Tunbridge, Sir William John
1876-1939; e.m.1900

WM missionary in India, he was born at Dover and educated at Queen's College, Taunton and Owen's College before training at Richmond College. He served in the Madras District from 1913 to 1920, and then as Superintendent of the Leeds Mission 1920-1930, during which time the work at Oxford Place expanded. Probably during his ministry in Leeds he wrote Public Worship: a book of responsive prayers (n.d.), a revised and enlarged edition of one used by some WM churches in India. He died on 2 June 1939.

His son, Professor Sir Ronald E. Tunbridge (c.1906-1984) held the first full-time Chair of Medicine at Leeds University from 1946 to 1971. He was the first professor appointed from within the university and gained world renown in many spheres - connective tissue research, ageing, diabetology, rehabilitation medicine and medical education. Among his many honorary positions he was a Vice-President of the British Diabetic Association, President of the British Society on Ageing (1958-1962), President of the BMA (1974), Vice-President of Age Concern and a consultant for the World Health Organisation. He was a JP from 1958 and was knighted in 1967. He died on 12 January 1984. His personal authority lay in his excellence as a clinician and bedside teacher, and his resolute integrity, his attitudes being born from a strong Christian faith. Both his sons entered the medical profession.

Sources
  • V. Wright in University of Leeds Review, 1971, pp.381-2
  • J.K. Wales in University of Leeds Review , 1984, pp.271-3