JONES
,
Sir
ROBERT
,
Bart.
(
1857
-
1933
),
orthopaedic surgeon
,
b. at
Rhyl
,
28 June 1857
, son of
Robert
Jones
,
journalist
, and
Mary
Hughes
,
Rhuddlan
. When the boy was 5 years old his father moved to
London
. Educated at
Sydenham College
, he afterwards studied medicine at
Liverpool
, living and serving an apprenticeship with his uncle
Dr.
H. O.
Thomas
(q.v.)
at
11 Nelson Street
, which on his father's death two years later became his permanent home. He qualified in
1878
and afterwards proceeded
F.R.C.S.E.
He became
Thomas
's assistant and received a unique training in orthopaedic surgery. He was appointed
surgeon-superintendent
of the
Manchester Ship Canal
and, during the five years of its cutting, operated upon all serious casualties. In
1889
he was elected
honorary surgeon
to the
Royal Southern Hospital
,
Liverpool
. In
1904
he transformed the convalescent home of
Agnes Hunt
at
Baschurch
,
Salop
, into a
country orthopaedic hospital
, with scattered clinics — the first of its kind and the model for others that appeared later. In
1909
he was appointed the first
lecturer in orthopaedic surgery
at
Liverpool University
, and the same year was elected
president of the Orthopaedic section
of the
International Congress of Medicine
. In the
first world war
he
applied the technique of civilian orthopaedic surgery to limbs and spinal casualties
. At
Alder Hey military hospital
,
Liverpool
, 400 beds were reserved for this purpose, and
Hammersmith Infirmary
at
Shepherd's Bush
was entirely converted into a
military orthopaedic hospital
with curative rehabilitation workshops attached. Similar hospitals were placed in other parts of the country. The treatment of wound and fracture aimed at prevention of crippling and rehabilitation of the
soldier
for the Service or for industry. In
1915
he demonstrated the use of
Thomas's splints
in casualty clearing stations in
France
; thereafter
Thomas's caliper
saved thousands of limbs and helped comfortable transport of the wounded. Two manuals which he wrote on military orthopaedics had a widespread influence on all fronts. Before the war ended he was
major-general
.
He was the
recipient of many honours from surgical institutions and societies
at home and abroad and received honorary degrees from six universities, of which the
D.Sc. Wales
(
1917
) was one. The universal tribute to him as an
orthopaedic surgeon
was revealed by his election as first
president
of the
International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery
. He was created
K.B.E.
,
C.B.
, and a
baronet
. He d.
14 Jan. 1933
at
Bodynfoel
, near
Llanfechain
, the home of his daughter. ‘
In view of the great services rendered by him to humanity at large
,’ his ashes were laid to rest in
Liverpool Cathedral
.
Bibliography:
-
F. Watson
,
The Life of Sir Robert Jones
,
1934
(London,
1934
);
-
A. Rocyn Jones
in
Proceedings of the Royal Society of
Medicine
, 1907 ff
,
1937
.
Author:
Arthur Rocyn Jones, F.R.C.S., London
