Clement Price Thomas
FRCP | |
---|---|
Born | Abercarn, Monmouthshire, Wales | 22 November 1893
Died | 19 March 1973 Midhurst, Sussex, England | (aged 79)
Burial place | New Bethel Chapel Cemetery, Mynyddislwyn |
Nationality | Welsh |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Thoracic surgeon |
Years active | 1927–1973 |
Employer | Cardiff University School of Medicine (at time of death) |
Known for | Lung Surgery |
Notable work | Lung operation on George VI in 1951 |
Spouse |
Ethel Doris Ricks (m. 1925) |
Children | 2 |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order |
Sir Clement Price Thomas
Following a scholarship to
Encouraged to pursue
Price Thomas was elected as president to numerous significant bodies during his career, including, the
Price Thomas, less well known for his cardiac surgery, also introduced surgery for coarctation of the aorta to the United Kingdom, a procedure he learnt from Clarence Crafoord.
He suffered from lung cancer in his later years, he was a lifelong
Early life
Price Thomas was born in
Price Thomas was awarded the Hughes Medal in
Between 1914 and 1918, Price Thomas was posted to the Middle East, specifically
Medical career
In 1921, after the war, Price Thomas achieved the
As well as his responsibilities at the
Price Thomas had been appointed Tudor Edwards' assistant surgeon in 1932 and they performed the first case of
Price Thomas was predominantly known to operate on tuberculosis and lung tumours. He was the first surgeon to do a bronchial sleeve resection, in 1947: the operation involved removing a bronchial
Academic contributions
From 1948 to 1952 he was affiliated with the Court of Examiners for the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). He became vice-president of the RCS between 1962 and 1964, after contributing to its council since 1952.[8]
In 1958, he was the third Tudor Edwards Memorial lecturer[11] and in 1960 and 1963, Vicary Lecturer and Bradshaw lecturer respectively.[8]
Price Thomas was president of several medical organisations including the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Royal Society of Medicine, the British Medical Association and the Welsh National School of Medicine.[8] He was a valuable expert counsellor, being president of the Medical Protection Society for many years.[10] He was a founder president of the medical council on alcoholism.[14]
He was awarded honorary degrees by the universities of Wales, Belfast, Paris, Lisbon, Athens and Karachi.[6]
He was elected to the Welsh National School of Medicine's president, a position he held between 1958 and 1970.[6]
Price Thomas was a notable medical educator and facilitated weekly surgical conferences at the Brompton and continuing small group teaching.[10]
King George VI lung operation
Price Thomas led the team that removed a cancerous left lung from King George VI. His Times obituary noted that despite his huge fame and international reputation "the more honours that befell him, the more did his innate modesty came to the fore".[15]
The king had been unwell in 1951, and was advised by his physicians
On Sunday morning, 23 September 1951, the operation on the king's lung was performed by Price Thomas and his assistants
Despite injury to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve and an effect on the king's voice, the cancerous lung was successfully removed.[18] Price Thomas declined the fee for the surgery, considering it an honour to have been of service to his king.[19] The king honoured him with the KCVO,[1] in December 1951, barely two months before he died from the effects of arterial disease.[23][19]
Family life
In 1925, Price Thomas married Ethel Doris, whose father was Mortimer Ricks from Paignton in South Devon. He had interests in golf, photography and reading.
