G. N. W. Thomas

G. N. W. Thomas
G. N. W. Thomas (left) with James Robinson, Lord Mayor of Cardiff in 1914
Born
George Nathaniel William Thomas

23 August 1873
Dartmouth
Died9 February 1958 (aged 84)
Penarth
Occupation(s)Medical doctor, barrister
Spouse
Frances Helena
​
(m. 1904)​

George Nathaniel William Thomas (23 August 1873 – 9 February 1958) was an English medical doctor, barrister and anti-vivisection activist.

Career

Thomas was born in Dartmouth.[1] He was educated at Taunton School and obtained his M.B. from Edinburgh University.[1] He was the son and grandson of a Nonconformist minister.[2] Thomas worked in Cardiff before WW1 as a member of the Cardiff City Council and was chairman of the Cardiff Corporation Food and Fuel Committee during the war.[3] He was a medical officer at Wilts County Mental Hospital in Devizes from 1922 to 1938. He retired in 1938 and returned to Cardiff.[3]

Thomas was a barrister of the Middle Temple.[1] He was a trustee of the oldest nonconformist chapel in Wales, the Tabernacle Independent Chapel in Llanvaches.[3] He married Frances Helena.[1] Thomas was an anti-fascist. In 1936, he delivered a speech against the British Union of Fascists defending Jews and requesting for Parliament to pass an act to stop any person maligning any section of the community.[4] Thomas was described as "staunchly philosemitic" as he was known the have spoken in defence of Jews at the pulpit.[5][6]

Thomas died on 9 February 1958 in Penarth.[7] He was buried at Trellech Cemetery.[8]

Anti-vivisection

Thomas was an anti-vivisectionist.[9] He was a speaker for the Cardiff branch of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, commenting that "in long drawn out agony" animal experiments were cruel and unnecessary.[10] Thomas argued that the greatest advances from medical science such as discoveries of anaesthetics, anti-septic surgery, radium and treatments of malaria and yellow fever came from scientific experiments without cruelty to animals.[11]

He was an opponent of blood sports. In 1927, he wrote a letter to the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports commenting that "blood sports are atrociously cruel and unfair to the animal, and degrading to those who take part in them".[12] Thomas was an honorary member of the Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society.[13]

Selected publications

  • Thomas, G. N. W. (1913). Leading Cases in Workmen's Compensation. London: Butterworth & Co.[14]
  • Thomas, G. N. W. (1924). "Honey: Its Value in Heart Failure". The Lancet. 204 (5287): 1363.
  • Thomas, G. N. W. (1949). "Animal Experiments". The British Medical Journal. 1 (4599): 369. JSTOR 25371407.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mee, Arthur (1921). Who's Who in Wales. Western Mail Limited. p. 460.
  2. ^ "Established Church (Wales) Bill Volume 61: debated on Tuesday 21 April 1914". UK Parliament. 1914. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Dr. G. N. W. Thomas Returning to Cardiff". North Wilts Herald. September 2, 1938. p. 9. (subscription required)
  4. ^ Parry-Jones, Cai (2017). The Jews of Wales: A History. University of Wales Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-1786830852.
  5. ^ "Defended the Jews: Rabbi's Thanks for Speech by Dr. G. N. W. Thomas". Western Mail & South Wales News. October 28, 1936. p. 7. (subscription required)
  6. ^ Rubinstein, William D. (1999). Philosemitism: Admiration and Support in the English-Speaking World for Jews, 1840-1939. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 91. ISBN 978-0230513136.
  7. ^ "Medical News". The British Medical Journal. 1 (5069): 531–532. 1958. JSTOR 25379834.
  8. ^ "Late Dr. G. N. W. Thomas". Western Mail. February 14, 1958. p. 7. (subscription required)
  9. ^ "Anti-Vivisection". New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times. May 19, 1956. p. 10. (subscription required)
  10. ^ "Vivisection of Animals". Western Mail & South Wales News. January 20, 1939. p. 10. (subscription required)
  11. ^ "Vivisection Protests". Western Mail & South Wales News. March 21, 1940. p. 6. (subscription required)
  12. ^ "Cruel Sports: Many Protests at Taunton Gathering". The Devon and Exeter Gazette. March 5, 1927. p. 5. (subscription required)
  13. ^ Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society Report for the Year 1933 (PDF). 1935.
  14. ^ "Leading Cases in Workmen's Compensation by G. N. W. Thomas". Harvard Law Review. 27 (3): 295–296. 1914. JSTOR 1325996.