Mr John Dunbar (d. c. 1965), Surgeon

• Reference:GB 250 98
• Dates of Creation:1942-1946
• Physical Description:
  5 items

• Scope and Content

  Instruction manual and papers relating to Singer surgical stitching instrument; glass lantern slides of head sections by William Macewen; photographic negatives of slides; poem booklet from Dunbar's patient at GRI.

• Administrative / Biographical History

  John Dunbar was a graduate of Glasgow University, graduating MB ChB in 1916. He became a Fellow of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1933. He was a Consultant Surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the last general surgeon to have a male ward in the basement of the hospital, Ward 22. Dunbar, a larger than life character, was widely known as "the beast in the basement." He was one of the last surgeons to use a fixed bladed scalpel.

• Access Information

  Access to some items may be restricted. Please contact Heritage staff at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

• Related Material

  Singer surgical stitching instrument museum accession: 2005.10