Portrait of Thomas Jaffrey McNair (1927-1994)
ED.CS.2010.152
Thomas Jaffrey McNair CBE (1927-1994), Fellow 1955, President 1985-1988
Oil on canvas, 1992, by Alan Sutherland (1931- 2019)
Tom McNair was educated at George Watson's College and Edinburgh University where he graduated MBChB in 1949 and later MD. His surgical training was under Sir James Learmonth, Mr T McW Millar and Sir John Bruce.
After obtaining his Fellowship in both Edinburgh and England he spent a year at the University of Illinois, USA, as Instructor in Surgery with Professor Warren Cole who was a much revered American surgeon and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. In 1961 he returned to Edinburgh on being appointed Consultant Surgeon to the Edinburgh Teaching Hospitals and worked first at the Eastern General Hospital, later transferring to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Chalmers Hospital. In 1964 he instituted the Accident and Emergency Service in the Royal Infirmary. Though a general surgeon in the old sense of the term, his main interests were in colo-rectal and biliary surgery.
He was appointed Surgeon to the Queen in Scotland in 1977 and continued in this capacity until his retiral. He served the College in numerous offices for over twenty years, being member of Council, Adviser in Post-Graduate Studies, Vice-President and finally President from 1985 to 1988 when he was made CBE. He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal College of Surgeons of England for his endeavours in furthering the revision of the Fellowship examination and in encouraging closer cooperation and understanding between the surgical Royal Colleges.
Twentieth century
