Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

7FeatureNovember 14-20, 2011United Kingdom EditionUnited Kingdom Edition I n last month’s article I ventured into the history of World War I and re- vealed the incredible story of Sir Harry Baldwin and his involvement with the maxilla facial hospitals in France and Britain. Howev- er, this was only a fraction of Harry’s life; the other part of Harry’s career was inter- twined with royalty. A royal way The path which led Harry to the halls of Buckingham Pal- ace began early during his training and undoubtedly through his hard working and accomplished character. By day Harry would train and re- fine his skills in dentistry at the Royal Dental Hospital and Schools but by night he would fall into the role of doctor, ex- panding his wealth of medical knowledge at the Middlesex Hospital. During these school- ing years, Harry surpassed his peers and excelled in the classroom. His focus and classroom excellence earned him the Saunders Scholar, a scholarship that was an hon- our for any student. Funded by Sir Edwin Saunders, who was at the time dentist to Queen Victoria and Prince Al- bert, the Saunders Scholarship was a lifeline into the dental profession, and for Harry it most certainly became a help- ing hand in getting his ‘foot in the door’. With the Saunders Scholar under his belt and a great un- derstanding of dentistry fast developing, (and not to men- tion a prize for practical sur- gery) Harry was an employ- er’s dream. After qualifying in 1884 he was employed to work in the famous dental practice of Sir John Tomes’ in Caven- dish Square (the gentleman who was referred to by Sir D’Arcy Power, in the Diction- ary of National Biography, as the gentleman who “began to practise dentistry when it was a trade, and… left it a well- equipped profession.”) Dur- ing these years Harry not only completed his medical train- ing, but he also met his future wife, a dental nurse named Lucy White, whom he married in March 1914 just before the outbreak of World War I. Working alongside Sir John’s son, Charles, (an ex- ceptional dentist who was later awarded the John Tomes Prize) Harry’s career was progressing into a prosper- ous profession. From 1891 to 1899 Harry shared his exper- tise and knowledge with the Royal Dental Hospital as assis- tant dental surgeon where he was “vividly remembered” as the man whose “self-reliance and keen analytical acumen” helped several junior sur- geons through “many a diffi- cult case.” Harry’s career was thriv- ing, and it was with much esteem that within a decade Harry found himself embark- ing on a Royal mission which led him into the halls of the Royal household. Making impressions And so it was that Harry was appointed to attend to Queen Victoria’s dental needs in her final years. And although this information was not well known, he also held a similar post in the household of King Edward VII. There were, however, other remarkable stories re- garding Harry’s royal post. During my research I inter- viewed Richard Fowler, who is the godson of Harry’s only child. As Richard divulged on the past and the incredible history of Harry, he narrated to me of one of his childhood memories: “Our two families knew other since 1939; I knew Sir Harry’s wife, Lady Lucy Baldwin and I recall hold- ing the mouth impressions of Queen Victoria. When Lucy died, my godmother Mary gave a lot of Harry’s equip- ment and mouth impressions to Dental College London – I believe that the impression of Queen Victoria’s mouth went there.” The story was intriguing and encouraged me to find out more regarding this particu- lar encounter between Queen Victoria and Harry. Although the research got off to a shaky start, with the impression of Queen Victoria’s mouth mis- placed somewhere amongst a pile of archive material (or so I am lead to believe), the famous appointment had for- tunately been documented in the Spring 2008 edition of Dental History Magazine Vol 2 No 1 17. The magazine de- tails a day in May 1897, when Charles Tomes visited the Queen to discuss and evalu- ate the idea of making her some false teeth. However, although Sir Charles Tomes tried, it was noted by a gen- tleman named Reid that al- though “[Sir Charles] gave a favourable opinion about her mouth… H.M. would not al- low him to take a cast of her mouth yet!” And so it was left to the services of Harry, who was personally called upon by Queen Victoria. With little hesitation in granting her consent for Harry to take an impression of her lower jaw, Harry used his skills and professional know-how, and unlike no one else of that time, fitted the Queen with a lower denture. A presidential career Harry’s career continued to excel in every direction; in 1912 he was elected presi- dent of the British Society for the Study of Orthodontics, and for many years was treasurer of the British Dental Associa- tion. In 1913 he was appointed president of the Metropolitan Branch of the British Dental Association, and in 1915 of the appointed president of the Odontological Section of the Royal Society of Medicine. Alongside his growing col- lection of titles, Harry’s famili- arity and trust with the Royal Family continued to develop, and as Richard explained dur- ing our interview, Harry not only had a growing passion for art, but he had also became a personal favourite of Queen Mary and quite a hero (in re- lation to her teeth) too. The letters It would seem that Harry’s charming manner had a way of instilling a level of trust in his Royal patients and for a num- ber of years Harry attended the King and Queen regularly at both Buckingham Palace and Balmoral. His accom- plished manner and charm meant that Harry was often invited to social court events and after finding that Queen Mary had a love for antiques, Harry struck up a friendship with the Queen, where they corresponded to one another, exchanging notes and ideas. Throughout my research I was granted access to a num- ber of letters of correspond- ence between Queen Mary In the second part of our look at Sir Harry Baldwin Laura Hatton uncovers his role as the Royal Family’s dentist page 8DTà A royal encounter ‘I recall holding the mouth impressions of Queen Victoria’ Sir Harry Baldwin circa 1908. Image courtesy of Richard Fowler