Dr Alexander Crampton Smith
Personal Details
Dr Alexander Crampton Smith MA MB ChB FFARCS DA
Known as: Alex
15/06/1917 to 20/03/2010
Place of birth: Sunderland, England
Nationality: British
CRN: 715866
Education and qualifications
| General education | Inverness Royal Academy Medical School, University of Edinburgh |
|---|---|
| Primary medical qualification(s) | MB ChB, University of Edinburgh, 1941 |
| Initial Fellowship and type | FFARCS by Election |
| Year of Fellowship | 1953 |
| Other qualification(s) | DA (RCP&S), 1947 MA, University of Oxford, 1961 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
After qualifying he undertook a six-month surgical house job in Inverness, after which he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) as a Temporary Surgeon Lieutenant. During the Second World War he saw action in the landings at Salerno (1943), Anzio, Elba and the south of France (1944), after which he was awarded the Croix de Guerre and invalided home to a shore job. After discharge as Temporary Surg. Lt-Cdr., he undertook a short job in Inverness, followed by resident anaesthetist in Nottingham. Next, in June 1947 he was appointed house officer in the Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, becoming Registrar the following year. Through 1950-51 he was anaesthetic registrar at the London Chest Hospital, and then anaesthetist at Brook General Hospital. In September 1951 he returned to Oxford where he was appointed Consultant Anaesthetist to the United Oxford Hospitals (including Churchill Hospital). In 1965 he was appointed Nuffield Professor of Anaesthetics (succeeding Professor Sir Robert Macintosh), in which post he remained until his retirement in 1979.
Professional interests and activities
Crampton Smith was a member of the Royal Society of Medicine and of the Anaesthetic Research Society. From 1953 he led the development of an intensive care unit in Oxford, starting with intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) of patients with poliomyelitis. As Nuffield Professor he supervised DPhil students and attracted MRC support. In 1968 he was appointed civilian consultant anaesthetist to the Royal Navy. He also served on the Board of the Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Surgeons. He published about 40 papers, mainly on mechanical ventilation (IPPV), tracheostomy, treatment of tetanus and observations on carbon dioxide tension. With JMK Spalding in 1963 he co-authored a book “Clinical Practice and Physiology of Artificial Respiration”.
Other biographical information
His first marriage early in the Second World War produced two daughters. Secondly in 1953 he married Marjorie Mason and they had three sons. Described in his obituary (The Telegraph) as a modest man, he nevertheless was socially outgoing, and in retirement he regularly visited Columbia Presbyterian Hospital (New York) and hospitals in Sweden to give anaesthetics and teach students and trainees. For leisure he enjoying sailing and fishing. He died at the age of 92 years, survived by his second wife, children and grandchildren.
Author and sources
Author:
Dr Alistair McKenzie
Sources and comments:
[1] Obituary: Professor Alex Crampton Smith (with photograph). The Telegraph 2010: 14 June. [2] Medical Registers and Directories. [3] Smith AC. “Following in Sir Robert’s footsteps”. In: Smith WDA, Paterson GMC. ‘A Tribute to Sir Robert Macintosh for his 90th birthday’. RSM, 1988; 32-35. [4] Obituary: Professor Alex Crampton Smith (with photograph). The Times 2010; 7 May p.76. [5] ancestry.co.uk [6] Oxford Brookes University. Transcript of interview of Prof AC Smith by Lady Wendy Ball, 1998.