Air Marshal Sir Harold Edward Whittingham (3 October 1887 – 16 July 1983) was a British physician notable for a distinguished medical career in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and contributions to

Aviation medicine Aviation medicine, also called flight medicine or aerospace medicine, is a preventive or occupational medicine in which the patients/subjects are pilots, aircrews, or astronauts. The specialty strives to treat or prevent conditions to which aircr ...

. After graduating from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, he was the first

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

and Assistant Director of Research at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow. Much of his work concerned, pathology, disease, aerospace medicine, medical records, medical education, first aid, malaria, tropical medicine, physiology and occupational health.

Early life

Whittingham was the second son of Engineer-Rear Admiral William Whittingham CB and Elizabeth Annie, and like his siblings he chose to study medicine. He was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...

, the

Greenock Academy The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven t ...

and the University of Glasgow. As an undergraduate he excelled at winning medals of distinction in Zoology, Surgery, Pathology and the Gairdner medal in the practice of medicine. His first post in 1910 was as

and assistant director of research at the Royal Cancer Hospital,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, (later renamed to the Beaston Institute) which had a dedicated area for the pathological study of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. In 1915 he was a volunteer in the

first world war World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

serving in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

and subsequently the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in India and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

where he pursued his studies in tropical medicine. In 1917 his younger brother Clive, who was also a physician, was killed in action followed by his elder brother William, who was killed in action in 1918.

RAF

Tropical medicine

Whittingham had a long career in the RAF beginning in 1918 when he was transferred to the Royal Air Force as a

. Promotion followed and by 1923, he was

Wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

and head of the Sandfly fever commission, stationed at Kalafrana,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He was the first to study and breed sandfly in captivity; his recommendations resulted in reduced incidence of sandfly fever within the RAF. For his sandfly research paper he was awarded the North Persian Medal in 1923 which was awarded annually for the best tropical research paper. His highly detailed sandfly drawings were displayed at the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibit ...

of 1924 and are now in the

Wellcome Library The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of med ...

in London. As well as serving as director of pathology and tropical medicines for the RAF, he gave biochemistry lectures at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

during the inter-war years.

Aviation medicine

From 1927 to 1939 he was a pathologist at the

Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital The Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital (colloquially called the Royal Bucks) is a private hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History The hospital was established, by adding new wings to an 18th-century country ...

and in 1930 he was awarded the

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. In 1932 he became

Group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

and from 1934 until 1939 was the commanding officer of the RAF Central Medical Establishment, promoted to Air commodore in 1936. He took the

Membership of the Royal College of Physicians Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

in 1936 and was elected FRCP in 1940. From 1938 until 1946 he held the appointment of honorary physician to the king.
He was given a knighthood at the beginning of

World War II 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 opposin ...

. Many of his lecture notes, drawings and cartoons were implemented into Air Ministry booklets such as ''Health Hints for Warm Climates'' and distributed for the well-being of British servicemen. Lessons learnt from the second world war indicated that there was a requirement for studying the effects of aviation on aircrew and in 1943 he proposed the establishment of the

RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine The Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine was a Royal Air Force aviation medicine research unit active between 1945 and 1994. Early days The RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM) was opened on 30 April 1945 by the Princess Royal. ...

(IAM). He was successful and it was eventually built on a corner of Farnborough airfield and officially opened by the Princess Royal in 1945. Problems with exposure to altitude in flying such as

hypoxia Hypoxia means a lower than normal level of oxygen, and may refer to: Reduced or insufficient oxygen * Hypoxia (environmental), abnormally low oxygen content of the specific environment * Hypoxia (medical), abnormally low level of oxygen in the tis ...

had already been recognised and with future high altitude aircraft such as

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

being envisaged, the IAM played an important role in altitude protection. They covered both military and commercial issues such as determining the safe maximum cabin altitude for commercial passenger aircraft.

Post Second World War

He was made Legion of Merit commander USA and

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

in 1945 retiring from the RAF in 1946 to become medical adviser to the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

Society where his expertise was used for military and civilian first aid manuals. In 1948 he joined

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

as director of medical services where he worked for the next decade. In 1949 he was appointed chairman of the Air Ministry Flying Personnel Research Committee, whose brief was to advise the

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretar ...

on all aspects of research concerning flight safety. Whittingham and his colleagues travelled the world examining medical facilities, sanitation and food supplies in BOAC stations and made reports and recommendations for improvement. During his career he made significant contributions toward investigating medical evidence from aircraft crashes; most significantly, the Comet disasters. The findings of the Comet team led by Group Captain Bill Stewart demonstrated the need for research trained, medical specialists and this led to the formation of the RAF Department of Aviation Pathology. In 1955, a conference was held from which the Joint Committee on Aviation Pathology was formed consisting of members from the flying services of the US, Canada and Britain. Whittingham, a BMA member, was held in high esteem by his peers and in 1973, the RCP professorship of aviation medicine was renamed the Whittingham professorship "in honour of his outstanding leadership in this field".

Honours

During his career, he gained the following honours: *MB ChB Glasg (1910) *DPH (1919) *DTM&H (1920) *North Persian Memorial Medal (1923) *Chadwick Gold Medal (1925) * FRFPSG (1926) * MRCP (1927) *

(1930) *

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(1941) * KCB (1944) * Hon LLD Glasg (1943) *John Jeffries Institute of Aeronautical Sciences (1944) *FRCPE (1945) *Hon FRCSE (1945) *

(1945) *USA Legion of Merit (Commander) (1945) *

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

(1945) * FRCP (1946) *Stewart memorial award (1970)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittingham, Harold 1887 births 1983 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire British pathologists 20th-century surgeons