Ernest William Corfe
Ernest William Corfe (1878 – 1963) was a British dentist.
Early life
Ernest Corfe was born in Maidstone, Kent to Alfred Felix Corfe and Martina Priddis, the youngest of six children. He married Ethel Smith in 1905, a direct ancestor of John Thomas Smith, the engraver and diarist. They had four children. Corfe's ancestors were notable musicians, mainly Cathedral organists and singers who were associated with Handel.
Career
Corfe was a pupil at Maidstone Grammar School before studying dentistry at Guy's Hospital. He graduated at the outset of the Boer War in 1899.[1] At the time, out of 208,000 troops in Africa 6,900 were admitted to hospital for dental reasons.[2] About one-third were invalided back to England, and the remaining two-thirds were returned to duty, but many of them were unfit for active service.
The British Dental Association, worried by reports of serious dental sickness, approached the War Secretary, who was sufficiently concerned to appoint four contract dentists to the troops in 1901. Corfe was one of these four, who were the first to be paid to treat British soldiers in the field.[2] He was given the rank of Captain, a servant and a horse, but was expected to take his own equipment, including an operating tent. Corfe returned to England after the war ended, and set up a private dental practice in Muswell Hill, London. He continued to practice until his eldest son, Felix, took over.
Ernest Corfe was widowed, remarried late in life and died peacefully in 1963.
References
- ↑ Webb, Chris. "Pearl Dental Software | The History of Dentistry: Dentistry in the RAF". Retrieved 2020-06-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gelbier, S. (December 2005). "125 years of developments in dentistry, 1880–2005 Part 7: War and the dental profession". British Dental Journal. 199 (12): 794–798. doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.4813069. ISSN 1476-5373.
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