Mercer, Walter, Sir, 1890-

Sir Walter Mercer, MB ChB FRCSEd FRS (1891-1971), surgeon, was born at Stow, Midlothian. He was educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh and Edinburgh University. He then held appointments as a house surgeon in Edinburgh and Carlisle. During the First World War he served as a captain with the RAMC.

After being invalided home he served as a surgeon in the Edinburgh War Hospital at Bangour. In 1920 he was appointed surgeon of the Tynecastle Orthopaedic Clinic, and in 1921 his responsibilities were increased to cover Craigleith Hospital.

That year he was also elected FRCSEd. He married Helen Maisie Lunan in 1923. In 1925 he moved to the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh and was surgeon to the Edinburgh War Hospital. During the Second World War, Mercer was appointed as consultant in orthopaedic surgery to the Department of Health and surgeon to the thoracic unit for the East of Scotland. In 1948 became the Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery for Edinburgh University. Mercer was elected FRSEd, 1935 and was President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 1951-1957.

He was knighted in 1956, and awarded an honorary MCh by Liverpool University in 1958, the year of his retirement. His publications include 'Orthopaedic Surgery' (1932).

The papers of Sir WaIter Mercer, MB, FRCSEd, FRS, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Edinburgh University comprise notes and articles spanning forty years, from the 1920s to the 1960s although most date from the 1940s and '50s. They include his own notes for lectures and articles and copy articles printed in medical journals on subjects which interested him. They are alphabetically arranged in his own subject headings.