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Name: Connell, William Kerr
Photo Source: Univ. of Glasgow website
Birth Date: 27 Nov 1898 Glasgow
Death Date: 31 Oct 1952 Cambuslang
Profession: Medical doctor, RAMC
Area: Tanganyika, Nyeri
Married: In Barnsley 25 June 1924 Frances Alberta Read b. 1898 Rotherham, d. 20 Aug 1978 Glasgow
Children: John Kerr (1925 Tanganyika-30 Nov 1972 Malvern) ; one dau.
School: Glasgow Univ.
General Information:
Tom Lawrence: Infantry for six months (British Medical Journal, 6th Dec 1952, p. 1264).
1916 He graduated from the University of Glasgow, with an M.B., ch.B. in 1916 and served in Mosepotamia (BMJ, ibid.).
1916 (4th May) William Kerr Connell MB is made a Temporary Lieut. (London Gazette, 2nd June 1916, p. 5468).
1917 He was a surgical specialist with the Derajat Brigade (BMJ). In Feb 1917, the Derajat Briagde was commanded by Brig. Gen. Guy Montfort Baldwin and they fought against the Mahsuds in 1917. One of the last actions he would have seen was during the 1919 3rd Afghan War. On 21st Aug 1919, Brig. Gen. Baldwin retired and seemingly Connell too (Wikipedia on Baldwin).
1919 He ended WWI with the rank of Temporary Captain in the Royal army Medical Corps (Glasgow University Roll of Honour).
1920 He ended his military service in Waziristan, and from Bombay, he worked his passage home as a ship surgeon, visiting Australia, New Zealand, Panama, and the U.S.A. (BMJ).
1920 He was house-surgeon to the late Prof. Archibald Young in Glasgow for six months (BMJ)
1921 He was one of the editors of the Glasgow University Magazine (BMJ).
1921-22 He held the post of demonstrator of anatomy in the University of Glasgow (BMJ).
1924 (25th June) He married Frances Alberta Read with whom he had one son and one daughter dates and places of birth currently unknown
1924 (31st July) Under Section 12 (Civil Establishment) William Kerr Connell is apponted as a Medical Officer in Tanganyika Territory on an annual salary of £600m (Tanganyika Territory Blue Book, 31st Dec 1924 p. 62). According to John Harkness, he started his career in Songea, in the Tanganyika Territory, and later, in the hospitals of Dar-es-Salaam.
1927 He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (BMJ).
1928-9 He acted as honorary secretary of the Tanganyika Territory Branch of the British Medical Association (BMJ).
1930 He took the D.T.M.&H. in 1930 (BMJ). Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.
1930 (31st Dec) W.K. Connell is recorded as being a Medical Officer in Tanganyika Territory (Handbook of Tanganyika, edited by Gerald F. Sayers (Handbook Of Tanganyika ed. Gerald F. Sayers, Asst. in the Chief Secretary’s Office, 1930 edition, p. 502).
1931 He was appointed ‘President-Elect’ of the local branch of the British Medical Association in Tanganyika until 1934 (BMJ)
1934 (1st Jan). Under section 12 (Civil Establishments) and the section on Medical, William Kerr Connell was appointed a ‘Specialist’ under an annual salary of £1,100 with free quarters (Tanganyika Territory Blue Book, 31st Dec 1937 p.106).
1934 (early) W.K. gives the Presidential Address at the Dar-es-Salaam Medical Conference (South African Medical Journal, 10th Mar 1934, p. 167).
1934-5 He is made president of the Tanganyika branch of the British Medical Association (BMJ).
1938-9 He is made president of the Tanganyika branch of the British Medical Association for the second time (BMJ).
1940 (21st Jan) W.K. Connell FRCS writes a letter to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) with respect to the Dr. J. Trueta's very important and remarkable paper on war fractures treated by the closed method.
1940 (7th July) He volunteers to serve within the East African Forces in WWII, He was in charge of the surgical divisions of No. 1 General Hospital, Nairobi, and No. 3 General Hospital, Nyeri, in Kenya ((BMJ). He is granted an Emergency Commission in the East African Army Medical Corps with the rank of Temporary Major (East Africa Command Army Lists, Oct 1941).
1943 He resigns from the Army at the end of the Abyssinian Campaign (BMJ).
1943 (8th July) Lt. Col. W.K. Connell is Mentioned in Despatches in the London Gazette (p. 3091) (The KAR & E.A. Forces in Both World Wars, by Harry Fecitt).
1945 (28th July) The Governor of Council in Tanganyika Territory approves a pension for William Keer Connell of £671 17s 6d, as a Specialist in the Medical Dept. The pension must be paid by 1st Feb 1946 (Tanganyika Blue Book, 31st Dec 1945, p. 152).
1946 He retires and settles at 2 Wellshot Drive, Cambuslang, Glasgow, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Faculty of Physicians & Surgeons
1952 (31st Oct) He dies in Glasgow, aged 58, survived by his wife, son, and daughter
University of Glasgow website: William Kerr Connell was born in Glasgow on 27th November 1898. His father John Hunter Connell was a cotton yarn merchant. The family lived at 16 Oakfield Terrace in Hillhead, Glasgow. In 1911 at the age of 17 William enrolled at the University of Glasgow to study medicine. His first year subjects were; botany, zoology, physics and chemistry. He passed all exams first time except for chemistry which he passed on the second attempt. Throughout his University career William took further exams in subjects including; surgery, anatomy and physiology. William’s dedication to study paid off on 8th April 1916 when he graduated with MB ChB. During his studies William earned a number of prizes including first class certificates for zoology and physics.
After leaving University, William joined the Royal Army Medical Corps serving with the Waziristan Expeditionary Force until 1920 as a medical officer. Upon returning back to Glasgow William briefly took up a position as a house surgeon. He also worked as a demonstrator in Anatomy at Glasgow University, leaving in 1922 to travel to London. Whilst in London William held house appointments at both London and Beckett Hospitals. In 1924 William left the United Kingdom and moved to Tanzania serving as a medical officer until 1936 and then a surgical specialist for a further ten years. During his years in Tanzania William took time to write a surgeons' handbook for the use of his African peers and colleagues. In 1948 William returned to Glasgow and held a position at the University as a lecturer in Anatomy until his death in 1952. William was remembered in the British Medical Journal obituary by John Harkness as “an outstanding personality in the Colonial Service”. For his service to medicine William was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons.