Prof William McGregor Mitchell

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 ...

MC TD (1888- 13 April 1970) was a 20th-century Scottish veterinary surgeon who served with distinction 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 ...

, and was later the Director of the Veterinary Services in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Life

He was born in 1888 the son of a veterinary surgeon. He studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh 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 15 ...

, and studied as a veterinary at the

Dick Vet The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine the head of which is Moira Whyt ...

College in the south of the city. In the

he served in the

Royal Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and ca ...

and was especially involved in the rehabilitation of horses. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for his bravery in June 1917. In 1919 he joined the Dick Vet as Professor of Veterinary Surgery. At the Dick Vet he ran the

Officer Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

and was awarded the Territorial Decoration for his services in 1928. 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 ...

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 ...

at the rank of Major. In 1946, after the war, he became Director of the college. He was President of the

British Veterinary Association The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is the national body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom and is a not-for-profit organisation. Its purpose is that of knowledge dissemination, and not professional validation or academic compete ...

1946/7. In 1951 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

Francis Albert Eley Crew Francis Albert Eley Crew FRS FRSE LLD (2 March 1886 – 26 May 1973) was an English animal geneticist. He was a pioneer in his field leading to the University of Edinburgh’s place as a world leader in the science of animal genetics. He was t ...

James Couper Brash James Couper Brash, MC, FRCSE, FRSE (24 October 1886 in Cathcart – 19 January 1958 in Edinburgh) was a leading anatomist and embryologist in Britain. Early life and family James Couper Brash was born in Cathcart in Scotland, the son of ...

Alexander Murray Drennan Alexander Murray Drennan FRSE FRCPE (4 January 1884 – 29 February 1984) was a Scottish pathologist. In the First World War, he promoted the widespread use of Edinburgh University Solution (sold under the brand name of Eusol). A keen yachts ...

and James Ritchie. From 1953 to 1957 he also served as Professor of Veterinary Education at the University of Edinburgh. He died in hospital in Haddington on 13 April 1970.

Artistic recognition

His portrait by Robert Lyon is held by the

References

1888 births 1970 deaths Health professionals from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish veterinarians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Royal Army Veterinary Corps officers Royal Army Medical Corps officers Recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Glasgow {{Scotland-bio-stub