Sir Francis Gordon Bell ,

FRCS 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, ...

, FRCSEd, FRACS (13 September 1887 – 28 February 1970) was a New Zealand surgeon who was professor of surgery at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. He was a founder member of the

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand. Known by its common acronym RACS, it is a not-for-profit organisation, supp ...

and was elected its president in 1947. In the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in '' The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The rec ...

, Bell 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 ...

Early life and education

Bell was born at Northbank Station on the

Wairau river The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for from the Spenser Mountains (a northern range of the Southern Alps), firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley i ...

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

, New Zealand on 13 September 1887. He was the son of William Bell, a sheep farmer and his wife Emma Amelia Dolamore, a schoolmistress and daughter of New Zealand's first Baptist clergyman, Decimus Dolamore. He was educated at

Marlborough High School {{Unreferenced, date=July 2023 Marlborough High School is a secondary school in Zimbabwe which is located in a Harare suburb called Marlborough. Marlborough is to the north of Harare City Centre and lies between the roads leading to Chinhoyi and B ...

(later Marlborough Boys' College) where he was captain of rugby and vice captain of cricket. He then went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to study medicine. Here he won the Vans Dunlop Scholarship in anatomy in 1908, going on to graduate

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

with first class honours in 1910. He then spent four years combining clinical work with research and demonstrating in the University Anatomy Department. He became a Fellow 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 ...

in 1912. Under the direction of the neurologist Alexander Bruce, he completed a thesis on the development and microscopic appearance of the

occipital lobe The occipital lobe is one of the four Lobes of the brain, major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The name derives from its position at the back of the head, from the Latin , 'behind', and , 'head'. The occipital lobe is the ...

s of the brain for which he was awarded the degree of

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

(MD) in 1912 and for which he won the Goodsir Memorial Fellowship, named for

John Goodsir John Goodsir (20 March 1814 – 6 March 1867) was a Scottish anatomist and a pioneer in the formulation of cell theory. Early life Goodsir was born on 20 March 1814 in Anstruther, Fife, the son of Elizabeth Dunbar Taylor and John Goods ...

an earlier professor of anatomy.

Early surgical career

In 1912 Bell started his clinical career in the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

(RIE) as house surgeon to Professor Alexis Thomson and went on to resident surgical officer (RSO) posts at the Stanley Hospital, Liverpool and in Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester. A visit to Professor

August Bier August Karl Gustav Bier (24 November 1861 – 12 March 1949) was a German surgeon. He was the first to perform spinal anesthesia and intravenous regional anesthesia. Early medical career Bier began his medical education at the Charité – U ...

's department at the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

Hospital in Berlin was followed by a fellowship to the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

in Rochester, Minnesota, which he took up at the start of

World War I 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 ...

. Bell returned to Britain in 1915 and joined 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). He was posted to France with the 20th General Hospital and in 1916 joined casualty clearing station (CCS) number 21 as a surgical specialist. During the four and a half months of the Battle of the Somme he gained his first experience of military surgery. He was promoted to major and then transferred to number 48 CCS and, with this unit, he was heavily involved in the treatment of casualties from all the major Western Front battles of 1917 and 1918. For his service to the wounded he was awarded 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 ...

in 1916 and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

Later career

After demobilisation in 1919 Bell returned to Edinburgh and from 1920 to 1923 he was clinical tutor in the RIE under Professor Alexis Thomson. In 1924 he was appointed assistant surgeon to the RIE. During this period he studied the development and histological appearance of the various types of testicular tumours. His conclusions, published in two important publications in 1925, came to be regarded as a significant contribution to the understanding of the development and classification of these tumours. In 1925 he was appointed to the chair of surgery at the

, New Zealand. Here he actively promoted the establishment of specialist surgical units and their integration into the university department of surgery. At a meeting held in Dunedin in 1927, the first steps towards the establishment of an Australasian College of Surgeons were taken and Bell was an enthusiastic supporter. He was a foundation Fellow of the

(RACS) and played an increasingly active part in its affairs both in New Zealand and in Australia. During

World War II 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 ...

with the depletion of academic staff on military duty, and an increase in medical student numbers, he took on much of the increased teaching commitment of his department. He retired in 1952 and was succeeded by Professor (later Sir)

Michael Woodruff Sir Michael Francis Addison Woodruff, (3 April 1911 – 10 March 2001) was an English surgeon and scientist principally remembered for his research into organ transplantation. Though born in London, Woodruff spent his youth in Australia ...

. In 1964 he published, with Sir Charles Hercus, a history of the Otago medical school and his autobiography ''Surgeon's Saga'' was published in 1968.

Honours and awards

Bell was president of the RACS between 1947 and 1949. In 1952 he became an honorary Fellow of 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 ...

. In the

, he was appointed a

Personal life

On 15 March 1916 Bell married Marion Welsh Berry Austin in Edinburgh. She ran a Red Cross convalescent hospital, and was awarded the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

for this work. They were to have three daughters and one son.

Death and legacy

Bell died in Dunedin on 28 February 1970. He is commemorated by an annual RACS eponymous lecture and by the Sir Gordon Bell prize in surgery awarded by the University of Otago medical school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Gordon 1887 births 1970 deaths New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross Academic staff of the University of Otago Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from the Marlborough District People educated at Marlborough Boys' College Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 20th-century New Zealand surgeons