Douglas Wellington Montgomery

PRCSI (1968-1970)

Graduating from TCD, Mr Douglas W. Montgomery was awarded the Haughton Medal and awards for clinical medicine and surgery at St Patrick Dun’s Hospital, and the Bennett Medal and Surgical Prize.

While serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps during WWII, Mr Montgomery took part in the D-Day landing, and was probably the first surgeon to operate on the beach-head on German soldiers. His team consisted of an anaesthetist, two operating-room assistants, an orderly and himself. After travelling about a mile and a quarter they set up their operating theatre and gave their first blood transfusion an hour and twenty minutes after landing. A remarkable occurrence under very difficult circumstances.

Mr Montgomery was Commissioner of the St John Ambulance Brigade and was made a Knight of the Order of St John by Queen Elizabeth II. He was interested in medico-legal work, where his skills in photography and short-hand proved useful.