Sir Henry Howarth Bashford (13 January 1880 – 15 August 1961) was a distinguished English
physician, becoming Honorary Physician to King
George VI.
He was also an author, most notably of satirical novels.
Early life
Bashford was born in Kensington, London on 13 January 1880 the son of Frederick Bashford and Henrietta Eleanor, daughter of the Rev. Henry Howarth, Rector of
St George's, Hanover Square
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...
and
Chaplain in Ordinary
''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...
to
Queen Victoria. On his paternal side, his grandfather Lt. J. Bashford (later Captain),
Royal Navy, was mentioned in the official list of the wounded at the
Battle of Trafalgar in which he took part on board .
Bashford was educated at
Bedford Modern School, the
University of London and the
London Hospital.
[''Who Was Who'', Published by A&C Black Limited, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920-2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014]
Career
Bashford was Chief Medical Officer to the Post Office (1933–43) and subsequently Treasury Medical Adviser (1943–45). He was Honorary Physician to King
George VI (1941–44)
and was the late Honorary President of the Post Office Ambulance Centre,
St. John Ambulance Association
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
.
He was created a knight-bachelor of the
Order of St. John of Jerusalem, announced in the King’s birthday honours on 9 June 1938.
Writing
Bashford is now remembered as a writer, in particular of the satirical ''
Augustus Carp, Esq., By Himself: Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man'' (1924), which was first published anonymously. He also wrote some popular poetry.
Family life
In 1908 Bashford married Margaret Eveline, daughter of Ernest Sutton of Basildon, Berkshire. They had one son and three daughters. Bashford died in
Easton Royal on 15 August 1961.
Sir Henry is celebrated by a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
in the village of Easton Royal, his last resting place, where he was the much-loved village historian and benefactor.
The National Portrait Gallery has a photographic bromide print portrait of Sir Henry.
Works
*Tommy Wideawake (1903)
*The Manitoban: A Romance (1904)
*The Pilgrims' March (1909)
*The corner of Harley Street: being some familiar correspondence of Peter Harding, M.D. (1911)
*Vagabonds In Périgord (1914)
*Pity the poor blind (1917)
*Sons Of Admiralty: A Short History Of The Naval War 1914-1918 with Archibald Hurd (1919)
*The Heroic Record of the British Navy with A. Hurd (1920)
Half-Past Bedtime(1922)
*
Augustus Carp, Esq., By Himself: Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man (1924)
*The Happy Ghost and Other Stories (1925)
*Behind The Fog (1927)
*The Harley Street Calendar (1929)
*The Student Life And Other Essays (Intro to work by William Ostler) (1931)
*The Man On Ben Na Garve
hort story in The Second Century Of Detective Stories Ed EC Bentley(1938)
*Doctors In Shirt Sleeves (1940)
*Fisherman's Progress (1946)
*Wiltshire Harvest (1953)
*
Easton Royal: A Short History
*Lodgings For Twelve
*The Plain Girl's Tale
*Songs Out Of School
He also wrote as Peter Harding.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bashford, H.H.
1880 births
People educated at Bedford Modern School
1961 deaths
English satirists
Knights Bachelor
Knights of Grace of the Order of St John
20th-century English medical doctors
English male poets
20th-century English poets
British medical writers
20th-century English male writers
People from Kensington