peoplepill id: james-mcilroy-1
JM
United Kingdom Great Britain
3 views today
6 views this week
James McIlroy
British surgeon

James McIlroy

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
British surgeon
A.K.A.
James Archibald McIlroy
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Ulster, Ireland, United Kingdom
Place of death
London Borough of Sutton, Greater London, London, United Kingdom
Age
88 years
Education
University of Birmingham
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

James McIlroy
James McIlroy as a member of the Elephant Island party

James Archibald McIlroy (3 November 1879 – 27 July 1968) was a British surgeon and a member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's crew on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-1916).

Early life and career

He was born in the Irish province of Ulster, almost certainly in the County Antrim market town Ballyclare where his father hailed from. The family later moved to Kings Norton, Birmingham, England, where he attended grammar school.

After McIlroy earned his medical degree at Birmingham University, he was for a brief time a surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. He spent several of the following years practicing medicine in Egypt, in Japan, and as a ship's surgeon on cruise ships in and around the East Indies.

First Shackleton expedition

In 1914, McIlroy, along with Alexander Macklin, were the two physicians assigned under Shackleton on 'Endurance', the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, despite suffering from malaria. Known by the nickname of Mick during the expedition, McIlroy was described by Endurance author Alfred Lansing as "a handsome, aristocratic-looking individual" who was seen by his fellow crew as a "man of the world". He was known to entertain his crew mates with the stories of his exploits sailing around the world. McIlroy was also in charge of a sled-dog team when the expedition was cast away on the Weddell Sea. He also played the banjo in the team's musical ensemble. After the castaways found a refuge on Elephant Island, McIlroy was the surgeon performing the amputation of Perce Blackborow's gangrenous toes, with Macklin serving as anaesthetist, carefully administering a tiny quantity of salvaged chloroform as anaesthesia. After the rescue of McIlroy and his comrades, the physician was awarded the Silver Polar Medal.

Second Shackleton expedition

After his convalescence from his injuries he incurred during the Great War, McIlroy journeyed to Africa and took up cotton farming with Frank Wild and Francis Bickerton in Malawi, then known as Nyasaland. In 1921 he signed up as a surgeon with Shackleton on another polar expedition, 'Quest', (the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition); Shacketon died on board ship off South Georgia Island, however, and the mission was completed by explorer Frank Wild (1873-1939).

Military service

During the First World War, he was badly wounded at Ypres.

In the Second World War, McIlroy was serving on the S.S. Oronsay when it was torpedoed off the coast of West Africa, spending five days on an open boat before being rescued by the French ship Dumont d’Urville.

Later life

After the war, he remained a ship's surgeon well into his late seventies, working for the P&O and Clan Line shipping lines. He died, at the age of 88, in Surrey, England.

Legacy

In 1990 the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee named a peak after McIlroy. McIlroy Peak rises to 745 metres (2,440 ft) west of Husvik Harbour and 0.8 nautical miles (1.5 km) south of Mount Barren, South Georgia.

In the 2002 Shackleton television film, McIlroy was portrayed by actor Pip Torrens.

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Lists
James McIlroy is in following lists
comments so far.
Comments
From our partners
Sponsored
Credits
References and sources
James McIlroy
arrow-left arrow-right instagram whatsapp myspace quora soundcloud spotify tumblr vk website youtube pandora tunein iheart itunes