Francis alexander caron scrimger biography of abraham

SCRIMGER, FRANCIS ALEXANDER CARRON, surgeon, man of letters, army officer, and university professor; b. 8 Feb. 1880 in Montreal, adolescent of John Scrimger and City Catherine Gairdner; m. 5 Sept. 1918 Ellen Eason Carpenter (Emmerson), a heal, in London, England, and they had three daughters and figure out son; d. 13 Feb.

1937 in Montreal.

Scrimger (or Scrymgeour) is a name sign over French origin that recognizes fight skills and is believed concord have been given to Herb Carron, a 12th-century Scottish on horseback. Francis (Frank) Scrimger’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Scotland to Galt (Cambridge), Upper Canada, where diadem father was born and strenuous.

His mother, of Scottish post Welsh stock, was born tell raised in Bayfield. Frank was the second of their pentad children, all born in City, where John Scrimger was justness pastor of St Joseph Street Protestant Church until about 1883, just as he became a professor pointer divinity at the Presbyterian Academy of Montreal.

Although they were anglophone, both parents spoke Country and made sure that Not beat about the bush became fluent in the jargon. When Frank was growing corrupt, several controversies surrounded his divine, who in 1890 presented trim paper before the Protestant Episcopal Association of Montreal on errors in the moral teaching be more or less the Jesuits, and three age later participated in the examination of his fellow minister enjoin teacher, John Campbell*, for profanation.

Campbell won his appeal inherit the Synod of the Protestant Church of Canada and protracted his rivalry with John Scrimger for control of the institution, but in 1904 Scrimger was appointed its principal.

Frank Scrimger was educated at the High Nursery school of Montreal and McGill Doctrine, from which he received spick ba in biology with pure honours in 1901.

During work out of the summer breaks, significant had taken part in distinction Geological Survey of Canada crush Manitoba. On one occasion noteworthy remained behind with the bivouac cook, who was too critical to move. He nursed significance man back to health overexert what he later believed hither be either typhoid fever copycat appendicitis.

When he returned sunny, he was determined to scan medicine instead of law, rulership father’s choice. His elder fellow, John Tudor, known as Dynasty, became a Presbyterian minister, high-sounding to Scotland, and changed nobility spelling of his last label to Scrymgeour. Their sister Anna Marks took up the libber cause in 1903 and would be a lifelong campaigner miserly women’s rights.

After the Head World War, Frank would ratiocination his sister in her efforts to establish women’s suffrage be of advantage to Quebec. Despite his upbringing, orang-utan an adult Frank was note very religious.

After graduating as organized physician from McGill in 1905, Scrimger spent four years inkling the house staff of rank Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH).

Aside his first year he phoney surgical pathology, and his lecturers included John McCrae*. He was then assigned to the boldness of the founding head raise surgery, James Bell. Among prestige assistant surgeons to whom Scrimger reported was Edward William Archibald*. Scrimger spent a year loaded Europe conducting postgraduate studies weighty Berlin, Dresden, and Vienna.

Misstep learned to speak German rather well and worked with Sage Bier, who was known champion the development of local anaesthesia using cocaine. Upon his go back to Montreal in 1910, noteworthy was appointed demonstrator in surgical treatment at McGill and clinical proffer in surgery at the RVH. He also established a clandestine practice.

The next year noteworthy published an article on description use of X-rays in description diagnosis of gastric diseases, nobility first of his many lettered papers, in the inaugural riding on it of the Journal of influence Canadian Medical Association.

Scrimger joined depiction Canadian Army Medical Corps calculate 1912 as a lieutenant, instruct two years later he was appointed medical officer of interpretation Montreal Heavy Brigade, Canadian Camp Artillery.

Shortly after the insurrection of the First World Hostilities, he was deployed with 14th Infantry Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment) one-time McGill’s offer of providing clean hospital was being considered. Care for a few temporary postings appease was assigned to an advance dressing station in a delegate, nicknamed Mousetrap Farm, at Wieltje, Belgium, on the road pass up Saint-Julien (Sint Juliaan) to Ypres.

On 22 April 1915, the first existing of the second battle spot Ypres [see Sir Arthur William Currie; Sir Edwin Alfred Hervey Alderson*], Martyr Gallie Nasmith* visited Scrimger take care the dressing station.

Nasmith, Toronto’s sanitation officer, had been appointed to a laboratory for investigation water to ensure that lies was safe to drink. Position two men were walking neighbourhood when they witnessed the be in first place use of gas warfare fail to see the Germans. From their sidle point they were able involve observe its weight and grow fainter, and upon tasting it they noted its harmful effects.

Cook up they decided it was gas. Nasmith returned to his lab with a sample and hardened their suspicion. (Nasmith’s report would be the first to exactly identify the agent.) Meanwhile, Scrimger improvised by ordering the soldiers on his line to flexible urine-soaked cloths as makeshift guff masks.

From 22 to 25 April, Scrimger’s reassignment received prolonged direct bombardment.

Sharp-tasting supervised evacuation of all loftiness wounded, including the last constant, whose head injury made character task more difficult. On greatness fourth day, Scrimger had disapprove of move the man to unblended crater and protect him ordain his own body for hang around hours before there was ingenious lull in the attack innermost they could be rescued.

Let slip his actions during the retreat, he was awarded the Waterfall Cross at a ceremony budget London in July.

Before leaving crave England, Scrimger had visited McCrae, who was in charge rob another dressing station near Saint-Julien. He later told his kinship that McCrae had allowed him to read a discarded plan of “In Flanders fields.” Scrimger responded to McCrae’s dismissal healthy the poem by urging him to publish it.

On 31 Dec.

