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OBITUARY

JAMES ALFRED PATRICK CULLEN, M.D. Lond.1 IWE regret to announce the death of Dr. James

Alfred Patrick Cullen, which occurred at Mombasa,B.E.A., on June 18th, at the age of 56. He had notbeen in good health for three or four years, but thedirect cause of his death was an attack of malaria.

Patrick Cullen was born in India, the son of Jamesand Elizabeth Cullen. He was educated at EpsomCollege, and the medical school of the London Hospital,

and after qualifi-

DR. CULLEN

[Photograph Qy Elliott & Fry.

cation in 1899served as house

surgeon and assist-ant anaesthetist atthe hospital. Hethen became house

surgeon at theSeamen’s Hospital,and the connexionwith the LondonSchool of TropicalMedicine eventu-ally influenced hiscareer. At first hebent towards thepublic health Ibranch of medicine.He took the D.P.H.in 1908 and theM.D.Lond. in 1911 ;he was JenksMemorial Scholar of the Royal

cians; and was in succession M.O.H. -of Poplar and the county borough of Brighouse, Yorks.

After the war Cullen acquired a " wander-lust,"

and took appointments abroad successively in manycountries-N. America (Mexico), India (Burmah),Africa, Australia, and’ again in Africa. He didexcellent work in all, and particularly at Namtu inUpper Burmah. When working as principal medicalofficer of the Burmah Corporation at Namtu, UpperBurmah, he discovered that Schistosoma japonicumwas endemic in Burmah. He found that it was

spreading from China over the China-Indo border.The importance of this work lay in the fact that theinfected Yunnan province lies adjacent to Burmah,and the streams of Chinese labour passing over theboundary into India constituted a real danger to thelatter countries, as it was almost certain that theintermediate host was present in Burmah. But thecases he had reported had never been over the China-Indo border and had lived all their lives in Namtu anddistrict, so that Cullen’s discovery was a piece of workof practical value, and it was carefully done and con-clusive. It was reported in the Proceedings of theRoyal Society of Medicine in July, 1929, while, underthe title " Human Schistosomiasis in India," a furtheraccount will be found in the Journal of TropicalMeicine and Hygiene for December of the same year.

Cullen’s inclinations were towards research, and heprobably would have made a far greater mark in theprofession had he been able to secure appointmentsgiving him a larger outlook.A personal friend writes of him : " Cullen was a

man of great professional ability, a good correspon-dent, a loyal friend, and a pleasant companion. Acapable, critical Irishman, he was fearless anduncompromising, with high ideals which guided his

own life, while he looked for the same lofty ethicalstandard in others. His death is a loss to the profession,and he will be missed by many personal friends."

THE LATE DR. BEDFORD PIERCE

Mr. L. G. Brock, Chairman of the Board of Control,has sent us the following :-

" By the death of Dr. Bedford Pierce psychiatryloses a distinguished figure and the Board of Controllose an old friend, who had endeared himself to allhis colleagues, and indeed to all with whom he camein contact as a Commissioner. A man of com-

manding presence, with a fine face lit up by kindlyhumorous eyes, there was little at first sight abouthim to suggest the Quaker or the physician. Indeed,there was something soldierly about his tall figure,though he was in reality a born doctor and a Quakerof the finest type. No one could meet BedfordPierce even casually without being conscious of hisshining integrity and high ideals. Yet no man wasever less of a prig or a preacher. His standard inmedicine and in life was of the highest, but his keensense of humour and his zest for life saved himfrom austerity. He enjoyed life ; he was happy inhis work, he loved his garden, and without beingan expert naturalist he was a keen observer of birdlife, as he showed in a charming letter a few monthsback in the Times, which was written in the course

of a long and wearying illness. But first and lasthe was a physician whose interest in medicine remainedkeen to the end and was never at any time limitedto the specialty which he practised with such distinc-tion. As the superintendent of The Retreat atYork he worthily carried on the tradition of Tuke,and in 1919-20 he proved an admirable president ofthe Royal Medico-Psychological Association. A manof sound judgment and much learning he was alwaysready to help those-and they were many-whosought his counsel and advice.

" Bedford Pierce never allowed his mind to rust,and when in 1929 I sounded him as to his willingnessto accept a temporary Commissionship at the Boardhe accepted with alacrity the chance of returningto more active work. Before definitely accepting hesought medical advice and was told that he wasperfectly fit. Unfortunately he had over-estimatedhis strength, and I am afraid that there can be nodoubt that the enthusiasm with which he threwhimself into his new duties shortened his life. Thework of visitation was physically too exhausting,and to his great regret after two years he was

compelled to resign. But I do not think he wouldhave had it otherwise ; he would have preferred toburn out than to rust out. By his death we havelost a genial kindly colleague, a great Christiangentleman, and a true physician. Sit tibi terra levis."

FRANCIS GEORGE PENROSE, M.D.,F.R.C.P.Lond.

LATE PHYSICIAN TO ST. GEORGE’S HOSPITAL

WE regret to announce the death of Dr. FrancisPenrose, late physician to St. George’s Hospitaland consulting physician to the Children’sHospital, Great Ormond-street, which occurred atLynton on July 16th, at the age of 75.

Francis George Penrose was the only son ofFrancis Cranmer Penrose the famous architect,astronomer, and antiquary, who was the original

216

"

Mary " to whom his mother, under the pseudonymof " Mrs. llarkham," addressed the famous Historyof England " for young persons." Francis Penrosewas educated at Repton, proceeding for his medicalstudies to University College Hospital. He took theM.R.C.S. in 1884 and graduated as M.B. in the sameyear, and held the house appointments at the hospital.Later he was demonstrator of physiology in theschool, and in 1886, having taken the M.D. degree,he was appointed registrar to Great Ormond-streetChildren’s Hospital, in connexion with which institu-tion he did his best known work. He became assistantphysician in 1891, and in 1894 full physician, beingappointed consultant on his retirement from thestaff in 1905. He took the M.R.C.P. Lond. in 1887,and in the following year his work at Great Ormond-street secured him the appointment of assistant

physician and curator of the museum to St. George’sHospital, where a succession of vacancies on thestaff had occurred. He was elected F.R.C.P. in1895, and in due course became full physician to thehospital. He was assiduous in the discharge of hisduties, and a clear lecturer on clinical medicine andmateria medica, while he made a close study of

dermatological cases. He wrote little, but publishedaccounts of

DR. PENROSE

interesting cases

occasionally in thetransactions ofof some of themedical societies.He acted for a

period as examinerin materia medicaat the EnglishConjoint Board.

In 1904 Penroseretired from prac-tice, resigned hisappointments, andwent to live inBournemouthwhere he pursuedhis marked bentfor natural history,especially ornitho-

logy, and acted aspresident of theBournemouthNatural ScienceSociety. He marriedin 1894 Helen,

daughter of Mr. Laundy Walters, by whom he hadtwo daughters.

Sir Thomas Barlow sends the following appreciativenote of his old pupil and friend :-

" I knew him well as a devoted and enthusiasticstudent, and throughout his subsequent career as aman of high personal character. He came of a verycultured stock ; his father was a classical scholar,and a great authority on the orientation of Greektemples. His sister was for a time principal ofSomerville College, Oxford. But Penrose’s sym-pathies were with natural history ; he was a goodornithologist. After he had held the resident postsof house surgeon and house physician he becamemedical registrar at the Children’s Hospital, GreatOrmond-street, and after a few years he was appointedassistant physician. He knew his medicine and hismorbid anatomy, and he was a good histologist.He worked out for me very thoroughly the histologyof a case of myelitis occurring in the exanthem stage

of measles, and we subsequently published this-Penrose was afterwards appointed assistant physicianto St. George’s Hospital, and ultimately he becamefull physician and lecturer on medicine at the school.

" With such an excellent equipment he mightfairly have expected a successful career as a Londonconsultant, but family and health anxieties had tobe faced,’ and at length these and other reasons ledPenrose to give up practice and retire to the country.He had a happy life, and his interest in natural

history gave him many delightful experiences."Dr. G. F. Still writes :-" As one who worked under

Penrose many years ago at the Hospital for SickChildren, Great Ormond-street, I should like to adda tribute to his sterling worth. Penrose had passedthrough the stages of medical registrar and ofassistant physician before I first knew him. Laterwe became colleagues on the honorary staff, and bythis time I had already learned to appreciate hiskind and generous spirit. He was a man whom onecould respect, for he hated sham and insincerity.His interests were perhaps more in country pursuitsthan in clinical medicine ; he was a lover of birdsand also a keen photographer, but his house physi-cians recognised his clinical acumen, and wouldacknowledge that their time with him was wellspent. I remember, when I was at that stage, puttingan exploring needle into a child’s chest and -with-

drawing a very small quantity of clear fluid, whichto my inexperienced eye was nothing more thanunusually clear pleural effusion, but Penrose detected =

its significance at once, and the microscope provedhim right, for the fluid contained hydatid hooklets.His love of the country led him to retire earlier thanmost physicians do, and when last I met him a fewyears ago he spoke as one thoroughly happy in hiscountry life. Though he has passed away, Penrosewill live long in the memory of those who knew him."

PARLIAMENT

NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS

National Economy and Public HealthON the motion for the second reading of the

Appropriation Bill in the House of Commons onJuly llth,

Mr. DAGGAR referred to a statement of the medicalofficer of health for the Abertillery Urban District,which pointed out that a number of boys and girlsattended school with footgear which was in a verybad state of repair. There was a considerable fallingoff in the condition of their underclothing.

Mr. E. WILLIAMS said that the children in theBridgend county schools had for years been housedin old army huts where they froze in winter and roastedin summer. In those huts, covered with corrugatedsheeting, children had to be taught in accordancewith the secondary curriculum. It was an absurdityto talk about economising on secondary educationat the expense of the children in this way.

Major ELLIOT (Financial Secretary to the Treasury),replying to the debate, said that Mr. Daggarhad contended that his people were deterior-ating in health. For four years he had closelystudied the health conditions in Scotland duringa terrible period of unemployment. The reportof the Scottish Board of Health, giving the averageheight and weight of the children of 5, 9, and 13 yearsfor 1907, 1924, and 1931, showed that the heightand weight of 9 and 13 years old children living inone-apartment houses in 1931 surpassed those of thechildren from two- and three-apartment houses in1907. If the accusation were true that the recenteconomies had injured the standard of living of the