Bird, Harold Godfrey

Person

Bird, Harold Godfrey

• Bird, H. Godfrey

1899-1991

Harold Godfrey Bird, son of Charles Harold and Edith Bryson (Dunn) Bird, was born September 1899 in Gananoque, Ontario. After attending several private schools in Kingston he entered, with his younger brother Edward, the University of Toronto Medical School in the autumn of 1917. Following their graduation together in June 1922, H. Godfrey Bird interned for a year at the Toronto General Hospital in preparation for establishing, like his father before him, a general practice.

The following year he returned to Gananoque and took over the practice, on a temporary basis, of one Dr. J. de L. Campbell. Upon the latter's return in 1924, H. Godfrey joined his father in his practice and remained with him until August 1925, at which time, with his brother Edward, the two embarked for further studies abroad. They took courses in Pathology at the American Medical Association of Vienna and psychoanalysis from Sigmund Freud's assistant, Paul Schilder. In London, H. Godfrey spent time attending clinics at St. Bartholomews and London Hospital and he completed his term as houseman at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. From there he went on to Dublin, Ireland to the Rotunda Lying-in Hospital to gain further instruction in obstetrics.

Commencing in January 1927, he undertook a position in the Medical School at Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, teaching Physical Diagnosis, a position he held until the fall of 1964. At the same, he began a practice of general medicine from which he retired in late 1979.

In September 1928, H.Godfrey married Edna Rough of Montreal and over the years seven children were born to the couple: Robert Godfrey, the eldest, was followed by Shearman Godfrey, Edith Amoi, Mary Caroline, Richard Rough, Virginia Grace, and Edna Godfreyda.

He was later recommended by Dr. Lorimer John ("Blimey") Austin, of Queen's Medical School, for charter membership in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and in order to keep himself abreast of new developments in the field of health care he enrolled as a post graduate student at Toronto General Hospital.

H. Godfrey was also interested in music and, for a time, played in the viola section of the Kingston Symphony Orchestra.

Bird, Charles Harold (1872-1944)

CA QUA02118

Draft

• English