle. With the aid of a grant from the French government and as a Fulbright fellow, he travelled to the USA to gain endocrine and more gastrointestinal training. In the States, he worked mainly at centres in St Louis with Evarts A Graham at the Barnes Hospital and in New York, where his mentor at the Memorial Hospital was Alexander Brunschwig. Moving to Boston, his definitive post was at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was attached to Edward D Churchill and Richard H Sweet. His final move was to Chicago: at the Billings Hospital he was tutored by Lester Reynold Dragstedt and then by Warren H Cole at the Illinois Research Hospital.
Following the original work of Dragstedt, Hollender took an early interest in vagotomy in the management of peptic ulcers. Originally an advocate of truncal vagotomy, in 1967 he reported the results of 300 cases, with an analysis of the side effects. Under his influence, Strasbourg became a leading centre for highly selective vagotomy. Later Hollender organised an international conference to sum up the position on surgical treatment. With the advent of drug therapy, the 40-year reign of vagotomy was brought to an end.
Hollender also took an interest in the surgical treatment of hiatus hernia and acute and chronic pancreatitis, and in particular the surgical approach to acute pancreatitis by excising necrotic areas in addition to other supportive measures. The advent of imaging helped decision-making in surgical intervention in the management of acute pancreatitis.
Once established in Strasbourg, it was inevitable that Louis Hollender would be invited to become a visiting professor to centres in Europe and further afield. These included Rome (1972), Buenos Aires (1973), Lausanne (1975), Athens (1976), Berne (1978), Bahia Bianca, Argentina (1978), London (1979), Valencia (1982), Cordoba (1982), Sofia (1982), East Berlin (1983), Budapest (1984), Santa Fe (1985), Campinas, Brazil (1985), Lima, Peru (1986), Santiago (1987) and Indianapolis (1991).
He wrote hundreds of papers and contributed to many books dealing with the surgery of peptic ulcer and pancreatic problems. He was a member of the editorial committees of several surgical journals, including *World Journal of Surgery*, *Digestive Surgery* and *Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery*.
In 1969 Hollender, together with Giuseppi Grassi and G Benedetti-Valentini of Rome, held discussions on organising gatherings of gastrointestinal surgeons of world-renown. The trio founded the Collegium Internationale Chirurgiae Digestivae, later known as the International Society for Digestive Surgery.
Hollender was a member of some 20 French medical societies and a founder member of four, becoming elected president of several of them. He was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member or fellow of 18 other foreign surgical societies. In April 1980 he was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was further honoured by the Academy of Medicine of Buenos Aires, as well as the Deutsch Gesellschaft für Chirurgie. He received numerous honorary degrees, including from the universities of Rome, Cordoba and Athens.
The decorations he received from the French republic not only recognised his professional qualities, but also his political and social commitments as well. He was honoured with the chevalier de la légion d'honneur, the commander des palmes académiques (a decoration for services to education in France) and the silver medal of the French Red Cross.
Outside his busy clinical commitments, he was interested in the history of medicine. He was widely read in both poetry and philosophy, enjoying the works of Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. He was also a lover of classical music, the works of J S Bach being high on his list of favourites.
In March 1957, Hollender married Nicole Ziegler. They had two daughters, Laure and Emmanuelle, and four grandchildren. The Hollender tradition of medicine has continued: Emmanuelle and her daughter Margaux are both doctors. Predeceased by his wife on 22 November 1994, Louis-Francois Hollender died on 13 May 2011, from lung cancer, although he had never smoked and was virtually a teetotaller. He was 89.
When he was admitted as an honorary fellow of the RCS, Hollender was described as '…a surgeon, savant, teacher and Anglophile…' His family describe him as having qualities so essential in a surgeon, including 'respect, availability and attention to others'. Neat in his appearance and professional in his approach, he had 'above all…a very big heart'.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004083<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jardine, James Lewis (1929 - 2012)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762672025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby N Alan Green<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2013-06-26<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376267">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376267</a>376267<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Jim Jardine was a gifted general surgeon, a kind and compassionate doctor who practised in Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand. He loved the people and had an extraordinary gift for remembering patients' names. Moreover, he had a special rapport with his Maori patients and their families. One of his colleagues, a pathologist, said of him: 'He instinctively knew when to operate and when to wait, his judgement was always sound.'
Jim was born in Wairoa, on the North Island, on 13 August 1929, the son of a hard-working and very popular general practitioner, Edmund Basil Jardine, and his wife Nancy née Stock. Jim was the oldest of the family and had two sisters, Beverley and Anne.
Jim went to the local primary school and then to Wanganui Collegiate School, a private boys' school with boarding and day pupils. Founded in 1852, it has strong links with the Anglican Church. Here he had a good academic reputation, and was also known for his sporting prowess. He was particularly grateful to Gordon McBeath, his piano teacher, who instilled in him a lifelong love of and interest in music.
From secondary school he entered Otago University in 1947. He graduated in 1953, with an award for his final year thesis on 'The Maori mother and her child'. His wiry physique allowed him to play rugby to a good level at scrum-half for the university team.
Shortly after qualifying, he married a stunning blonde, Janet Waterworth ('Jan'), a neonatal nurse and the only daughter of a Hawkes Bay farmer, Mason Waterworth and his wife Margaret née Alexander. Jim and Jan were a perfectly matched couple and ideal parents for their family of five.
Jim did a series of preliminary posts in New Zealand, before sailing to the United Kingdom to gain more surgical experience. He was fortunate to obtain an excellent two-year post at the Central Middlesex Hospital, London, where he was supervised by Peter Gummer, a general surgeon who worked closely with Sir Francis Avery-Jones, the well-known gastroenterologist. J D Fergusson, a pioneer urologist, and a founder member of the British Association of Urological Surgeons, also tutored him in urology.
Perhaps through Peter Gummer's influence, Jim then went to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and the Jenny Lind Hospital for Children as a surgical registrar. He gained a wealth of experience in general surgery, urology, vascular and paediatric conditions and emergency neurosurgery. After passing the FRCS in 1958, he, Jan and their first three children returned to New Zealand in 1960.
For a year he took a temporary post as a surgeon at the Cook Hospital, Gisborne, but in 1961 he left for Auckland, to assess a post as a surgeon with the Auckland Hospital Board. Fortunately, he called in to see one of his former class mates, Murray McDonald, who casually mentioned that there was a surgical position available at the Rotorua Hospital. He called in to see the then superintendent, Eric Bridgeman. Jim was immediately appointed as surgeon to the Rotorua Hospital, where he soon became director of surgery.
