Ernest William Corfe
Ernest W Corfe (1878 - 1963) was a British dentist.
Early life
Corfe was born in Maidstone, Kent to Alfred Felix Corfe and Martina Mary Jane Priddis and was the youngest of six children. He married Ethel Smith in 1905, direct ancestor of John Thomas Smith, the engraver and diarist. Corfe's family had owned a chain of chemists which they sold to Timothy Whites, eventually becoming Boots. They had four children.
Career
Corfe studied dentistry at Guy's Hospital and graduated at the outset of the Boer War in 1899. At the time, out of 208,000 troops in Africa 6,900 were admitted to hospital for dental reasons. 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. Ernest Corfe along with three others, was the first paid dental surgeon to treat British soldiers in the field. 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 and died peacefully in 1963.
Early life
Corfe was born in Maidstone, Kent to Alfred Felix Corfe and Martina Mary Jane Priddis and was the youngest of six children. He married Ethel Smith in 1905, direct ancestor of John Thomas Smith, the engraver and diarist. Corfe's family had owned a chain of chemists which they sold to Timothy Whites, eventually becoming Boots. They had four children.
Career
Corfe studied dentistry at Guy's Hospital and graduated at the outset of the Boer War in 1899. At the time, out of 208,000 troops in Africa 6,900 were admitted to hospital for dental reasons. 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. Ernest Corfe along with three others, was the first paid dental surgeon to treat British soldiers in the field. 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 and died peacefully in 1963.
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