(Edward) Nevill "E.N." Willmer, FRS (15 August 1902 – 8 April 2001) was a British academic who was Professor of

Histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1966-69.

Biography

Willmer was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

in 1902 to a cotton broker named Arthur Washington Willmer and his wife Janet.. He was educated at

Birkenhead School Birkenhead School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, academically-selective, co-educational day school located in Oxton, Merseyside, Oxton, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, in North West England. The school offers educational opportu ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

(B.A. 1924). He became a demonstrator at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

before being elected a Fellow of

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

in 1936. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1960 and became Professor Emeritus in 1969. Willmer's major work was a three-volume treatise on tissue culture, ''"Cells and Tissue in Culture: methods, biology and physiology" ''(1965). This was a significant based on an immense amount of labour that went into the process of exploring and satisfying the dietary and other requirements of

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...

and tissues that were grown in the laboratory. Other books he wrote included ''Waen and the Willmers'' and several books on

Grantchester Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...

, to where he retired in 1969. Willmer also created oil paintings detailing landscapes, mainly in Cambridgeshire and Mid Wales. He designed the Fellows' Garden in Clare College. He also designed at least one other in Cambridge but the Fellows' Garden is a lasting legacy of his vision. Willmer died in April 2001 at the age of 98 in

Family

He married Henrietta "Penny" Rowlatt in 1939; they had two sons and two daughters. His brother,

Gordon Willmer Sir Henry Gordon Willmer, OBE, TD (11 August 1899''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' – 17 May 1983) was an English lawyer and judge. Willmer was from Birkenhead, Cheshire, the son of Arthur Willmer and the brothe ...

, was a judge. His eldest brother,

Arthur Willmer Arthur Franklin Willmer (10 January 1890 – 20 September 1916) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. Willmer was born at Claughton to Arthur Washington Willmer, a JP and cotton broker, and his wife Janet Mary Wil ...

, was a first-class cricketer and

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 ...

officer, who was killed during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

Publications

Willmer’s books include; *''Retinal Structure and Colour Vision: A Restatement and an Hypothesis'' (1946) *''Tissue Culture: the Growth and Differentiation of Normal Tissues in Artificial Media'' (1954) *''Cytology and Evolution'' (1969) *''Old Grantchester'' (1976) *''What the Poet Saw'' (1998)

References

1902 births 2001 deaths People from Birkenhead People educated at Birkenhead School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Histologists Scientists from Liverpool Fellows of the Royal Society People from Grantchester Presidents of the Cambridge Philosophical Society {{UK-academic-bio-stub