In 1962 a small private hospital closed, so Jim, with other medical consultants and general practitioners and in conjunction with the local business community, set up a private hospital 'St Andrews', which opened in 1965. He was appointed as medical director and continued to serve the community well in both hospitals until he retired in 1996. During this busy practical life he wrote just one joint publication: 'Acute appendicitis in a premature infant: a case report' (*Aust N Z J Surg*.1971 May; 40[4]: 362-4).
Active in the local community, Jim became president of the Bay of Plenty Camellia Society, chairman of Rotorua Primary School Board Trust in the 1960s and a committee member for the Outward Bound Trust in the 1970s. In 1974 he became chairman of the Rotorua Taupo division of the New Zealand Medical Association. At a national level, he served on the education subcommittee of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
In spite of developing rheumatoid arthritis in his twenties, for which excision of both radial heads proved necessary to aid mobility, Jim kept up a very busy surgical practice and oversaw the introduction of joint replacement, laparoscopic surgery and the developing field of imaging in radiology.
He guided his five children in their respective careers and encouraged them to become independent, stressing to the girls that they should follow their interests before embarking on marriage. Phillipa, the first born, became a lawyer. David is a physician in New Zealand. Catherine became a nurse. Hamish is a winemaker, and the youngest, Sara, became a dentist.
Jan and Jim were both very keen workers in their large garden, and developed a special interest in camellias, which they grafted and propagated. Jan had access to a family estate, Crab Farm in Napier, so-called because it was raised above sea level in the 1931 Napier earthquake. Jim started to grow grapes there in 1989, and after two years he was joined by Hamish. Together they developed Crab Farm winery into an excellent award-winning enterprise, exporting wine overseas.
Jim was a committed family man and enjoyed camping and trout fishing. Each year he and Jan took the family to the beach for three weeks' holiday in the summer and, in the winter, for a week-long holiday in a mountain hut for skiing. He played the piano of an evening to relax after a busy day's work, particularly the works of Chopin, Schumann and Debussy. Playing music well by ear, he was ready to accompany anyone wishing to sing at a party. He enjoyed going to the opera, musicals and plays. Interested in Darwin's theories on evolution, he read widely, particularly on New Zealand and world history. A regular reader of the *Guardian Weekly*, he also kept abreast of European and world economic affairs.
He continued all his extracurricular activities into retirement, overcoming his rheumatoid arthritis until his health failed. He died on 25 August 2012, 12 days after his 83rd birthday, having celebrated his diamond wedding anniversary with Jan, and leaving his five children and their families.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004084<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Jones, Eric Reginald Lloyd (1939 - 2013)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3762682025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Richard Collins<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-12 2013-09-06<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004000-E004099<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376268">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376268</a>376268<br/>Occupation Accident and emergency surgeon Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Reg Jones, 'Jones the Bones' to his friends and colleagues, was a consultant orthopaedic and accident surgeon in the south east Kent, Canterbury and Thanet area. He was born in Southport on 5 October 1939, the son of Eric Lloyd, a transport manager, and Royal Audrey Joan Lloyd née Johnstone-Brown, a housewife. He attended Waterloo Grammar School, left to go to King's College Medical School a year early at the age of 17, and graduated in 1962.
He held house posts at Freedom Fields Hospital, Plymouth, King's, and at Luton and Dunstable, Devonport and Frenchay hospitals. In 1968 he began his training in orthopaedic and accident surgery at King's.
In 1971 he was appointed as a consultant orthopaedic and accident and emergency surgeon for south east Kent, which covered Ashford Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital (Folkestone), Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the Royal Sea Bathing Hospital (Margate).
He had a particular interest in children's orthopaedics and started the first children's orthopaedic clinic at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. He wrote several papers, including 'Displaced factures of the neck of the radius in children' (*J Bone Joint Surg Br*. 1971 Aug;53[3]:429-39) and 'Sacral extradural cysts. A rare cause of low backache and sciatica' (*J Bone Joint Surg Br*. 1973 Feb;55[1]:20-31). He also helped develop a machine which used pulsed electromagnetic stimulation to promote cellular healing in bone fractures, which could be used in outpatient clinics as opposed to invasive surgery.
He was also interested in sports orthopaedics. He attended boxers when they had fights at Leas Pavillion in Folkestone, was medical adviser to Kent County Cricket Club for 18 years, and accompanied West Bromwich Albion football team on their visit to China in 1977.
In 1994 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, forcing him into early retirement as he was unable to operate.
Outside medicine, he was a lifelong supporter of Liverpool football club. He was a keen bird and wildlife photographer, and travelled the world to follow his passion, including trips to Antarctica, South America, Indonesia, Vietnam and Costa Rica.
He met his wife Candy (Shelagh Ann Hayward), a nurse, in 1963 whilst they were both working on the orthopaedic ward at King's. They married in March 1964 and had four children, Sarah, Peter, Debbie and Alex. Jones died on 6 May 2013 at the age of 73. He was survived by Candy and their children.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004085<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Spence, John (1793 - 1863)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758662025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-18<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375866">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375866</a>375866<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Edinburgh and at the London Hospital. He practised at Otley, Yorkshire, and was Surgeon to the Carlton Workhouse and Ilkley Bath Charity Institution, as well as being a Certifying Factory Surgeon. He died at Stafford Street, Edinburgh, on October 4th, 1863.
Publication:
"Observations on the Treatment of Mania and Delirium Tremens by Large Doses of Tartar Emetic." - *Edin Med and Surg Jour*, 1831, xxxvi, 112.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003683<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Stonham, Charles (1858 - 1916)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760372025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376037">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376037</a>376037<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Maidstone on March 27th, 1858, the third son of T G Stonham, pharmacist. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and then studied at University College and Hospital. He had a distinguished career as a student, being Atchison Scholar in 1881.
Stonham was a man of great natural ability, who profited to the full from the teaching given by the distinguished staff of University College Hospital. Marcus Beck was his great exemplar, upon whom he modelled himself both as an operator and as a surgical pathologist. Berkeley Hill gave him an inclination for his particular line of practice, and he wrote genito-urinary articles in Quain's *Dictionary of Medicine* (2nd edition, 1894). As Obstetric Assistant under Sir John Williams he obtained a good introduction to abdominal surgery. He held in addition the resident posts of House Surgeon and House Physician, and was later a Demon¬strator of Anatomy and Curator of the Pathological Museum, in which latter capacity he worked zealously at the compilation of the catalogue of the surgical, obstetrical, and gynaecological preparations (see Descriptive Catalogue of the specimens illustrating medical pathology in the Museum of University College, 1887-1890-1891). For a time he was on the surgical staff of the North-West London (afterwards the Hampstead General) Hospital, the Cancer Hospital, and the Poplar Hospital for Accidents, posts he resigned after his appointment as Assistant Surgeon to Westminster Hospital.
At the Westminster Hospital he at once made his mark as a teacher of surgical pathology. His wide knowledge and previous experience enabled him to restore the Museum, collect further specimens, and write a catalogue. Of this accurate and multifarious information he made good use in his *Manual of Surgery* (3 vols, 12mo, London and New York, 1899). In succession he was a Teacher of Operative Surgery, Lecturer on Systematic Surgery, and then on Clinical Surgery. He became Surgeon to the Hospital in 1897.
Stonham's commanding, spare figure, striking face, and the force be threw into speech and movement, impressed not only students but colleagues and patients, whilst he possessed the skill which accorded with his appearance. He was perfectly ambidextrous; his long thin hands were used most skilfully and with rapidity at the beginning and towards the end of an operation, whilst in between he proceeded with all due care learnt by long practice in dissecting. Of his skill as a surgeon one instance will suffice: he succeeded for the first time in ligaturing the first part of the left subclavian artery for an aneurysm of the second part which was rapidly increasing. At the first operation Stonham ligatured the arterial branches distal to the sac; at the second operation he divided the clavicle and ligatured the first part of the artery. In 1921, five years after Stonham's death, the patient spontaneously returned to Westminster Hospital for another trouble. The aneurysm had remained cured, and the patient was exhibited at the Clinical Section of the Royal Society of Medicine (see *Proc Roy Soc Med*, 1920-1, xiv (Clin Sect), 58 by W G Spencer.
He was Examiner in Elementary Anatomy to the Conjoint Board, Examiner in Surgery to the Society of Apothecaries and to the Royal University of Ireland.
A brusque manner was accompanied by a natural kindness under the surface. His personal acts of kindness to students and nurses at the Hospital were long remembered. He was not a reader of medical literature, but he was an ornithologist with a wide knowledge of bird lore. He filled his house with a beautiful and rare collection of birds and their eggs, and he published in 4to, *Birds of the British Islands*, 1906-11, notable for the guidance which he gave to L M Midland in making the black-and-white drawings, as well as for the value of the text. In early life he was an enthusiastic climber as a member of the Alpine Club, and he made some noteworthy ascents. This, and some of his ventures after birds' eggs, may have overstrained him, for he had some attacks of pulmonary inflammation which were ominous of a persistent emphysema.
Stonham had a distinguished career in military service as a volunteer. He joined the Yeomanry and took part in organizing its ambulance service. Upon the outbreak of the South African War he was appointed Surgeon-in-Chief of the Yeomanry Field Hospital, which he took out to South Africa. As the hospital advanced up country, the Field Ambulance arrived soon after the capture of the Derby Militia by De Wet. It devolved upon Stonham, as Major RAMC, Officer in Command and the senior officer present, to arrange matters temporarily with the Boer General, and to transmit the first knowledge of the capture to the British authorities. For his South African services he received the Medal with four Clasps, was mentioned in dispatches and decorated a CMG. He edited the Record of the Yeomanry Field Hospital.
After his return he devoted an immense amount of time to the training of recruits and the providing of equipment and horses for a Mounted Ambulance. Despite lack of funds, the London Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance, with Lieut-Colonel Stonham, RAMC (T), had been well practised in field manoeuvres, and on the outbreak of the War in August, 1914, was ready, and Stonham could have taken out the completely furnished Mounted Ambulance with the First Expeditionary Force. Unfortunately he had to undergo the severest trial to his patience: his trained men and horses were transferred to fill up deficiencies elsewhere. He had to spend a bad winter in East Anglia, replacing what had been taken from him, whilst watching for a threatened invasion. In 1915 his Ambulance, being then reorganized, was ordered to Egypt, where Stonham served further as Inspector of Hospitals and Consulting Surgeon. But the previous winter had caused additional pulmonary trouble; he was weakened by dengue and dysentery. Phthisis advanced rapidly; he was forced to go to Cannes on sick-leave. Becoming worse, he arrived home in January, wasted and breathless, and died at his house, 4 Harley Street, on February 1st, 1916. His funeral, with military honours, took place at Golder's Green, and his name is inscribed on the College Roll of Honour.
His Ornithological Collection was dispersed by sale. His estate amounted to over £24,000. He was survived by his widow and a daughter, Kathleen, who married Kenneth McLean Marshall, CBE, a Metropolitan Police Magistrate. His portrait hangs in the Board Room of Westminster Hospital. A clever cartoon in the students' magazine, *The Broadway (Westminster Hosp Gaz)*, is entitled the "Mounted Don Quixote", in reference to his Mounted Ambulance and his attempts to get improvements adopted.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003854<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Story, William (1813 - 1885)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760382025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11 2022-11-22<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376038">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376038</a>376038<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Began to practise in the Mile End Road, E, and later in Old Bow Lane. After becoming FRCS he went out to Australia and practised first at Hobart Town, and then at Sandhurst, Victoria. After 1860 he returned to England and practised successively at Grove Street, South Hackney, NE, and 84 Holland Road, W, until 1875; then at Chorley, Lancashire, and finally at Mentmore Villa, Linslade, Buckinghamshire. He died, after being sentenced to five years penal servitude for arson, in 1885. His photograph is in the Fellows' Album.
Publications:-
*Cholera: its Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment*, 1865.
**See below for an expanded version of the original obituary which was printed in volume 1 of Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows. Please contact the library if you would like more information lives@rcseng.ac.uk**
William Story was a doctor in Linsdale, in what was then Buckinghamshire, who was convicted of arson and subsequently struck off the Medical Register and lost his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
He was born in Stepney in around 1813. He studied medicine at the London Hospital and, in 1832, witnessed a cholera epidemic in the Whitechapel and Mile End area. His brother, John Story, was then a medical officer for the Mile End Union.
Story’s early career is uncertain, but in his *Medical Directory* entry for 1870 he states he served in the Army in Spain under Lieutenant-General Sir de Lacy Evans, probably in the First Carlist War (1833 to 1839). He also stated he worked in the Government Emigration Service. He gained his MRCS in 1837 and from 1838 to 1840 was in Jessore in the then East Indies, where he again dealt with a cholera epidemic.
He returned to England, where he settled in the East End of London. At some point in the 1850s he went out to Australia, where he practised at Williamstown, Melbourne, Victoria, and then in Tasmania, at Circular Head and later at New Town, near Hobart. He subsequently went back to Victoria, where he practised at Sandhurst (later known as Bendigo); he was working here when he gained his FRCS in 1858.
On 13 March 1861 he advertised in the *Bendigo Advertiser*: ‘Dr Story, fellow of the RCS, member of the Calcutta, Tasmania, & Victoria Medical Boards, &c, having resided in the East and West Indies, is well acquainted with the diseases of hot climates. Between eight and nine years’ experience in Victoria convinces him that the diseases of women and children are peculiar, and require a modified treatment to that adopted in England. Rowan Street, Sandhurst.’
On 17 December 1862 he and his wife left Melbourne on board the *Norfolk* and returned to England. He gained his licentiate of the King’s and Queen’s College of Physicians of Ireland in 1863. Two years later, he published a book detailing his experiences of treating patients with cholera, *Cholera: its pathology, diagnosis and treatment *(London, E & F N Spon, 1865). He was a member of the New Sydenham Society and a fellow of the Anthropological Society of London.
By 1867 he was living in Hackney in East London. In 1875 he listed two addresses in his *Medical Directory* entry – Holland Road in West Kensington and Battlecrease Hall in Halliford, Middlesex. Five years later, he gave his address as Mentmore Villa, Linsdale, Buckinghamshire.
On 12 August 1881 he was arrested and charged with ‘Feloniously and maliciously setting fire to a certain dwelling house, the property of James Hadley, also feloniously and maliciously setting fire to certain goods and chattels in the said house with intent to defraud the West of England Fire Insurance Company, on 10th August, 1881, at Linsdale.’ The trial took place on 27 October 1881 in Bedford and the jury found him guilty, despite evidence being presented to the court that the prisoner was ‘not of sound mind’. He was sentenced to five years in prison. He had no previous convictions.
On 22 July 1882 the *Lancet* reported: ‘A very painful case came before the council – that of William Story, of Linsdale, convicted of feloniously setting fire to a certain house in his possession with intent to injure and defraud. His name was ordered to be erased from the Register. It had previously been removed from the list of Fellows and Members of the College of Surgeons.’
Story was released from prison following a petition to the Queen and the Home Secretary two years into his sentence. On 26 January 1885 he died suddenly at home. He was 72. The local newspaper the *Northampton Mercury* reported: ‘He had suffered from spasms of the heart and this was thought the cause of death.’ He was survived by his wife Harriet.
Sarah Gillam<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003855<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Stovell, Matthew (1806 - 1869)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760392025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376039">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376039</a>376039<br/>Occupation Military surgeon<br/>Details Born in London on September 10th, 1806, son of George Stovell. He was educated at St George's Hospital from 1822-1826. He joined the Bombay Army as Assistant Surgeon on October 8th, 1828, was promoted Surgeon on February 20th, 1844, and Superintending Surgeon on June 17th, 1857. He became Principal Inspector-General, Medical Department, Bombay, on April 6th, 1862, retired on April 9th, 1867, and was gazetted CSI on September 16th, 1867. He saw active service in Persia in 1856 and 1857, being mentioned in General Sir James Outram's dispatch of June 17th, 1857, and in General Orders on August 5th, 1857.
The Bombay Review of January 15th, 1867, announced the retirement of Stovell on the pension of his rank, £900 a year, and said that he had done good service to the State for thirty-eight years, in particular by his skill and good management as Surgeon to the European General Hospital in Bombay during ten years. Further, his work as Secretary of the Board of Education was highly esteemed, as Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals in the Poona Division during four years, and as Principal Inspector-General for the last five years.
On his return to Europe he suffered from epileptic fits, in one of which he fractured an arm, and died during a severe fit in his brother's house in Belsize Park, NW, on May 8th, 1869.
Publication:-
"Statistics of the More Important Diseases admitted into the European General Hospital at Bombay from April 1st, 1846, to March 81st, 1856," Bombay, 1856; reprinted from *Trans Med and Phys Soc Bombay*, 1855-6, ns. Iii, p1.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003856<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Strange, George Harriss (1820 - 1884)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760402025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376040">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376040</a>376040<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at Guy's Hospital, and practised at 92 Hatton Garden, WC. He died on June 2nd, 1884.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003857<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Streatfield, John Fremlyn (1828 - 1886)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760412025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376041">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376041</a>376041<br/>Occupation Ophthalmic surgeon<br/>Details Born on October 14th, 1828, the son of the Rev Thomas Streatfield (1777-1848), of Chart's Edge, Westerham, historian of the County of Kent, whose collection of biographical and topographical material was embodied in Hasted's *History of Kent*, 1886. His mother, Clare, daughter of Thomas Harvey, of Cowden, was living in her ninety-third year at the time of her son's death.
Streatfield, owing to delicate health, was educated at home until he was 15 years of age, and then went to the King's School, Canterbury, and later to a school at Tunbridge Wells. He then entered the London Hospital as a pupil of Curling, and after qualifying served during the Crimean War on the Surgical Staff of the British Civil Hospital at Smyrna.
On his return to England he began the study of ophthalmology, and was elected Assistant Ophthalmic Surgeon to the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital in 1856 in succession to Gilbert Macmurdo (qv). The election was keenly contested, Streatfield receiving 214 votes, J W Hulke (qv) 148, Walter Tyrrell 93, and J S Gamgee 3. He became full Surgeon in 1867 and held office until his death in 1886. He was appointed Assistant Ophthalmic Surgeon at University College Hospital in 1862, and succeeded to the office of full Surgeon and Professor of Clinical Ophthalmic Surgery on the retirement of T Wharton Jones (qv). These posts he had to resign under a self-denying ordinance when he became full Surgeon at the Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Streatfield exhibited great dexterity in the performance of ophthalmic operations - indeed, he was so deft an operator that one of his colleagues said jokingly that he would not be surprised to find Streatfield removing a cataract whilst at the same time he balanced a feather on his nose. In the corneal section for iridectomy and cataract extraction he always employed Sichel's knife, his incision in cataract operations corresponding with the corneal margin. He paid special attention to the division of adhesions of the iris, corelysis, for which he also tried electrical application, without result. He was the editor of the *Ophthalmic Hospital Reports* from 1857, when the first volume appeared, until April, 1861, when a new series commenced, and in part iii of these reports he gave a description of his operation of grooving the fibrocartilage of the eyelid for the relief of entropion. Volumes ii-xvi are printed on a yellowish paper as a relief to the eyes when reading them. The suggestion of using a tinted paper seems to have come from Charles Babbage (1792-1871), the mathematician. He also contributed to Erichsen's *Surgery*, Quain's *Dictionary of Medicine*, and "Notelets" to the *Lancet*.
