Dr George Francis Rawdon Smith
Personal details
Dr George Francis Rawdon Smith TD MD FFARCS DA
08/05/1882 to 30/05/1959
Place of birth: Madely, Shropshire
Nationality: British
CRN: 715277
Education and qualifications
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General education |
Greenbank School, Liverpool; Rugby School; Liverpool University (captain of rugby, 1904-5) |
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MBChB, Liverpool, 1907 |
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Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Election |
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Year of Fellowship |
1948 |
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Other qualification(s) |
MBBS, London, 1911; MD, Liverpool, 1914 (Thesis: Some observations on the urine after anaesthesia) |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
Having qualified Smith was house physician & casualty officer at Liverpool Royal Infirmary, and house surgeon at the Hospital for Women before attending University College Hospital, London and acquiring London degrees in addition to those from Liverpool. No explanation for this oddity has been found. Back in Liverpool he was honorary anaesthetist at the Infirmary for Children, assistant honorary anaesthetist at the South Hospital, and a lieutenant in the RAMC (TA) before WW1 (see below). After the war he was honorary anaesthetist at the Hospital for Women, and assistant at the Royal Infirmary, later becoming anaesthetist at the latter and the Dental Hospital where he was lecturer in anaesthesia. He appears to have retired after WW2.
Professional interests and activities
Noted for contributing to the advancement of the art and science of anaesthesia, his major interest, dental anaesthesia, was the subject of a 1926 book. Closely involved with professional organisations, he was chairman of the BMA’s Liverpool Division (1931-2), an early member of the AAGBI Council (1933-6), and the first anaesthetist to be president of the Liverpool Medical Institution (1946). He received the DA without examination on its inception (1935).
Other biographical information
Rugby continued to be a major interest, and he refereed in both London and Liverpool when his playing days were over. Serving in France & Italy during WW1, he was mentioned in dispatches (1916), and continued in the TA after the war. He received the TD in 1924, commanded the 16th Field Ambulance and, as a full colonel, was assistant director of medical services, 55th Division. During WW2 he was a lieutenant-colonel in the Home Guard. Married twice, he was survived by his widow, two sons and three daughters.
Author and Sources
Author: Prof Tony Wildsmith
Sources and any other comments: Obituary. BMJ 1959; ii: 1186 | Additional information from Liverpool University Library, Liverpool Medical Institution, and Medical Directories.