Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys, 2nd Baronet (7 May 1892 – 14 December 1980) was a British physician who was a leading figure in the public health service.

Career

Weldon Champneys was the only surviving son of Sir Francis Champneys, 1st Baronet (also a physician) and his wife Virginia, daughter of Sir John Dalrymple, 7th Baronet. He 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 ...

and studied medicine at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, and

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, London. His studies were interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when he served in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He finally obtained his first medical degrees (

MB BCh Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...

) in 1922 and went on to gain a doctorate ( MD) from Oxford in 1929. In 1924 he changed his name by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

, adding his mother's surname to his father's and becoming Weldon Dalrymple Champneys. He joined the Ministry of Health and rose to be Deputy Chief Medical Officer 1940–56. He was appointed in the 1957 New Year Honours. He was awarded an honorary fellowship of his ''alma mater'',

, in 1967.

Family

In 1924 Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys married Anne Spencer Pratt. He inherited the baronetcy on his father's death in 1930, becoming Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys, 2nd Baronet.

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University of London, the ...

later claimed that Lady Dalrymple-Champneys was a low-level

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...

agent. She died in 1968 and in 1974 he married Norma Russell (née Lewis) who had been librarian of

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

, 1952–69; she died in 1997.Obituary: Norma Dalrymple-Champneys
''The Independent'', London, 12 January 1998 There were no children of either marriage, so the baronetcy became extinct on Sir Weldon's death.

References

Sources

DALRYMPLE-CHAMPNEYS, Captain Sir Weldon
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014) *Obituary: Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys: Leading figure in the public health service, ''The Times'', London, 16 December 1980, page 15.

External links

*
Portrait of Captain Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys
by Isaac Michael Cohen (1884–1951) at Oriel College, Oxford
Dalrymple-Champneys, Sir Weldon (1892-1980)
Wellcome Library Western Manuscripts and Archives * Sir George Godber
"Lives of the fellows: Weldon (Sir) Dalrymple-Champneys"
Royal College of Physicians {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple-Champneys, Weldon 1892 births 1980 deaths People educated at Gresham's School Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital 20th-century English medical doctors Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Companions of the Order of the Bath Presidents of the History of Medicine Society