Sir Cecil Pembrey Grey Wakeley, 1st Baronet KBE CB PRCS FRSE (5 May 1892 – 5 June 1979) was a 20th-century British surgeon.

Life

He was born the eldest son of 12 children at Meresborough House, a country estate near

Rainham, Kent Rainham ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. Historically, Rainham was a separate village until, in 192 ...

, the son of Percy Wakeley (1860–1954) and his first wife Mary ("May") Sophia Pembrey (1865–1940). He was educated at

King's School, Rochester The King's School, Rochester, is an English independent school in Rochester, Kent. It is a cathedral school and, being part of the foundation of Rochester Cathedral, the Dean of Rochester serves as chair of the school's governing body. The sc ...

and

Borden Grammar School Borden Grammar School is a grammar school with academy status in Sittingbourne, Kent, England, which educates boys aged 11–18. A small number of girls have also been admitted to the Sixth Form. The school holds specialist status in sports. H ...

, both in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and then from 1907 to 1910 at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

. In 1910 he went to

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...

, where he received the Jelf Medal for surgery and qualified in 1915. He joined the Royal Navy and spent World War I as a surgeon-lieutenant aboard the hospital ship HMS ''Garth Castle'' at Scapa Flow. In 1922 he was appointed to the staff at

King’s College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

and was senior surgeon from the age of 41 until his retirement. In 1926 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were David Waterston, Reginald Gladstone,

John Millar Thomson Prof John Millar Thomson PIC FRS FRSE LLD (7 March 1849 – 22 March 1933) was a British chemist who held various leading positions with British chemical societies and was the vice-principal of King's College London. He was President of the I ...

and Joseph Strickland Goodall. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he was again a surgeon serving 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 ...

at the honorary rank of rear admiral. He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

in 1952. In 1947 he founded the

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England ''Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England'' is a medical journal published eight times a year by the College, in January, March, April, May, July, September, October and November. The sister journal of the ''Annals'' is the ''Bulletin of ...

which he continued to edit until 1969. He was president of the college from 1949 to 1954 during the period of establishment of the Faculty of Anaesthesia. He was elected President of the

Hunterian Society The Hunterian Society, founded in 1819 in honour of the Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728–1793), is a society of physicians and dentists based in London. Established by Dr William Cooke, a general practitioner, and Thomas Armiger, a surgeo ...

for 1961. Wakeley was active in

creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 'th ...

circles and was a member of the

Evolution Protest Movement The Creation Science Movement (CSM, founded in 1932 as the Evolution Protest Movement) is a British Creationist organisation which lays claim to the title "the oldest creationist movement in the world". It was a member of the Evangelical Alliance u ...

(now Creation Science Movement). He died in London on 5 June 1979.

Family

He married Elizabeth Muriel Nicholson-Smith (1896–1985) on 21 July 1925 in

. They had three sons: * Sir John Cecil Nicholson Wakeley, 2nd Baronet, father of Charles Wakeley (President of the British Society of Skeletal Radiologists) * Richard Michael Wakeley * William Jeremy Wakeley

Selected publications

*''Surgical Pathology'' (1929) ith St. John Dudley Buxton*''The Pineal Organ'' (1940) ith_Reginald_John_Gladstone.html" ;"title="Reginald_John_Gladstone.html" ;"title="ith Reginald John Gladstone">ith Reginald John Gladstone">Reginald_John_Gladstone.html" ;"title="ith Reginald John Gladstone">ith Reginald John Gladstone*''Modern Treatment Therapeutics'' (1950) *''Sir George Buckston Browne'' (1957) [with Jessie Dobson] *Editor of the "Rose and Carless" Manual of Surgery *Editor of the "British Journal of Surgery"

Life

Family

Selected publications

References

Further reading