Sir D'Arcy Power, (11 November 1855 in

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

- 18 May 1941) was a British

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, medical historian, and contributor of some 200 articles on famous surgeons and other related figures to the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''.

Medical career

D'Arcy Power was born on 11 November 1855 at 3 Grosvenor Terrace, Pimlico, in London, to Henry Power, himself a surgeon. Power was the eldest son of six boys and five girls. He was educated at

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Merchant Taylors' School is an 11–18 boys Public school (United Kingdom), public day school, founded in 1561 in London. The school has occupied various campuses. From 1933 it has been at Sandy Lodge, a site close to Northwood, London, Nort ...

and entered

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, before transferring to Exeter College. Though he wanted to be a

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

, he ended up following his father into becoming a surgeon (at

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 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Ra ...

). In this vein, he became a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

in 1883, serving as a member of its council from 1912 to 1928, and being its vice-president for the years 1921 and 1922. He gave the

Bradshaw Lecture The Bradshaw Lectures are lectureships given at the invitation of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and reg ...

for 1918, the Vicary lecture for 1920, and delivered the

Hunterian oration The Hunterian Oration is a lecture of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, named in honour of pioneering surgeon John Hunter and held on his birthday, 14 February, each year. History The oration was founded in 1813 by the executors of th ...

in 1925. He was variously also the Mitchell Banks Memorial Lecturer in 1933; a member of the executive committee of the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and ...

; President of the

Medical Society of London Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

; President of th
Harveian Society of London
and President of the

History of Medicine Society The History of Medicine Society (HoMS) (formerly "section"), at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), London, was founded by Sir William Osler in 1912, and later became one of the four founder medical societies of the British Society for the His ...

(previously section) at the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

, 1926 to 1928. Power also both taught and examined in medicine and wrote textbooks and articles for a number of medical journals.

Army service

Commissioned as a surgeon in the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps on 25 April 1888, Power was given the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

when its

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

section was created on 31 July 1908, and was attached to 1st London General Hospital. He was mobilised with the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in August 1914, and promoted lieutenant-colonel on 22 August. Until 1916 he was based at the officers' hospital at

Fishmongers' Hall Fishmongers' Hall (sometimes shortened in common parlance to Fish Hall) is a listed building, Grade II* listed building adjacent to London Bridge. It is the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, one of the 111 livery companies of ...

, and then rejoined the main body of 1st London General Hospital, serving until demobilisation in 1920, Power was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in recognition of his service in military hospitals during the First World War in the 1919

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

. He retired from the army on 30 September 1921.

Personal life

Power married Eleanor Fosbroke, daughter of the surgeon George Haynes Fosbroke, in 1883; she predeceased him in 1923. They had two sons and a daughter. The older son, also called D'Arcy Power, followed his father into part-time service in the RAMC in 1911, and during the First World War became a captain and won the

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

. He transferred to the Medical Branch of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

on the formation of the new service on 1 April 1918—taking a permanent commission as a flight lieutenant in 1920—and ultimately reaching the rank of acting

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

by 1945 when he was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. The younger son, George Henry Fosbroke Power, died at the

Second Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 22 April – 25 May 1915, during the First World War, for control of the tactically-important high ground to the east and the south of the Flanders, Flemish town of Ypres, in western Belgium. The ...

in 1915 when he was serving as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 6th Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

. Power's daughter died young of

whooping cough Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable Pathogenic bacteria, bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common c ...

. Power, who was presented on his 75th birthday with a bibliography listing 609 of his "selected writings" by a special committee of the Osler Club, was also a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(where he was, for some time, a member of the council) and President of the

Bibliographical Society Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society in the UK dealing with the study of the book and its history. The Society promotes and encourages study and research in historical, analytical, descriptive and textual ...

from 1926 to 1928. He was a member of the London Survey Committee, a voluntary organisation publishing architectural surveys of the capital. He was also in 1903 a founding member of the

Samuel Pepys Club The Samuel Pepys Club is a London club founded in 1903 to do honour to the memory of Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), the English naval administrator and Member of Parliament now best known as a diarist. Origin On 26 May 1903, at the Garrick Club in ...

. After his home was damaged in an air raid in 1940, Power moved in with his son at 53 Murray Road,

Northwood, Middlesex Northwood is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, North West London, located northwest of Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex. The area was situated on the historic Middlesex boundary with Hert ...

, where he died on 18 May 1941.

Notable works

Power's more notable standalone works included:
''William Harvey''
(1897) on the life of

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...

;
''Portraits of Dr William Harvey''
(1913); * ''Foundations of Medical History'' (1931); * ''A Short History of Surgery'' (1933); * ''Mirror for Surgeons'', an anthology (1939).

References

External links

prepared by the Royal College of Surgeons {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Darcy 1855 births 1941 deaths English surgeons English biographers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Royal Army Medical Corps officers People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Presidents of the History of Medicine Society Presidents of the Bibliographical Society