front, and at the Western Front. In 1917, he fought at the Battle of Passchendaele and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for gallantry during the battle. On 15 November 1918, he retired from the British Army on the grounds of ill health. He was granted the honorary rank of major. He had received a wound in battle in March 1918, that resulted in one of his legs having to be amputated. He was haemorrhaging from the femoral artery but an American doctor managed to stop the bleed and Whitby survived the trauma. Medical career In 1923, Whitby began his career in medicine having received an appointment at Middlesex Hospital as an assistant pathologist. In 1927, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) by the University of Cambridge. From 1928 to 1929, he was part of a team of medical staff who cared for the ailing King George V. For the next ten years, he practised as a clinical pathologist and began his research into haematology. In addition to his medical practice, Whitby was an ardent researcher. From 1955 to 1938, he researched the used of the new drug group sulphonamide. He discovered and perfected 'M and B 693', a first generation sulphonamide antibiotic. His publications during this period included Medical Bacteriology (1928), The Laboratory in Surgical Practice (1931), and Disorders of the Blood (1935). World War II military service On 12 July 1938, Whitby was promoted to colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Army. On 2 September 1939, he was called up for active service and transferred from the TA Reserve of Officers (RAMC) to the Territorial Army (Commands and Staff). He was promoted to brigadier on 1 March 1942, when he was commanding officer of the Army Blood Transfusion Service at Southmead Hospital in Bristol. Personal life Whitby's marriage, to Ethel Murgatroyd, took place in Halifax (England) in the late summer of 1922. His wife was herself a qualified surgeon and physician. The marriage produced three sons and one daughter. These included the biochemist Lionel Gordon Whitby FRSE (1926-2000). Sir Lionel Whitby died in London. Honours In 1929, Whitby was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in recognition of his role in the treatment of King George V. In the 1945 New Year Honours, when he was commanding officer of the Army Blood Transfusion Service at Southmead Hospital in Bristol it