Dr. Robert Emlyn Havard (1901–1985) was the physician of

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

, his wife

Joy Gresham Helen Joy Davidman (18 April 1915 – 13 July 1960) was an American poet and writer. Often referred to as a child prodigy, she earned a master's degree from Columbia University in English literature at age twenty in 1935. For her book of po ...

, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Havard has also been credited as a "skilled and prolific writer".

Interactions with other writer

In addition to his medical research papers, Havard authored an appendix for C. S. Lewis's ''

The Problem of Pain ''The Problem of Pain'' is a 1940 book on the problem of evil by C. S. Lewis, in which Lewis argues that human pain, animal pain, and hell are not sufficient reasons to reject belief in a good and powerful God. Lewis states that his writing ...

'' as well as a description of Lewis included in ''Remembering C. S. Lewis: Recollections of Those Who Knew Him'' and one of J. R. R. Tolkien included in ''Mythlore.'' Lewis invited Havard to join the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

-based

Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pr ...

because of the literary interests he shared with that group. Like Tolkien, he was a Roman Catholic. Havard was sometimes referred to by the Inklings as the "Useless Quack," mainly because

Warren Lewis Warren Hamilton Lewis (16 June 1895 – 9 April 1973) was a British historian and officer in the British Army, best known as the elder brother of writer and professor C. S. Lewis. Warren Lewis was a supply officer with the Royal Army Service Co ...

once called him so upon being irritated by his tardiness, and his brother, Jack, thought it quite amusing at the time and caused the nickname to continue. The abbreviation "U.Q." was thereafter a common reference to Havard.

Hugo Dyson Henry Victor Dyson Dyson (7 April 1896 – 6 June 1975), generally known as Hugo Dyson and who signed his writings H. V. D. Dyson, was an English academic and a member of the Inklings literary group. He was a committed Christian, and together w ...

once called him "Humphrey" when he could not remember his name. After that, Havard was quite frequently known as "Dr. Humphrey Havard," to the extent that when

Douglas Gresham Douglas Howard Gresham (born November 10, 1945) is an American British stage and voice-over actor, biographer, film producer, and executive record producer. He is one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis. Early life Gresham was born in Ne ...

came to know him years later and became his patient, it was some time before he discovered Robert Havard's actual name was not really Humphrey.

References

* 1901 births 1985 deaths Alumni of Keble College, Oxford 20th-century English medical doctors Inklings {{UK-med-bio-stub