Richard White Bernard Ellis

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

OBE MID (25 August 1902 – 15 September 1966) was a British paediatrician. He was made President of the

British Paediatric Association The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatrics, paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate, pos ...

in 1965.

Early life

He was born on 25 August 1902 the son of Bernard Ellis, a prominent

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. He studied at Downs and Leighton Park School: then a Quaker school. In 1920 he joined his elder brother at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. He graduated with an MA in natural sciences in 1923 then went to St Thomas Hospital in London for professional training as a doctor, receiving an MB from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1926.

Career

He worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital and under Kenneth Blackfan at the Boston Children's Hospital. In 1936, he was appointed Physician for children's diseases at Guy's Hospital in London. During this period he campaigned to obtain part of the £200,000 endowment left by Caleb Diplock to "the children of Sussex" and succeeded in gaining 10% of this sum for Guy's. The two children's wards were updated using this money and thereafter were known as Caleb Ward and Diplock Ward. In 1937 he travelled to Spain to aid Basque refugees in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. He was a member of the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief from 1937 to 1939. In 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 ...

he initially involved himself in the plight of Polish refugees in Romania and Hungary. From 1940 he served in the Royal Air Force Medical Service, with the rank of Wing Commander (but is not thought to have had any pilot training). He served in North Africa, Italy and Belgium. For his role as Medical Adviser to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force he was awarded 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 ...

(OBE) in 1945. He continued to travel after the war, giving educational programmes on child-health in Africa, India and Indonesia. In 1946, he became Professor of Childlife and Health at 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 ...

retiring there in 1964. In 1951, he was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh and, in 1952, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. In 1960, he became Chairman of the Remand Homes Committee. From 1958, was diagnosed with cancer and had a carcinoma removed. He died at the Glebe House, Hawridge, Berkhamsted on 15 September 1966.

Family

In 1941, he married Dr Audrey Russell, who also worked in the relief effort during the Spanish Civil War. They adopted two children in the 1940s.

Publications

*''Child Health and Development'' (1949) *''Diseases of Infancy and Childhood'' (1951) *''Health in Childhood'' (1961)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Richard White Bernard 1902 births 1966 deaths British paediatricians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Cambridge British people of the Spanish Civil War Deaths from cancer in England Health professionals from Leicester Military personnel from Leicester Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh