Gilbert Barling

Sir Harry Gilbert Barling, 1st Baronet CB CBE (30 April 1855 - 27 April 1940) was an English physician.

Barling was born at Newnham on Severn, Gloucestershire and educated at a boarding school at Weston, near Bath. He went to Birmingham at the age of 20, to take his matriculation exam at Queen’s College, before going on to study at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London and culminating in his admittance to the Royal College of Surgeons in 1879, becoming a Fellow in 1881. It was at this time he was appointed resident pathologist at the General Hospital which would start an association lasting for 60 years. He became President of the hospital in 1925.

From 1913 to 1933 he held the office of Vice Chancellor (renamed Pro-Chancellor in 1927) of the University of Birmingham, during which time and under his guidance the research departments in mental diseases and cancer were founded. He was Vice President and Chairman of the Council of The Birmingham Civic Society for 22 years from its creation in 1918 until his death in 1940. He was also for many years the Chairman of the Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund. His association with the university had begun in 1885 when he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy at Queen’s College and he was for many years on the teaching staff of the Medical School, becoming Professor of Pathology in 1885. In 1893 he was appointed co-professor of Surgery at Mason's College (the forerunner of the University) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

At the outbreak of the First World War he was 59 and placed his services at the disposal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, acting as consulting surgeon in the Southern Command, subsequently being posted at the rank of Colonel to the Western Front from October 1916 to August 1917. His service to King and Countrymen earned him the Companion of the Bath (military) in 1917 and in 1919 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In August 1919 King George V conferred upon him a Baronetcy and the College of Arms granted his Coat of Arms some three months later.

In 1923 he had been involved in the setting up of the Birmingham Branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign (now Cancer Research UK) and became its first Chairman. He was a hard worker and talented administrator and in 1936, in recognition of his hospital, university and other public service, he was presented with The Birmingham Civic Society’s Gold Medal (a rare accolade given to those who have made a high contribution to life in Birmingham).

Sir Gilbert chaired his last meeting of the Civic Society’s Executive Council on 19 March 1940 and he died from heart failure at his home (whilst in his garden) at 6 Manor Road, Edgbaston on Saturday 27 April 1940, just three days before his 85th birthday. At the next meeting of the Society’s Executive Council, Mr Oliver Moreland temporarily assumed the Chair and it was agreed to send a letter of sympathy to Miss Edith Barling, one of his two daughters, who also sat on the Executive Council.

The funeral took place at St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston on Wednesday 1 May 1940. Sadly, Sir Gilbert's house was demolished in 2003, to make way for a block of apartments, called "Spire Court". The Birmingham Civic Society plans to erect a Blue Plaque to commemorate him in 2018, to coincide with the centenary of the organisation.

The papers of Gilbert Barling and also a collection of material relating to Barling, compiled by his daughter, Edith are housed at the University of Birmingham Special Collections.

Further reading

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