Ronald Parfitt (3 June 1913 – 4 January 2011) was a British fencer and

radiotherapist A radiation therapist, therapeutic radiographer or radiotherapist is an allied health professional who works in the field of radiation oncology. Radiation therapists plan and administer radiation treatments to cancer patients in most Western cou ...

. He competed in the individual and team

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

events at the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Biography

Parfitt was born in a dentist family in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. He attended

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. ...

to become a dentist, but qualified as general doctor in 1939. He served 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 ...

during World War II in North Africa and Europe. In 1946, he joined the radiation therapy department at

Lambeth Hospital Lambeth Hospital is a mental health facility in Landor Road, South London. It was previously known as the "Landor Road hospital" and is now operated by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and is affiliated with King's College Lond ...

, where he worked among others with Theodore Stephanides. Parfitt won the United Kingdom national épée championships in 1948 and 1950. He invented first electric fencing box in England. In 1949 Parfitt married hospital nurse Margaret. His wife died in 2008; they had 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parfitt, Ronald 1913 births 2011 deaths British male fencers Olympic fencers for Great Britain Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers from London 20th-century British medical doctors British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers