Sir Hugh William Bell Cairns (26 June 1896 – 18 July 1952) was an Australian

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...

. For most of his life he lived in England. His concern about

despatch rider A despatch rider (or dispatch) is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle (and occasionally in Egypt during World War I, on camels). In the UK 'despatch rider' is also a term used for a motorcycle courier. Despatch riders were use ...

injuries sparked research which led to increased use of

motorcycle helmet A motorcycle helmet is a type of helmet used by motorcycle riders. Motorcycle helmets contribute to motorcycle safety by protecting the rider's head in the event of an impact. They reduce the risk of head injury by 69% and the risk of death by 4 ...

Early years and education

Hugh Cairns was born in

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...

, South Australia, but spent his early childhood in

Riverton, South Australia Riverton is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, in the Gilbert Valley. It is situated on the Gilbert River, from which the town derives its name. Both the Gilbert Valley and Gilbert River were named after the South Australian pio ...

where he received all of his primary school education. He went to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

for his secondary education at

Adelaide High School Adelaide High School, originally named the Continuation School, is a state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Park Lands. Following the Advanced School for Girls, it was the second government ...

and tertiary education at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. He was awarded the 1917 South Australian

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

and went to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

to read Medicine. He was president of the Balliol Boat Club and represented Oxford at seven in the

Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the Uni ...

of 1920.

Career

Cairns worked as a neurosurgeon 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 ...

and with

Harvey Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgery, neurosurgeon, pathologist, writer, and draftsman. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describe Cush ...

at Harvard before setting up the Nuffield Department of Surgery in Oxford, in which he became the first Nuffield Professor of Surgery. He was a key figure in the development of neurosurgery as a speciality, the formation of the

Oxford University Medical School Oxford University School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences is the medical school of the University of Oxford in the city of Oxford, England. It is a component of the Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division, an ...

, and the treatment of head injuries during the Second World War. The Cairns Library (one of the

Bodleian Libraries The Bodleian Libraries are a collection of 28 libraries that serve the University of Oxford in England, including the Bodleian Library itself, as well as many other (but not all) central and faculty libraries. As of the 2021–2022 report year, ...

) at the

John Radcliffe Hospital John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR or the John Radcliffe) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe (physician) ...

in Oxford is named after him, as is the medical school Hugh Cairns Surgical Society. A

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

for him at his 1920s residence at

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

has been erected. In June 1946 he received the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. While at the London Hospital and in Oxford, Cairns trained US-born surgeon Joseph Buford Pennybacker, who in 1952 took over as director of the Radcliffe's neurosurgery department, a job he held until he retired in 1971. Profoundly affected by treating

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

for head injuries during the six days before the latter died after a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

accident, Cairns began a long study of what he saw as the unnecessary loss of life by motorcycle

s through head injuries. His research led to the use of crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists. As a consequence of treating Lawrence, Cairns would ultimately save the lives of many motorcyclists.

Death and legacy

He died of cancer at the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. Closed in 2007, after refurbishment the building was re-opened in October ...

, Oxford on 18 July 1952.Hugh William Bell Cairns
Whonamedit. Retrieved on 3 June 2014. The

Society of British Neurological Surgeons The Society of British Neurological Surgeons is a medical association for British neurosurgeons. History It was formed in 1926, with Sir Geoffrey Jefferson and Professor Norman Dott. Sir Charles Alfred Ballance was the first President. Other ...

established an annual lecture in his name. There is a road named after him at

Bedford Park, South Australia Bedford Park is a southern suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. The Hancock family established a homestead and farm at the foot of the Adelaide Hills in the mid-19th century. A family name from an earlier generation lent its name to the proper ...

, adjacent to

Flinders Medical Centre Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) is a major public tertiary hospital and teaching school, co-located with Flinders University and the 130 bed Flinders Private Hospital located at Bedford Park, South Australia. It opened in 1976. It serves as the ...

. A ward at the

Walton Centre The Walton Centre, formally known as the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, is a major neurology hospital located in the suburb of Fazakerley in the city of Liverpool, England. It is one of several specialist hospitals located within ...

, Liverpool, is named after him.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairns, Hugh 1896 births 1952 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Oxford University Boat Club rowers University of Adelaide alumni Australian Rhodes Scholars Australian neurosurgeons English neurosurgeons 20th-century English surgeons Harvard Medical School people People from Port Pirie People from Loughton Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian surgeons Australian military personnel of World War I Australian military doctors Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II Australian emigrants to England People educated at Adelaide High School Military personnel from South Australia Australian expatriates in England