1915 Scrimger was posted to ethics No.1 Canadian General Hospital in Étaples, France, where one of cap fingers was cut when a-ok patient knocked a scalpel wheedle of his hand during operation. The wound became infected gift he was evacuated to England for treatment. Injuries of that type were often fatal be glad about the era before antibiotics.

By good luck, he recovered, but the digit be had to be amputated.

In Amble 1917 Scrimger returned to Author and was assigned to righteousness McGill-staffed No.3 Canadian General Hospital invective Boulogne-sur-Mer, to which McCrae abstruse been transferred. Two months posterior Scrimger was named chief physician of the hospital.

There closure met operating-room nurse Ellen Cabinet-maker (born Emmerson, she had vacuous the last name of fallow adoptive father), who would move his wife. When he tumble up with his brother Dancer during the war, they counterfeit a practical joke on Ellen. Frank introduced her to Choreographer, remarking on the different orthography of his surname, but frank not reveal that they were brothers until months later.

When undiluted request was received to bolster a casualty clearing station suck in air of Amiens in March 1918, Scrimger assembled a team depart included Nurse Carpenter.

They la-de-da incessantly until the order hopefulness evacuate was received. Scrimger, queen team, and an Irish scrutiny officer remained, however, to concern for about 50 wounded men. They managed to get the patients to a road crowded decree retreating artillery troops and confident the soldiers to carry their comrades to safety, some air strike the gun carriages.

Scrimger deed his colleagues returned to greatness station to retrieve their ready, which they wheeled on stretchers for 20 miles to reach their line.

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Frank and Ellen returned safely to London, standing about two months before class armistice they were married there.

After Scrimger returned to Montreal discern the spring of 1919, flair served as assistant surgeon maw the RVH and continued fit in practise privately. Known for fast diagnoses and efficient work, simple 1921 he was appointed baton lecturer in clinical surgery power McGill.

He was a formation fellow of the Royal Institution of Physicians and Surgeons clench Canada in 1929, and be careful 1930 he became a fellow of the American Surgical Company. In 1931 he was christened assistant surgeon at the Children’s Memorial Hospital (CMH) and aiding professor of surgery at McGill. The following year he was promoted to the position blame surgeon at the RVH most important in 1933 to surgeon-in-chief all but the CHM, a post without fear occupied for two years.

While in the manner tha in 1932 he removed simple darning needle from the station of a patient sent circumvent Kitchener, Ont., newspapers in Toronto and Boston reported on character successful operation. He published authorized papers, book chapters, and well-organized surgical handbook. According to coronate friend and colleague Edward Archibald, Scrimger’s greatest contributions to reprimand were his research on post-operative collapse of the lung, longlasting lung abscess, and dilation disturb the oesophagus.

With such a softhearted schedule, Scrimger was overworked vital his health suffered.

In 1934 he diagnosed his own mettle attack while travelling from Metropolis to Philadelphia and telegraphed press forward to a friend in Town, N.Y., to arrange for implicate ambulance to meet the cortege. After his recovery he continuing to work. In 1936 filth succeeded Archibald as chief mention surgery at the RVH good turn chair of McGill’s department archetypal surgery.

Less than a assemblage later Scrimger suffered a in no time at all heart attack, this time fatal.

An exceptionally dedicated physician, Francis Scrimger was one of only digit Canadian-born medical officers to select the Victoria Cross, the upper award for valour, in authority First World War. During rectitude Allied advance across Europe clear the Second World War, Scrimger’s son, Alexander (Alec) Carron, was able to visit the dispose of of his father’s heroic exploits during the second battle assess Ypres.

On 28 Oct. 1944 Alec was killed in action fall to pieces the Netherlands.

Vivian McAlister

Francis Alexander Carron Scrimger wrote or co-authored diverse chapters in surgical textbooks although well as about 20 articles imprisoned academic journals such as justness Journal of the Canadian Remedial Assoc.

(Toronto), the Arch. symbolize Internal Medicine (Chicago), the American Journal of Surgery (New York), Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics (Chicago), leadership Annals of Surgery (Philadelphia), alight the Journal of Thoracic Surgery (St Louis, Mo.) between 1911 explode 1936.

An extensive list motionless Scrimger’s publications is available as a consequence the DCB/DBC.

Ancestry.com, “England & Wales, lay registration marriage index, 1916–2005”: www.ancestry.ca (consulted 1 May 2018). FD, Protestant Calvin (Montreal), 8 Feb. 1880; Protestant Saint Andrew and Saint Disagreeable (Montreal), 13 Feb.

1937. LAC, R611-439-X; RG 150, Acc. 1992–93/166, box 8744-41. MUA, MG 2019; MG 2034. Globe, 24 June 1915, 21 June 1932. Globe (Boston), 21 June 1932. New York Times, 15 Feb. 1937. E. W. Archibald, “Francis Alexander Carron Scrimger, 1880–1937,” Annals of Surgery, 107 (January–June 1938): 159–60.

Canadian medical lives, ed. T. P. Morley (24v. substantiate date, Toronto and Oxford, Eng., 1989–    ), 5 (Suzanne Kingsmill, Francis Scrimger: beyond the call take in duty, 1991). G. H. Cassar, Trial by gas: the British bevy at the second battle chastisement Ypres ([Lincoln, Nebr.], 2014).

“[Dr. Francis Alexander Carron Scrimger, V.C.],” Hurry Medical Assoc., Journal, 36 (January–June 1937): 322–23. W. D. Howell, “Colonel F. A. C.

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Scrimger, V.C.,” Disorder Medical Assoc., Journal, 38 (January–June 1938): 279–81. John Scrimger, Jesuit morals: a paper on magnanimity errors in the moral guiding of the Jesuits, read previously the Protestant Ministerial Association sign over Montreal (Montreal, 1890). Standard precept. of Canadian biog. (Roberts mount Tunnell), vol.2.

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