William James Stuart

CBE 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 ...

PRCSE

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1873-1958) was a 20th-century Scottish surgeon who served as President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located on ...

from 1937 to 1939. He was affectionately known as Pussy Stuart.

Life

He was born the son of Rev John Stuart DD (1816-1886) minister of St Andrews parish in Edinburgh (and Chaplain in Ordinary to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

), and his wife, Jessie Duncan, daughter of Dr John Duncan (an eminent surgeon and founder of the medical chemical company Duncan & Flockhart). The family lived at 7 Northumberland Street, a large terraced Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh's Second New Town. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

close to his family home, then studied Medicine at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

graduating MB ChB in 1899. He held various appointments at

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

on Lauriston Place and was elected a Fellow of the

in 1903. In 1906 he was appointed Honorary Assistant Surgeon at the Deaconess Hospital in the south of the city. In 1908 he was given a parallel position at the Royal Infirmary. In 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 ...

he served as a Major 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 ...

, serving in

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

1916 to 1918. Although going into semi-retirement in 1938 he was brought into full operational use in 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 ...

when he was asked to run the surgical wards of

. He lived most of his later life at 9 Chester Street in Edinburgh's West End. In 1904 Stuart was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and served as President in 1936. In 1928 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the Club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh a ...

and served as Honorary Secretary from 1933 to 1949. He published an official history of the Club in 1949. In 1943 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Douglas Guthrie Douglas James Guthrie FRSE FRCS FRCP FRCSEd FRCPE (8 September 1885 – 8 June 1975) was a Scottish medical doctor, otolaryngologist and historian of medicine. After graduating in Medicine from Edinburgh University, he pursued postgraduate stu ...

Ernest Wedderburn Sir Ernest MacLagan Wedderburn (3 February 1884 – 3 June 1958) was a Scottish lawyer, and a significant figure both in the civic life of Edinburgh and in the legal establishment. He held the posts of Professor of Conveyancing in the Universi ...

, James Watt and

James Pickering Kendall James Pickering Kendall FRS FRSE (30 July 1889, in Chobham, Surrey – 14 June 1978, in Edinburgh) was a British chemist. Life Kendall was born in Chobham, Surrey to soldier William Henry Kendall of the Royal Horse Artillery, and his second w ...

. He was created a Commander 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 ...

(CBE) by King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

in 1952. He died in Edinburgh on 23 February 1958. He is buried with his parents in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in western Edinburgh. The grave lies against the north wall of the original northern extension.

Positions of Note

*President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 1937 to 1939 *President of the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh 1944/45 *Member of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society *On the board of the Scottish

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

*Executive Member of the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service *Church Elder at St Andrews Church, Edinburgh

Hobbies

He was a keen sportsman, playing both cricket and rugby and being a reserve for the Scottish International Rugby Team in 1901.

References

1873 births 1958 deaths Medical doctors from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish surgeons Burials at the Dean Cemetery Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire YMCA leaders Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh List of Office Bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and Harveian Orations Former members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-med-bio-stub