Sir Benjamin William Rycroft: Reflections on Character and Career

Ophthalmologist Sir Benjamin W. Rycroft was a key figure in John Hedley-Whyte's early education and experiences at the RAMC's 31^st General Hospital, later Harvard's 5^th General Hospital at Musgrave Park outside Belfast, 1940-1942. Rycroft later served with distinction in the Mediterranean Theatre and was honored with the O.B.E. After his return to the UK post-war, he advanced reconstructive treatment of burns, corneal grafting, and the establishment of tissue banks. He was a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, gifted organist, enthusiastic gardener, and close associate of the Royal Family. In 1964, Rycroft returned to Belfast to give the Craig Memorial Lecture at Queen's University, Belfast, titled "Plastic Surgery and Ophthalmology".