John Hedley Cule (7 February 1920 10 April 2015) was a Welsh physician who worked as a general practitioner and later as a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. In 2005, he was awarded a

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for his work in mental health in West Wales. His interest in the history of medicine led him to become the editor of the journal ''Vesalius'', lecturer in the history of medicine at the

Welsh National School of Medicine The Cardiff University School of Medicine ( cy, Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd) is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmouth ...

and the president of the

British Society for the History of Medicine The British Society for the History of Medicine (BSHM) is an umbrella organisation of History of medicine societies throughout the United Kingdom, with particular representation to the International Society for the History of Medicine. It has grown ...

, the

Osler Club of London The Osler Club of London is a society founded in 1928 to encourage the study of the history of medicine, particularly amongst medical students, and to keep "green the memory of Sir William Osler". Membership in the club is open to medical men an ...

, the

International Society for the History of Medicine The International Society for the History of Medicine is a non profit international society devoted to the academic study of the history of medicine, including the organization of international congresses. The Society was founded in 1920 in Belgiu ...

and the Welsh Society of the History of Medicine.

Early life

John Cule was born on 7 February 1920 in

Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district of ...

in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

, to Walter Edwards Cule, a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

. The eldest of his siblings, he attended the Rhondda Intermediate School for Boys, and then became the

chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

in the local chapel at Porth County School. Subsequently, he attended the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Kingswood School (''In The Right Way Quickly'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = Methodist , president = , head_label = Headmaste ...

in Bath. Here he was inspired into medicine and its history by the headmaster, A. Barrett Sackett, and as a result in 1938 gained admission to Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge. He transferred to

King's College Hospital Medical School GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital ( Southwark), King's College Hospital ( Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital ( La ...

for his clinical training.

Second World War

During the Second World War he attended to the injured during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

and in 1942 he became house physician and casualty officer one year earlier than usual due to the effects of the war. After gaining his medical degree in 1943,''The Medical Register 1944'', published for the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

, London, p. 365 he was commissioned as first lieutenant 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 ...

on 8 January 1944. He was posted to the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

in Calabria, Italy. He was forced to learn Italian as his

batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, an Italian prisoner of war Marcello Fillini, spoke no English. In 1944, he was promoted to captain and

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

after treating a Royal Army Service Corps driver for a

pneumothorax A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve ...

(collapsed lung). In 1945, he was posted to Austria as part of Operation Henpeck.

Career

In 1947, Cule began his surgical training at

Addenbrookes Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...

and the following year, his medical training at

King's Cross Hospital King's Cross Hospital, often shortened to King's Cross is a hospital in Dundee, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Tayside. History King's Cross opened in November 1889 at a site in Clepington Road, Dundee. It was the city's first permanent fever ...

. Between 1948 and 1971, he worked in

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, Surrey. Cule retired from general practice in 1972, began to fish on the

River Teifi , name_etymology = , image = File:Llyn Teifi - geograph.org.uk - 41773.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Llyn Teifi, the source of the Teifi , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

and moved to Capel Dewi in Ceredigion, West Wales. Here he trained as a psychiatrist and worked at

St David's Hospital, Carmarthen St David's Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Dewi Sant) was a psychiatric hospital in Carmarthen, Wales. The main Victorian building is Grade II listed. History Formation The hospital opened as the Carmarthenshire, Cardigan and Pembrokeshire County Asylum ...

, and the psychiatric unit of the West Wales General Hospital. He remained in this role until 1986. In 2005 he was awarded an MBE for his work in mental health in West Wales.

History of medicine

In 1962, Cule joined the

Worshipful Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a m ...

as a liveryman, and two years later became a freeman of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. In the late 1970s, he became lecturer in the history of medicine at the

and a fellow of the Faculty of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Society of Apothecaries. He became a member of the international committee of the

and edited its chief journal ''Vesalius'' and became its world president in 1998. He became president of the

in 1986."British Society for the History of Medicine"
''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'', 11 January 1986, Vol. 292, p. 144. In addition, he was president of the

, the

and the Welsh Society of the History of Medicine.

Family and personal

Cule married nurse Joyce Leslie Bonser in 1944 and they had two sons, Simon and Peter, and a daughter Myfanwy. He sent his sons to the same school that he had attended for sixth form, in Bath. His hobbies included fishing, and later, driving ponies. In 1979, he qualified for the

scurry driving Scurry Racing, Monmouth Show.A pair of ponies being driven in the scurry competition at the 2012 Scurry driving is a fast-paced equestrian sport in which a pair of ponies pull a carriage around a course of cones in an attempt to get the fastest ...

at the

Horse of the Year Show The Horse of the Year Show - also known as HOYS (pronounced /hois/)- was founded to be a culmination of the British equestrian events year. The Show was the idea of Captain Tony Collings and was realised by the then Chairman of BSJA (now British ...

Death

Cule died on 10 April 2015, at the age of 95 and six years after his wife. At the time of his death, he resided at Abereinon,

Capel Dewi, Llandysul Capel Dewi is a small village in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The village lies in the Clettwr Valley mostly on the eastern bank of the River Clettwr, a tributary of the River Teifi. Capel Dewi is part of the community of Llandysul along with ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

Selected publications

* ''Wreath on The Crown: The Story Of Sarah Jacob, The Welsh Fasting Girl''. Gomerian Press Llandysul, 1967. * ''Wales and Medicine''. Gomer Press, 1975. (Editor) * ''A Doctor for the People: 2000 Years of General Practice in Britain''. Update Books, London, 1980. * ''Wales and Medicine: Source List for Printed Books and Papers Showing the History of Medicine in Relation to Wales and Welshmen''. National Library of Wales, 1980. * ''Child Care Through the Centuries: An Historical Survey from Papers Given at the Tenth British Congress on the History of Medicine''. STS Publications, Cardiff, 1986. * ''Russia and Wales: Essays on the History of State Involvement in Health Care''. History of Medicine Society of Wales. (Editor with J. M. Lancaster)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cule, John 1920 births 2015 deaths British medical writers 20th-century Welsh medical doctors People from Pentre Royal Army Medical Corps officers Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Kingswood School, Bath British Army personnel of World War II British general practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Cambridge Medical historians Presidents of learned societies Welsh psychiatrists