Major-General William Brooke Purdon (28 November 1881 – 1 December 1950) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

soldier,

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and medical administrator. Towards the end of his life he was a representative of the Northern Ireland Government in London and for four years was an Honorary Surgeon to the King. In his youth Purdon was a rugby footballer of some note, representing several Irish clubs and was selected to play international rugby for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on three occasions in 1906.

Personal career

William Purdon was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1881. He was educated at

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

before matriculating to

Queen's College, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

where he studied medicine. He graduated as

Bachelor of Medicine 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 King ...

in 1906 and joined 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 1913 he took the Doctor of Public Health, and it was his specialisation in hygiene that he made his name after the war. During the First World War Purdon served the British Army with distinction. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and 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 ...

and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

three times during the conflict. In 1923 he was appointed

Officer 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 o ...

and Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. From 1930 to 1934 he was Assistant Director of Hygiene at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and from 1934 to 1935 he was Deputy Director Medical Services British Troops in Egypt. From 1935 to 1938 he was Professor of Hygiene at Royal Army Medical College and during the Second World War he was medical supervisor of

Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton Queen Mary's Hospital, formerly Queen Mary's Convalescent Auxiliary Hospitals, is a community hospital in Roehampton in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospita ...

. From 1938 to 1941 he was Honorary Surgeon to

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 his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

. In 1940 he was awarded the post of Deputy Director Medical Services Western Command. After retiring from the British Army he took up the role of Agent in London of the Northern Ireland Government.

Rugby career

Purdon first played rugby union as a schoolboy, before playing for the Queen's College team. It was while representing Queen's College that he was selected for the Ireland national team, playing all three games in the

1906 Home Nations Championship The 1906 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-fourth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 13 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1906 Championshi ...

. His first match, played away to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, saw him score a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in a 16–6 victory. Although part of the losing Ireland team against Scotland in February, his final game home to Wales saw a win which gave Ireland the Championship title. The Wales game, which Ireland won 11–6, saw the Irish team finish with just 13 men on the pitch, after Ernie Caddell broke his leg and Purdon was forced to withdraw with torn knee ligaments.Godwin (1984) p. 83 As well as Queen's, Purdon also played for

North of Ireland F.C. North of Ireland Football Club is a former Irish rugby union club that was based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was the first rugby club formed in what is now Northern Ireland and only two other clubs - Dublin University and Wanderers - were ...

and

Collegians Collegians are an Australian rugby league football team based in Wollongong. The club are a part of Country Rugby League and compete in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership. Originally known as CBC Old Boys, the Club was founded in 1933. The ...

and was selected for the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

rugby team. In 1949, Purdon was made President of

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, a post he held until his death in 1950.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Purdon, William 1881 births 1950 deaths Military personnel from Belfast People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution People educated at Methodist College Belfast Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union players Irish military doctors Rugby union scrum-halves North of Ireland F.C. players Queen's University RFC players British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of St John Irish healthcare managers Medical doctors from Belfast Collegians (Belfast) rugby union players