Sir Hedley John Barnard Atkins (30 December 1905 – 26 November 1983) was the first professor of surgery at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

and President of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

. He was the son of

physician Sir John Atkins and Elizabeth May (née Smith) and was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and Trinity College, Oxford. He gained a physiology degree at Oxford and in 1937 was appointed to the staff of Guy's as assistant surgeon, spending all his professional life in that institution. In 1942, during World War II, he went to North Africa with 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 ...

, subsequently served in Italy and the UK, was mentioned in despatches and demobilised with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He specialised in the scientific treatment of breast cancer and the Hedley Atkins Breast Unit at

New Cross Hospital New Cross Hospital is a hospital in the Heath Town district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is located to the east of the city centre in Wednesfield and is managed by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. His ...

acknowledges his contribution in the field. He was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1934, and became vice-president from 1964 to 1966 and President from 1966 to 1969. He was Bradshaw Lecturer in 1965 and delivered their Hunterian oration in 1971. From 1971 to 1973 he was President of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

. In 1959 he edited ''Tools of Biological Research'' and in 1977, wrote ''Memoirs of a Surgeon'' He and his wife moved into

Down House Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London before moving to Down ...

in Downe, Kent in 1962 to be honorary curator of the

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

museum there. He had married in 1933 Gladys Gwendoline Jones, the daughter of a civil engineer. They had two sons. He died in 1983.

References

1905 births 1983 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British surgeons 20th-century English medical doctors Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Royal Army Medical Corps officers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine 20th-century surgeons {{UK-med-bio-stub