He was one of the founders, and the first Treasurer, of the Ophthalmic Society of Great Britain, and at one of the meetings amused the Fellows by demonstrating steps of cataract extraction on a huge dummy apparatus, which he suggested as useful for teaching.
He practised at 15 Upper Brook Street, and was in active operative practice when he caught a chill on a country journey to a patient, and died of pneumonia on March 18th, 1886.
Under a brusque exterior he had a keen love of wit and humour; he was a staunch churchman and gave away annually a tenth of his income. He appeared little at Medical Societies, but spent his spare time with his friends in Kent, admiring and sketching admirably Kentish scenery, noting customs and characteristics in preparation for a book on the county. He was a devoted member of the Kent Archaeological Society, and a collector of Cantiana of every kind.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003858<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Whishaw, Reginald Robert (1862 - 1908)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3756662025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-01-30<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003400-E003499<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375666">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375666</a>375666<br/>Occupation General surgeon Physician<br/>Details Graduated at Cambridge from Cavendish College, and acted for a time as a Junior Demonstrator of Anatomy before entering St Thomas's Hospital. He served as House Physician at the Brompton Hospital for Consumption; at the Hospital for Children, Liverpool; and he was also Demonstrator of Anatomy at the Bristol Medical School. He settled in practice in Croydon and was appointed on the Surgical Staff of the Hospital. Ill health forced him to seek a warmer climate and he practised in Tasmania for nine years, and then became Assistant Medical Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum at Willowbarn, Queensland. There, whilst on duty, he was attacked by a lunatic who caused him a fracture of the base of the skull from which he died on December 10th, 1908. He had already gained personal and professional esteem in Australia. He was twice married, and left a widow and four children.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003483<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Drew, Henry William (1858 - 1934)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3761742025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-05-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003900-E003999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376174">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376174</a>376174<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born in Southwark on 12 May 1858, the eldest son and third child of Beriah Drew, a wholesale chemist, and Jane Millicent Clarke, his wife. He was educated at a city school and then proceeded to Guy's Hospital where he gained the first-year's scholarship and the J Hoare exhibition. He afterwards held the offices of resident obstetric assistant and assistant demonstrator of anatomy. He served as a ship's surgeon with the P & O Company, and on his return to England was appointed surgeon to the Croydon General Hospital. He practised subsequently at Blatchington, Seaford, Sussex. On 13 May 1918 he received a commission as temporary captain, RAMC, and was appointed surgeon specialist to the Connaught Hospital at Aldershot and later to the Kitchener Hospital, Brighton. He married on 22 February 1922 Judith E Tiptaft, widow of Charles Knowlton Morris, who survived him but without children. He died on 3 December 1934 at The Cottage, Blatchington, Seaford, and was buried at Alfriston.
Publications:-
*The pathology of chorea*, prize essay, Guy's Hospital Physical Society, 4 February 1886, MS. in Wills Library, Guy's Hospital.
Avulsion of leg and part of thigh, with great sciatic nerve; amputation through thigh; escape of cerebro-spinal fluid; recovery. *Brit med J*. 1889, 1, 356.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003991<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Duer, Charles (1861 - 1937)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3761752025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-05-20<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003900-E003999<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376175">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376175</a>376175<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born 10 December 1861 at 21 Harewood Square, London, W, the second child of Sidenham Duer, civil engineer, and Mary S Unwin, his. wife. He was educated at St Marylebone and All Souls Grammar School, Regent's Park, under the headmastership of A H Barford, BA, FLS, and at University College Hospital. He then entered the Indian Medical Service and was gazetted surgeon on 28 July 1901, surgeon-major on 28 July 1903, and lieutenant-colonel on 28 July 1911, retiring from the service on 29 November 1911. During this period he was employed as civil surgeon in Rangoon, Maymyo, and Simla. He rejoined the IMS during the war on 17 October 1914 and served until 13 May 1919, acting as surgeon and anaesthetist for the Indian troops at Brighton. He married Caroline Jane Blackstock about 1898 and by her had one son. He died at Hyères, Var, France on 29 November 1937 and was buried there.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003992<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Girdlestone, Gathorne Robert (1881 - 1950)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3763502025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-06-27<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376350">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376350</a>376350<br/>Occupation Orthopaedic surgeon<br/>Details Born 8 October 1881 the third son of the Rev Robert Baker Girdlestone (1836-1923), Canon of Christ Church, and only child of his second wife, Mary Wood. Canon Girdlestone was a distinguished Biblical scholar, and in 1881 was Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford; later he lived at Wimbledon. Girdlestone was educated at Charterhouse, at New College, Oxford, of which he became a Fellow, and at St Thomas's Hospital where he held various resident appointments. He settled in practice at Oswestry, where he came under the influence of Sir Robert Jones, who regularly visited Dame Agnes Hunt's orthopaedic hospital at Baschurch near Oswestry. Girdlestone became Jones's apostle in promoting knowledge of the benefits made available by the new orthopaedic methods. Together they started the Central Council for the Care of Cripples; and their paper "The cure of crippled children", published in the *British Medical Journal* in 1919 described their plans and apparently Utopian ideals. Much of what they then proposed was achieved by Girdlestone in the following thirty years.
