Robert Kenneth Wilson MB BChir, FRCSEd (26 January 1899 – 6 June 1969) was a general

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

in London, who in 1934 supposedly took a photograph purporting to show the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...

. This became known as "the surgeon's photograph" and was widely regarded as genuine, although scepticism was expressed about this from the start. Analysis and confessions by the perpetrators in the 1990s confirmed that it was an elaborate hoax. 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 ...

Wilson joined the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

and was parachuted behind enemy lines into German-occupied Europe. For operations in occupied France, he was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

by the French government and the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

by the Dutch government. He spent the latter part of his career as a surgeon in Papua New Guinea.

Early life

Robert Kenneth Wilson was born in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and was the youngest of six children of Dr William Wilson MRCS, LRCP (1857–1909), a Scottish medical missionary and his wife Hannah (née Henderson), who were

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

. In 1895, the French colonial rulers suppressed a local nationalist uprising. The subsequent unrest led his parents to decide that their youngest son should return to the safety of England, where he was brought up by his elder sister Emeline (1883-1966), who had married William Adlington Cadbury (1867–1957), a member of the wealthy Quaker

Cadbury family The Cadbury family is a British family of wealthy Quaker industrialists descending from Richard Tapper Cadbury. * Richard Tapper Cadbury (1768–1860), draper and abolitionist, who financed his sons' start-up business; married Elizabeth Head **J ...

of industrialists and confectioners. Wilson went to school at

Leighton Park School Leighton Park School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, having ...

, Reading. As a schoolboy he took a particular interest in nature and zoology and was later described as "a very good field naturalist who knows all about the British birds and beasts". He left school at the age of seventeen to join the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, serving on the Western Front in the

First World War 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 ...

. He sustained wounds to the left hand and right leg, which left him with a permanent limp, and was subsequently

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

. After the war he won a scholarship to read medicine at Trinity Hall,

University of Cambridge 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 ...

, where he joined the University Officer Training Corps (OTC). He completed the clinical part of his medical studies at the

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

, qualifying with the Conjoint diploma ( MRCS, LRCP) in 1923 and going on to graduate MB BChir in 1925.

Early surgical career

After qualifying he spent three years in junior medical posts at the London Hospital. In 1926 he passed the examinations to become a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

(FRCSEd) and, after three years in

general practice General practice is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive. Definitions A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a consu ...

, he set up in private practice in Queen Anne Street, London as a general surgeon and gynaecologist.

Firearms work

In 1924 he enlisted in the Territorial Army, initially with the rank of lieutenant, and from 1931 also 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 ...

as a Territorial officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. By this time he had developed an interest in and knowledge of firearms and was able to supplement his income by appearing in court as an expert witness. Sir Gerard Burrard, author of ''The Identification of Firearms and Forensic Ballistics'', wrote that his "...work on self-loading pistols has placed him in the front rank of authorities on the mechanisms of firearms". In 1943 Wilson published his own textbook on automatic pistols, which was republished in 1990.

The surgeon's photograph

While on a shooting and fishing trip to the north of Scotland in 1934 with a friend, Maurice Chambers, Wilson took photographic plates to Ogston's chemists shop in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

to be developed and printed. Two of the prints purported to show the

and one was sold to the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' for £100. This was published in the ''Daily Mail'' on 21 April 1934 and became known as 'the surgeon's photograph'. Wilson did not publicise his involvement and tried to exclude his name from the inevitable publicity, yet was fined by the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

for allowing his name to be associated with the photograph in what was regarded as a breach of professional ethics. The photograph became the most famous on the subject and was subjected to scientific scrutiny over the ensuing years. Although there were doubts from the outset about its authenticity, no credible explanation about what it depicted was forthcoming until the 1990s. The photo had been taken by Ian Colin Marmaduke Wetherell, the son of M. A. Wetherell, an actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and big-game hunter, and depicted a toy submarine to which had been added a 'head and neck' made of plastic wood. It had been made by Christian Spurling (1904–1993), an artist and sculptor, who corroborated the story in 1993 at the age of ninety. Wilson had been selected by the group as the 'front man' because he enjoyed a practical joke and because his status as a London surgeon might lend credibility to the story.

Service in World War II

On the outbreak of the

in 1939 Wilson closed his London practice and served in the 85th Field Regiment Royal Artillery in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He applied, successfully, to join the

(SOE). He took part in

Operation Jedburgh Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II in which three-man teams of operatives of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the Free French Bureau Central de Renseigne ...

which was undertaken by around one hundred three-man teams of special forces soldiers from allied countries, who were trained to work with resistance groups in occupied countries. He led the team codenamed Daniel II whose other members were Lt. Paul Sherrer of the Free French Forces and Sgt. G. W. Mason. To enable him to take an operational role in this clandestine activity he was required to reduce rank to major. In 1944 he was parachuted into occupied France and for this mission he was awarded the

by the French government. After a second mission into occupied Holland, he was awarded the

by the government of Holland. In 1945, units of the SOE were deployed to south-east Asia under

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

(SEAC) to work alongside Australia's Z Special Unit. Wilson took part in

Operation Semut Operation Semut was a series of reconnaissance operations carried out by Australia's Z Special Unit in 1945, during the final stages of World War II. This operation was the part of the Borneo campaign (1945), Borneo Campaign, and was undertaken i ...

II and was parachuted behind enemy lines in

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, Borneo. He wrote a formal account of the actions of Semut II in the jungle warfare against Japanese forces in Sarawak.Wilson RK. Report by Major RK Wilson Commanding Operation Semut II to Commanding Officer SRD. ‘Operations Semut II 25 June 14–July 1945’, AWM File 417/1/32. Australian War Memorial.

Post-war career

On demobilisation Wilson returned to the UK and set up a fishery on the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

in southern Scotland where he remained for the next five years. In 1950 he was appointed as medical officer in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. He served as a surgeon initially in

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

and from 1953 in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. He retired from surgery in 1956, becoming a medical officer for the Australian Petroleum Company in Port Moresby. He died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia on 6 June 1969.

Family

In 1924 in Melbourne Wilson married Gwen Gulliver, daughter of George Ekins Gulliver, a farmer, and his wife Henrietta Maria Gulliver, a noted Australian artist. They had two sons, Richard and Phillip.

Selected publications

*Wilson, R.K. (1943). ''Textbook of automatic pistols: Being a treatise on the history, development and functioning of the modern military self-loading pistol, its special ammunition, and their evolvement into the sub-machine gun, together with a supplementing chapter on the light machine gun. 1884-1935''. Plantersville, S.C: Small-Arms Technical Pub. Co. *Wilson, R.K. (1957). Chest surgery in New Guinea. ''Tubercle''. 38. 117–122. 10.1016/S0041-3879(57)80006-3. *Wilson, R.K. (1953). Traumatic rupture of the spleen. ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

''. 265. 545-6. 10.1016/S0140-6736(53)90278-5. *Wilson, R.K. (1954). A pancreatic calculus. ''The Lancet'' 267(6834):367-8 �
10.1016/S0140-6736(53)90278-5 ·
*Wilson, R.K. & Turner, C. (1957). Appendicitis in Papua. ''

The Medical Journal of Australia The ''Medical Journal of Australia'' (MJA) is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 22 times a year. It is the official journal of the Australian Medical Association, published by Wiley on behalf of the Australasian Medical Publishing Compan ...

''. 44. 387-9.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robert Kenneth 1899 births 1969 deaths People educated at Leighton Park School Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Hoaxers 20th-century British surgeons British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers Royal Army Medical Corps officers Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Order of Orange-Nassau Special Operations Executive personnel British expatriates in Madagascar