Geoffrey Slaney
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Sir Geoffrey Slaney, (19 September 1922 – 29 January 2016) was a British surgeon and academic, specialising in
vascular Vascular can refer to: * blood vessels, the vascular system in animals * vascular tissue Vascular tissue is a complex transporting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue ...
and
gastrointestinal surgery Digestive system surgery, or gastrointestinal surgery, can be divided into upper GI surgery and lower GI surgery. Subtypes Upper gastrointestinal Upper gastrointestinal surgery, often referred to as upper GI surgery, refers to a practise of surg ...
. He held the Barling Chair of Surgery at the
University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
from 1971 to 1986, and was the President of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...
from 1982 to 1986.'SLANEY, Prof. Sir Geoffrey', ''
Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...
'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 19 Sept 2017
/ref>


Career


Military service

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Slaney was a member of the University of Birmingham's Home Guard battalion. In 1948, Slaney was called up to the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
to complete his
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
. He was commissioned into 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 ...
(RAMC) 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 ...
on 22 August 1948. He was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
on 22 August 1949. He served as a medical officer at
Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and List of modern military towns, military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 14 ...
in Yorkshire, England, and in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany. He left the army in 1950 after completing the required two years service.


Medical career

Slaney began his medical career as a house surgeon at
Birmingham General Hospital Birmingham General Hospital was a teaching hospital in Birmingham, England, founded in 1779 and closed in the mid-1990s. History Summer Lane In 1765, a committee for a proposed hospital, formed by John Ash (physician), John Ash and suppo ...
from 1947 to 1948. Then, from 1948 to 1950, he was a medical officer in the British Army. From 1950 to 1953, he worked as a surgical registrar at hospitals in
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
and
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 ...
. From 1953 to 1959, he was a surgical registrar at
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is a major, 1,215 bed, tertiary NHS and military hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construc ...
. In 1955, he undertook a one-year post at
Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, United States: he worked under Warren Henry Cole and was exposed to the relatively new specialism of
vascular surgery Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which vascular diseases involving the arteries, veins, or lymphatic vessels, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolve ...
. In 1958, he joined Dudley Road Hospital as a surgeon.


Academic career

From 1953 to 1959, Slaney was a
lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
in surgery at the
University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1959. He held the Hunterian Professorship of the Royal College of Surgeons for 1961/1962. He was made
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of Surgery in 1966. From 1971 to 1986, he held the Barling Chair of Surgery. In December 1982, Slaney was elected as the next President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in succession to Sir Alan Parks. He served as president until 1986, when he was succeeded by Sir Ian Todd. In 1987, he gave the Hunterian Oration, a lecture of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...
.


Honours

In the 1984 Queen's Birthday Honours, Slaney was appointed a
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 ...
(KBE) and therefore granted the
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
''
sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...
''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaney, Geoffrey 1922 births 2016 deaths British vascular surgeons Academics of the University of Birmingham Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Royal Army Medical Corps officers