During the war from 1915 to 1919 he served in the RAMC, and was appointed through his own insistence to start an orthopaedic centre in a temporary hospital at Oxford. The Wingfield Hospital, at first under the War Office and then under the Ministry of Pensions, was in fact his personal creation. His work and enthusiasm attracted the support of Sir William Morris for the hospital, now renamed the Wingfield-Morris Hospital. Morris, who had made millions of money through his motor factories near Oxford, was subsequently created Lord Nuffield, largely on account of his wise and munificent benefactions to hospitals and medical research. These great gifts were in the first place inspired by admiration for Girdlestone's achievement and found their first notable expression in the Nuffield medical professorships at Oxford, to one of which Girdlestone was elected. He was also personally concerned, at Lord Nuffield's request, in surveying the field for orthopaedic work in South Africa, where a Nuffield Trust was founded as the result of his report. The Wingfield-Morris Hospital became the centre of a system of orthopaedic clinics extending through Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire; Girdlestone took a personal interest in the work of each clinic. He combined in an exceptional degree surgical ability, energy, enthusiasm, and administrative power; in addition he exerted a rare personal magnetism, founded on an intensely human yet deeply spiritual Christian life. His only defects, it was said, were his virtues of modesty and uprightness, which sometimes made difficulties for him in dealing with men less good than himself.
Girdlestone had a large private practice, and was consulting orthopaedic surgeon to the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, the King Edward VII Hospital, Windsor, the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital, Aylesbury, and the Savernake Hospital, Marlborough; he was also consulting surgeon to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital at Baschurch, Oswestry, where he began his life-work, and to Bristol City Council. As Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Oxford he was the first professor of the subject in Great Britain. The chair was created for him in 1937. He resigned his professorship and his direction of the clinical work at the Wingfield-Morris Hospital in 1940, to assume the post of orthopaedic consultant to the Army and to the Ministry of Health's Emergency Medical Service for a region stretching from Reading to Bristol. He was also consulting orthopaedic surgeon to the Ministry of Pensions. Through his vision and detailed care the new Churchill Hospital at Headington, Oxford, was built during the war by the Ministry of Health and staffed by the American Medical Mission. It became a permanent addition to Oxford's hospitals after the war. Girdlestone made time for much writing on his specialty. His book *Tuberculosis of bone and joint*, 1940, became a classic. He took an active part in professional societies, and was president of the orthopaedic section of the Royal Society of Medicine 1932-33, of the British Orthopaedic Association 1942, and of the Association of Surgeons 1943-44. He was a corresponding member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Orthopaedic Association.
Girdlestone was much beloved by his staff and patients. He inspired all with his own enthusiasm, and encouraged the disabled in the task of rebuilding their own lives. At the Wingfield-Morris Hospital he created a family spirit. He compiled a Hospital prayer-book, with a characteristically thoughtful preface, and regularly took part in a brief morning service in the chapel. His own home was an open house to his associates and patients, particularly to former child-patients. He was an excellent and keen player of many games, and reached the semi-final of the amateur golf championship at St Andrews, near the end of his life. Girdlestone married Ina, daughter of George Chatterton, JP, of Wimbledon, who survived him. Mrs Girdlestone actively helped him, especially in his work for children. They lived at the Red House, Headington and later at Fir Croft, Frilford Heath, near Abingdon. He died on 30 December 1950 aged 69. He left the ultimate residue of his fortune to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.
Publications:-
The cure of crippled children, with Sir Robert Jones. *Brit med J* 1919, 2, 457.
The place of operations for spinal fixation. *Brit J Surg* 1932, 10, 372.
The union and consolidation of a fracture. *Amer J Surg* 1925, 38, 129.
Arthrodesis and other operations for tuberculosis. *Robert Jones Birthday Volume*. Oxford, 1928.
The operative treatment of Pott's paraplegia. *Brit J Surg* 1931, 19, 121.
The pathology and treatment of tuberculosis of the knee-joint. *Brit J Surg* 1932, 19, 488.
Extensive loss of tibial diaphysis; tibiofibular grafting, with W B Foley. *Brit J Surg* 1933, 20, 467.
Dislocations; Fractures, fracture-dislocations. *Brit Encyc med Pract* 1937.
*Tuberculosis of Bone and Joint*. Oxford University Press, 1940; 2nd edition, 1951.
The Christ of the hospital ward, in the Rev P Stewart-Browning's *A tribute to a great surgeon*, with foreword by C M Chavasse, Bishop of Rochester, and portrait of Girdlestone. Tunbridge Wells, 1952, 23 pages.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004167<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Harries, Thomas Davies (1850 - 1938)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3763512025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-07-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376351">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376351</a>376351<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Llancoats, near Fishguard, South Wales on 1 March 1850, the second and youngest child of David Harries, farmer, and Mary Davies his wife. He was educated at the Haverfordwest Grammar School and from there proceeded to Guy's Hospital, becoming in due course resident obstetric officer and the friend of Dr Samuel Wilks, FRS, who advised him to settle down at a seaside resort.
He practised during the whole of his professional life at Aberystwyth, where he became town councillor and alderman of the borough, and was mayor in 1893, 1894, and 1895. He married Annette Benson, of Royal Avenue, London, and when they celebrated their diamond wedding on 5 December 1937 they received a congratulatory telegram from the Majesties the King and Queen. He died on 14 July 1938 at Grosvenor House, Aberystwyth.
Harries was a man of many interests, an expert fisherman, a good judge of horses, an excellent rider to hounds, and in early life a fine boxer. His practice was very extensive and at one time included the largest consulting practice in mid-Wales. He was for many years surgeon to the Aberystwyth Infirmary and Cardiganshire General Hospital. During the war of 1914-18 he was in charge of the Aberystwyth Red Cross Hospital, receiving the British Red Cross Society's war medal for his services. His interests also included a close study of lead mining and the engineering problems connected with the industry.
Publication:-
*Guide to sea bathing*. 1874.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004168<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Harris, Herbert Elwin (1860 - 1941)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3763522025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-07-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376352">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376352</a>376352<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born 10 June 1860 at Binham, Norfolk, fifth child and third son of Richard Harris, gentleman-farmer, and Elizabeth Browne Wrench his wife, a direct descendant of Sir Thomas Browne, the author of the *Religio Medici*. He was educated at Truro, in a school kept by an uncle, and at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in the mathematical tripos in 1882. He had intended to take holy orders, but instead entered St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he was a dresser to Sir W Savory, and qualified in 1885. After a house-surgeoncy at Plymouth he worked in various poor-law infirmaries in London, being successively assistant medical superintendent of the Paddington Infirmary and medical superintendent of the St George-in-the-East Infirmary and of St Saviour's Infirmary, Dulwich.
In 1896, when he took the Fellowship, he settled in general practice at Clifton, Bristol, becoming anaesthetist, surgeon in charge of the nose, throat, and ear department, and finally surgeon to the Bristol Royal Hospital for Women and Sick Children, and was made consulting surgeon on his retirement. He was one of the last to combine consulting with general practice. During the war of 1914-18 he served at the 2nd Southern (Territorial) General Hospital, with a commission as major, RAMC (T) dated 30 September 1908, and was also surgeon to the Beaufort War Hospital, Fishponds, Bristol. Harris was president of the Bristol Medico-chirurgical Society in 1933-34.
In 1934 he retired to The Mount, Halse, near Taunton, where he died suddenly of coronary thrombosis on 20 May 1941, aged 80. Harris was twice married: first, on 14 September 1892 to Edith Higginson who died 16 August 1907. There were three children of this marriage of whom a son and a daughter survived their father. The son, Herbert Elwin Harris, FRCS 1931, succeeded to his father's practice at 13 Lansdown Place, Clifton. Harris married secondly in August 1909, Nellie Thompson, who died 18 August 1910. Harris was an enthusiastic cyclist and an early motorist. In later years he occupied his leisure with photography and gardening.
Publications:-
A case of a bullet in the sphenoidal sinuses; removal through the left nostril. *Lancet*, 1916, 2, 978.
The removal of tonsils; haemorrhage; [a new forceps]. *Brit med J*. 1924, 1, 581.
Congenital deformities of forearm, hand, and leg. *Ibid*. 1924, 1, 711.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004169<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Harrison, Charles Edward (1852 - 1944)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3763532025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-07-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376353">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376353</a>376353<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Kensington on 19 October 1852, the younger of the two sons of John Harrison, FRCS 1844, surgeon major, Grenadier Guards, a Waterloo veteran, and Sophia his wife, daughter of Captain John Lugard, 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. He was thus a first-cousin of Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, PC, GCMG, DSO, 1st Lord Lugard of Abinger, sometime Governor-General of Nigeria. He was educated at Wellington College, St Bartholomew's Hospital, and the Army Medical School, Netley, where he won the Sidney Herbert prize for taking first place in both the entrance and final examinations. Harrison's father died in 1873. In January 1874 he qualified, and was commissioned a surgeon in the Army Medical Service on 30 September 1874. On 10 March 1875 he was posted to the Grenadier Guards, with which his father had served from 1809 to 1840. He saw active service with the regiment in Egypt in 1882, and was in the action at Mahuta and at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, winning the medal with clasp and the bronze star.
He was promoted surgeon major, Grenadier Guards on 19 August 1885 and brigade surgeon, lieutenant-colonel, Brigade of Foot Guards, on 4 November 1891. From 23 June 1898 under a Royal Warrant of that date he was borne on the strength of the Royal Army Medical Corps as a seconded lieutenant-colonel, until under a Royal Warrant of 4 January 1899 he reverted to his former post, the last to hold the brigade-surgeoncy. He was promoted brevet colonel (infantry) on 13 March 1907. From 1905 to 1909 he was the first commandant of Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital, Millbank, and was an honorary surgeon to King Edward VII from 1907 to 1909, when he was created CVO. He retired on 19 October 1909, one hundred years after his father had joined the Grenadier Guards.
Harrison served in the RAMC Territorial Force from 1909 to 1918 and in the Territorial Reserve 1918-23. He commanded the 1st London General Hospital (TF) 1909-12 and was ADMS, 2nd London Division T.F., 1912. During the first world war he served in France in command of No. 23 General Hospital, Chicago Medical Unit 1915-16, was mentioned in despatches and created CMG 1916. From 1916 to 1918 he was in command of the Prince of Wales Convalescent Officers Hospital at the Great Central Hotel, Marylebone; and was deputy commissioner of medical services at the Ministry of National Service 1918-20.
Colonel Harrison lived after retirement at 19 Westgate Terrace, Redcliffe Square, London, SW10, with his sister Miss Marian Harrison, who died on 1 June 1932, aged 82; he never married. In 1941, during the German air-raids on London, he was bombed out of his house and went to live with his nieces, May, Beatrice, Monica, and Margaret Harrison, well-known as cellist and violinists, daughters of his only brother, Colonel J H C Harrison, RE. Here at Woolborough Farm, Outwood, near Redhill, Surrey, he died on 25 January 1944, aged 91. He was the senior Fellow of the Royal College, and it was 100 years since his father's election as a Fellow. His life and his father's covered 156 years.
He was buried at Outwood with full military honours; Major-General O W McSheehy, DSO, OBE, MRCS, represented the Director-General AMS, and the Grenadier Guards sent an escort of pallbearers and buglers. A memorial service was held at St Luke's Church, Redcliffe Square, SW, on 28 January.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004170<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Squibb, George James (1798 - 1859)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3758792025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-03-18 2013-03-28<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375879">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375879</a>375879<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised at 40 York Place, Baker Street; in Orchard Street, Portman Square; and at 11 Montague Place, Bryanston Square. He was an active member of the British Medical Association and of the Metropolitan Counties Branch, of which in 1857 he was elected President. When he died the Council of the Branch, in a letter of condolence to his widow, expressed regret at his death, mentioning the courteous and impartial manner in which he discharged the duties of his office, his generous hospitality at the various meetings held at his house, and his endeavour to carry out one great object of the Association - the promotion of social intercourse and kindly feeling amongst members.
At one of his accustomed conversaziones, Sir Nathaniel Holland's portrait of John Hunter, which Squibb had recently purchased, was placed on an easel in the middle of the drawing-room, and Sir John Doratt (qv), C J Guthrie, and Marshall Hall, amongst others, discussed the portrait. Doratt, the last surviving pupil of Hunter, being asked if it was a good likeness, said: "Yes, a very good one; better, in fact, than the celebrated portrait by Reynolds, only it gives you the idea of a large man, which Hunter was not." Marshall Hall interjected: "A little man, was he? How curious! Napoleon Bonaparte and some other persons whose names I have forgotten, and myself - all little men." Guthrie, also standing by, looked down on him with great contempt and, turning on his heel, said, "Yes, you are a little man."
Squibb had collected a series of 1340 medical portraits. It was purchased by the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1864 for the sum of £70 and is now preserved at the Royal Society of Medicine as 'The Squibb Collection'.
