Lt. Col. Richard John Vulliamy Battle

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 ...

, FRCS, LRCP, MCh Cantab, MA Cantab, BA Cantab, 1970

Gillies Gold Medal Gillies is both a Scottish surname and a given name shared by several notable people: Surname uses Politicians * Duncan Gillies (1834–1903), Australian colonial and state politician * James McPhail Gillies (born 1924), Canadian national poli ...

. (21 January 1907 – 26 May 1982) was an English plastic surgeon.

Early life

The son of

William Henry Battle William Henry Battle (23 February 1855 – 1936) was an English surgeon and teacher. Education William Henry Battle was born in Lincolnshire on 23 February 1855 and died in 1936. Starting in 1866, he attended Lincoln Christ's Hospital School a ...

and Anna Marguerite (née Vulliamy). Battle was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. His father's family (Battle) were farmers in Potterhanworth and owners of a pharmaceutical chemist business in Lincolnshire.

Career

Following service as a military plastic surgeon during 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 opposin ...

for which he was awarded the MBE, Battle was appointed as Consultant Plastic Surgeon to St Thomas Hospital, London, the Westminster Hospital, London, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital(Hackney), London, which he served until his retirement from the NHS in 1972. He also had a small private practice in London. He was Honorary Consultant in Plastic Surgery to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

from 1955 to 1971 and President of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons for 1952 and again for 1967.

Military service

Before 1939, he was a member of the Territorial Army and served the War of 1939–1945 in the

RAMC 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 ...

. France, 1939–40, Italy, 1943–46. Commanded No. 1 Maxillo Facial Unit and 98 General Hospital. Promoted Major, 1940, and Lieutenant-Colonel, 1945.

Publications

*''Plastic Surgery'' (1964) *Many contributions on plastic surgery to scientific periodicals

Professional qualifications

*1928: Bachelor of Arts (

Cantab. , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

) *1931: MRCS and LRCP *1935: MCh (Cantab.) *1933: FRCS *1935: MA (Cantab.)

Honours

*1945:

Member of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

*1970:

Family

Battle's father was the surgeon William Henry Battle. His father's family (Battle) were farmers in Potterhanworth and owners of a pharmaceutical chemist business in Lincolnshire. In 1941, Battle married Jessie Margaret King, and they had three sons.

References

*''Battle, Richard John Vulliamy'' in ''Who Was Who 1897–2006'', fro
Battle, Richard John Vulliamy
(accessed 22 August 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Richard John Vulliamy 1907 births 1982 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British plastic surgeons People educated at Gresham's School Medical doctors from London Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 20th-century surgeons