Price Thomas lived in St John's Wood, was very welcoming and deeply religious. He was also dedicated to his wife and sons.[6][10] He had numerous nicknames including ‘Clem’, ‘CP’ and ‘Pricey'. Often people would be unsure as to how to address him.[10]
He retained his Welsh accent as well as his Welsh patriotism.[21]
Later life
Price Thomas was also well known for heart surgery. He had been involved with the first resection of
Price Thomas was a chain-smoker himself, carrying at least 50 cigarettes in his pocket, and consequently, he suffered from lung cancer. His caricature in Ellis's Operations that made history, 1996, shows a suited Price Thomas with numerous cigarette stubs at his feet.[21] In 1964, Price Thomas underwent a lobectomy for lung cancer, performed by the same surgeon (Charles Drew) who had assisted him in the King's operation in 1951.[26]
Despite his ill-health, he remained actively involved in his presidential projects. As president of the
Price Thomas died at the age of 79 years, on 19 March 1973.[8]
He was buried in New Bethel Chapel cemetery, Mynyddislwyn, where his parents were buried. A memorial service was held in Westminster Abbey on 29 May 1973.[6]
Honours
For his work within the medical community Price Thomas received numerous decorations and honorary appointments. In 1951, Price Thomas was appointed a
National Honours
Medical Honours
- Honorary Legum Doctor Wales (1953)
- Honorary Doctor of Medicine Paris (1954)
- Honorary Doctor of Medicine Paris (1956)
- Honorary Legum Doctor Belfast (1962)
- Honorary Doctor of Medicine Lisbon (1964)
- Honorary Doctor of Medicine Karachi (1966)
- Honorary Doctor of Medicine Athens (1970)
- Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) - 1954
- Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FRCSI)
- Honorary Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FRCSE)
Legacy
Price Thomas Travelling Fellowship
Price Thomas was the third president of the Travelling Surgical Club, as it was known from 1952 to 1972. Now known as the Travelling Surgical Society of Great Britain, the Price Thomas Travelling Fellowship was established in the memory of Price Thomas and his surgeon son Martyn. Two bursaries are awarded annually to inspire education and encourage surgical exchanges.[29]
Memorabilia of The King's Surgery
The operating table is on display at Westminster Hospital, while Dr Cyril F. Scurr donated the ECG machine to the British Oxygen Company Museum at the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain.[18]
Film and television
Price Thomas will be remembered for the thoracotomy on King George VI,[6] which was re-enacted in Stephen Daldry's TV series The Crown in 2016. The highly realistic and accurate model of the king complete with surgical incisions was donated to the Gordon Museum of Pathology as an educational aid.[30] The controversies over the cause of the king's death were also touched on in the 2010 film The King's Speech.[18]
References
- ^ a b Honour for the King's Doctor. The Times. (London, England), 15 December 1951; p. 6; issue 52185.
- ^ Deaths. The Times. (London, England), 21 March 1973; p. 28, issue 58737.
- ^ Operation on the King. The Times. (London, England), 24 September 1951; p. 4, issue 52114.
- ^ "Munks Roll Details for Clement (Sir) Price Thomas". munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Davies, Jackie (19 August 2014). "NOW&THEN: Islwyn Street, West Wind, Abercarn". South Wales Argus. Identifies that Price Thomas was born in a house at the upper end of Islwyn Street, Abercarn, which is here
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "The National Library of Wales :: Dictionary of Welsh Biography". yba.llgc.org.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85070-681-6. There is an extract here
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j England, Royal College of Surgeons of. "Price Thomas, Sir Clement – Biographical entry – Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ ‘Price Thomas, Sir Clement’, Who Was Who. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online ed., Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 2012 [1]. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ PMID 4594305.
- ^ PMID 14245100.
- )
- )
- PMID 4594305.
- ^ Obituary: Sir Clement Price Thomas. The Times. (London, England), 20 March 1973; p. 16, issue 58736.
- ^ British Pathé (13 April 2014), Pathe News Reviews 1951 (1951), retrieved 17 December 2017
- ^ British Pathé (13 April 2014), A Nation Watches (1951), retrieved 17 December 2017
- ^ S2CID 206608721.
- ^ a b c Norfolk, Brian Price-Thomas, Cromer. "Cancer myth". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "An operating table fit for a King". 4 November 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-900151-15-3.
- ^ "1951: King has lung operation". 23 September 1951. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-7181-2184-6.
- ^ England, Royal College of Surgeons. "Price Thomas, John Martyn (1935–2000) – Biographical entry – Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online". Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ "The Westminster Profound Hypothermia Unit, for heart surgery, England, 1959–1961". sciencemuseum.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
- ^ England, Royal College of Surgeons of. "Drew, Charles Edwin – Biographical entry – Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ "Sir Clement Price Thomas". Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Royal College of Surgeons of, London. "Price Thomas, Sir Clement (1893 - 1973)". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "2018 Price Thomas Travelling Fellowship | ACPGBI". ACPGBI. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ PA. "Surgeons replace actors in The Crown's King George VI operation scene". Retrieved 1 August 2017.