Squibb died at 11 Montague Place, Bryanston Square, on January 15th, 1859.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003696<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Smith, William (1778 - 1854)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757922025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375792">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375792</a>375792<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Was for many years assistant to a surgeon. He died at Swansea on November 26th, 1854.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003609<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Harsant, William Henry (1850 - 1933)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3763562025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-07-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376356">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376356</a>376356<br/>Occupation Anatomist ENT surgeon General surgeon<br/>Details Born at Epsom on 20 March 1850, the second child and eldest son of William Harsant, chemist, and Sarah Wilkinson, his wife. He was educated at the City of London School. At Guy's Hospital he was gold medallist in surgery, and served as house surgeon in 1874 and resident obstetric officer. He then acted as house surgeon at the Bristol General Hospital. He was soon appointed assistant surgeon to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where he was placed in charge of the newly-established aural department. He became surgeon in 1885 and resigned the office in 1902, having been disabled by the loss of his right index finger which was amputated for a poisoned wound contracted during an operation. He was then elected consulting surgeon to the Royal Infirmary and for the rest of his life undertook private practice at Clifton. From 1887 to 1893 he lectured on anatomy in the Bristol Medical School. In 1899 he was president of the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Society and for many years he was a member of the editorial staff of the *Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal*. He married Margaret Evans in June 1881, who died before him. He died at Tower House, Clifton Down Road, Bristol on 10 February 1933, and was buried at Canford Cemetery, Clifton.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004173<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Hart-Smith, Franke Chamberlain (1861 - 1934)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3763572025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-07-03<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E004000-E004999/E004100-E004199<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376357">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376357</a>376357<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Born at St Minver Vicarage, Cornwall, on 21 January 1861, the fifth child and third surviving son of the Rev William Hart-Smith, afterwards Rector of St Peter's, Bedford, and Charlotte Pierce Lawrence his wife. He was educated at a preparatory school in Maidenhead under the Rev E H Pierce, at Bedford Grammar School, and at University College Hospital. He served as house surgeon and obstetric assistant at the Hospital and as assistant demonstrator of anatomy at University College Hospital Medical School. At the University of London he obtained first-class honours at the MB BS examination. In 1889 he bought a practice at Leominster, Herefordshire, where he remained until 1911 when he sold it. During this period he took an active part in founding the Leominster Cottage Hospital.
Soon after the outbreak of the first world war he offered his services, which were accepted, and he was sent to Osborne to act as second in command under Colonel Douglas Wardrop with the rank of major, gazetted on 17 January 1917. At the end of the war he took up work under the Cornwall County Council as medical inspector of schools, with headquarters at Truro, and this post he held until 1926 when he retired on attaining the age limit. He married on 27 April 1889 Margaret Elizabeth Parry. She died in 1917 without children. He died on 18 March 1934 at Dunbrody, Port Hill Road, Shrewsbury, and was buried in the general cemetery of that city.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E004174<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Strover, Thomas Rogers (1814 - 1870)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760442025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376044">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376044</a>376044<br/>Occupation Military surgeon<br/>Details Born on July 25th, 1814, and was educated at Guy's Hospital. He entered the Bengal Army as Assistant Surgeon on May 27th, 1852, was promoted to Surgeon on January 31st, 1852, to Surgeon Major on February 1st, 1859, and retired on February 20th, 1860. He saw active service in the Second Sikh or Punjab War of 1848-1849. He died at 6 Almond Crescent, St Helier's, Jersey, on January 8th, 1870.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003861<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Stubbs, Henry (1809 - 1878)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3760452025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-04-11<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003800-E003899<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376045">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/376045</a>376045<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Educated at St Bartholomew's Hospital and at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. He practised at Liverpool as Surgeon to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary until his retirement in 1874, when he was appointed Consulting Surgeon. For a time he was Surgeon to the Northern Hospital and Northern Dispensary. In 1844 he joined with James Maurice Banner and William Henry Bainbridge, all three Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons, in a "Reply from the Surgeons of the Liverpool Northern Hospital to a Pamphlet published by J P Halton, one of the Surgeons of the Liverpool Infirmary", revised edition, 1844. Further, in 1876, when it was proposed to placer the election of Medical Officers to the Royal Infirmary wholly under the non-medical committee, he so strenuously resisted the idea that it was abandoned.
Stubbs had a most kind-hearted, genial disposition, was full of quaint anecdotes of what he had witnessed in the practice of former years, and he enjoyed a select but lucrative practice. After a time of failing health, he died on July 1st, 1878, at 23 Canning Street, Liverpool, and his funeral was attended by a very large concourse of colleagues and friends. Mrs Stubbs survived him.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003862<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Smith, William (1817 - 1875)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757932025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375793">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375793</a>375793<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details The son of a well-known Manchester paper-maker. He went to the Manchester Royal School of Medicine, and became Surgeon to the Manchester Royal Infirmary, to Cheetham College, and to the Manchester School for the Deaf and Dumb. For a quarter of a century he lectured on general anatomy and physiology at Owens College. He was popular, and his professional skill caused him to be much consulted both in Manchester and in a wide area around.
He had been unwell and had visited Brighton for a few days. On the day of his return he was stooping to examine the foot of a child in his consulting-room at 98 Mosley Street, when he was seized with apoplexy and died in a few minutes, in the same manner as his father and at about the same age. He left a family, and his loss was much felt locally amongst the profession and at medical institutions.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003610<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>First Title value, for Searching Smith, William Henry (1811 - 1865)ent://SD_ASSET/0/SD_ASSET:3757942025-10-02T19:18:30Z2025-10-02T19:18:30Zby Royal College of Surgeons of England<br/>Publication Date 2013-02-21<br/>Unknown<br/>Asset Path Root/Lives of the Fellows/E003000-E003999/E003600-E003699<br/>URL for Files <a href="https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375794">https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/search/asset/375794</a>375794<br/>Occupation General surgeon<br/>Details Practised successively at Clapham Rise, at Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, at Regent Chambers, and at 10 Park End, Sydenham. He was at one time Surgeon to the Royal South London Dispensary. He died at Southsea, Hampshire, on April 5th, 1865.
Publication:-
Smith edited John Scott's *Diseases of the Joints*, prefaced by a Life of Scott (qv), 8vo, London, 1857.<br/>Resource Identifier RCS: E003611<br/>Collection Plarr's Lives of the Fellows<br/>Format Obituary<br/>Format Asset<br/>