Charles Joseph Finnigan, CB (3 April 1901 – 27 July 1967) was a Scottish

dental surgeon A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial comp ...

who became

Surgeon Rear-Admiral In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

(D) in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. He served as Honorary Dental Surgeon to

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

from 1955 to 1960.

Life

Charles Finnigan was born on 3 April 1901 at Lawside House,

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. His father was Andrew Finnigan, a liquor salesman, and his mother was Margaret Breslin. They were married on 26 Sept 1890 at

Lochee, Dundee Lochee () is an area in the west of Dundee, Scotland. Until the 19th century, it was a separate town, but was eventually surrounded by the expanding Dundee. It is notable for being home to Camperdown Works, which was the largest jute production ...

. Charles was educated at

Harris Academy Harris Academy is a co-educational comprehensive school in the West End of Dundee, Scotland. Harris Academy was founded in 1885 and is the oldest state school in Dundee. Harris Academy is also one of the largest state run schools in Dundee in ...

. He graduated at St. Andrews University in 1923 having qualified as a

.His 'Obituary' in the

British Dental Journal The ''British Dental Journal'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Nature Research on behalf of the British Dental Association, of which it is an official journal. It was established in 1872 as the ''Monthly Review of Dental ...

, (London:

British Dental Association The British Dental Association (BDA) is a registered trade union for dentists in the United Kingdom. Its stated mission is to "promote the interests of members, advance the science, arts and ethics of dentistry and improve the nation's oral he ...

), Volume 123, no. 4, 5 August 1967, p.192. Shortly after graduation in 1923, he joined the

as a

. In 1937, he married Milifred Kathleen Dudgeon in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and they had a son John A. Finnigan who also entered the

. He died on 27 July 1967 at the

Queen Alexandra Military Hospital The Queen Alexandra Military Hospital (QAMH) opened in July 1905. It was constructed immediately to the north of the Tate Britain (across a side-street) adjacent to the River Thames on the borders of the neighbourhoods of Millbank and Pimlico, W ...

, London, at the age of 66. His photographic portrait is available at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

Naval career

* Before World War Two he served as dental surgeon on the following vessels: H.M. Ships, Delhi, Norfolk, Dorsetshire and Achilles, and also on the China Station. * 1929 — Appointed Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander * 1932-33 — HMS DorsetshireLiddell Hart Centre for Military Archives: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/FINNIGAN.shtml (''Accessed 16/05/2013'') *1933 — HMS Achilles * 1936 — Appointed Surgeon Commander * 1937-39 — RN Hospital,

* 1939-45 — Served in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, Africa, Italy and Malta. Made acting Surgeon Captain while on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, and served as Fleet Dental Surgeon. * 1949 — Confirmed in the rank of Surgeon Captain and served on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

* 1955 — Made Honorary Dental Surgeon to

* 1957-60 — Appointed Surgeon Rear Admiral and Deputy Director General, Dental Services at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. * 1960 — Retired from the

and made

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(C.B.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnigan, Charles Companions of the Order of the Bath Scottish dentists Royal Navy rear admirals 1901 births 1967 deaths People educated at Harris Academy People from Dundee Royal Navy Medical Service officers Royal Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century dentists Military personnel from Dundee