Ronald Douglas Emslie

Professor Ronald Emslie who died on 31st May, was born on the 9th March 1915 of Scottish parents. Although born south of the border, throughout his life, he remained very proud of his ancestry. He was educated at Felsted School after which he first embarked upon actuarial training which he came to dislike so much that after three years he left the City, crossed London Bridge and entered Guy's Hospital Dental School. He graduated BDS of the University of London in 1943 and after 6 months as a house surgeon was commissioned in the dental branch of the Royal Navy and appointed to the British Naval Base in Haifa. In 1946, he returned to civilian life dividing his time between teaching at Guy's and practice in the West End.

He soon became a full time lecturer in the department of preventive dentistry which had recently been established at Guy's with funding provided by the late Lord Nuffield. This led, in 1948, to a one year research fellowship at the University of Illinois in Chicago where he established his life-long interest in periodontology. However, he always claimed that the jewel of his year in Chicago was meeting Dorothy Dennis, a farmer's daughter from the Middle West whom, in 1951, he married.

Ronald Emslie was blessed with a quiet, patient and equable temperament, and a dry sense of humour

Returning to Guy's he was appointed head of the department of preventive dentistry, a post he held until his retirement in 1980. In 1961, under the auspices of the Nuffield Foundation, he visited Nigeria for four months to carry out a detailed study of the gangrenous facial disease, Cancrum Oris, which was prevalent there. His report proved of immeasurable value in the management of this seriously disfiguring condition. In 1956, he was appointed as Reader in preventive dentistry and in 1962 he was promoted to 'Personal Chair', the title of which in 1970 was expanded to include periodontology. In 1968, Ron Emslie was appointed Dean of dental studies, the first full-time academic to hold the position, which he held until his retirement in 1980. Amongst his major tasks as Dean was the transfer in 1973 of the dental school from the obsolete 19th century building into the newly completed Guy's Tower. In addition to his duties at Guy's, for 10 years he served as scientific editor of the BDJ, member and for several years was the chairman of the Dental Health Committee of the BDA, chairman of the Fluoridation Society, president of the Odontological Section of the RSM, membership of several FDI Commissions, of the Board of Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons – Vice Dean 1976/77 – and civil consultant in periodontology to the Royal Navy. For his services to the profession, he was elected an Honorary Life Member of the BDA, a fellow of UMDS and recently a fellow of King's College.

Ronald Emslie was blessed with a quiet, patient and equable temperament, and a dry sense of humour; he was modest almost to a fault concerning his own achievements. He had an extremely clear and concise mind, was never in a hurry and always available to discuss problems. He had many interests beyond his work most of which centred around his home and family. In his youth he was an accomplished hockey and squash player and he continued to play tennis until he was well into his 80's. He greatly enjoyed sailing and regularly took his catamaran on the top of his VW camping van for family holidays in the South of France. In his retirement he revived his youthful interest in Austin 7 cars and completed several successful restorations. His many friends and professional colleagues will wish to extend deepest sympathy to his wife Dot, his sons, Douglas, Robbie and Dennis and his grandchildren.

M.N.N.

Sydney James George Knott

'Jim' passed away peacefully in his 94th year. He qualified at Guy's Hospital in 1931 and was appointed to the senior house surgeon post under Sir William Kelsey Fry.

On leaving Guy's he set up his own private practice in North London and soon afterwards joined the Royal Army Dental Corps upon the outbreak of war. He then returned to Southgate on being 'de-mobbed' to experience a further upheaval for his practice (whose patients had been looked after during the wartime by a colleague) with the introduction of the NHS General Dental Services.

Always the true professional, calm, polite and a gentleman in every sense of the word

Jim was fiercely opposed to the terms and conditions of the GDS and he remained in private practice only to find many of his colleagues had ignored the advice of the BDA and accepted the terms. Soon after, he became an active member of the Middlesex Executive Council LDC and witnessed the predictable fee cuts that soon followed Aneurin Bevan's brilliant deception of bribing the profession into the GDS.

He served on the Council's disciplinary committee that had the power to levy significant fines on erring dentists and was shocked by the number of false claims made for work done privately before the GDS was introduced. Indeed, Jim believed that this was not a local issue but almost certainly a national phenomenon that in all probability hastened the drastic fee cuts made by the Government in an attempt to reduce excessive dental earnings.He gained great pleasure from watching his son following in his footsteps in a very similar professional career, becoming senior house surgeon at Guy's under Professor Herbert, joining the RADC and finishing as the principal of the only totally private practice in Wiltshire.

Jim joined the BDA in 1933 and became a life member in 1972. He and his son therefore had clocked up more than a hundred year's membership before his death. Always the true professional, calm, polite and a gentleman in every sense of the word, the best interests of his patients always came first. Indeed on leaving Guy's the Dean, Dr. Johnston wrote a reference describing Jim as 'a man of irreproachable character'. He was pre-deceased by his wife and daughter and is survived by his son Nigel, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Nigel J Knott