Percival Macleod Yearsley
Percival Macleod Yearsley
| Percival Macleod Yearsley FRCS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | 1867 | ||||||||
| Died | 1951 | ||||||||
| Residence |
81 Wimpole Street, W1 23 Harley Street, W1 [1931] | ||||||||
| Occupation | medical | ||||||||
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Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
1928.12.18 nominated
grandson of James Yearsley qv
Notes From Elsewhere
Born on 24 October 1867, the only child of Stephen Yearsley and Joanna Bowring Chittenden, his wife. His father's father, James Yearsley, was a first cousin of the famous otologist of the same name (see P M Y's letter in British Medical Journal 12 March 1935, 1, 596). The family originated in Yorkshire in the fifteenth century, and P M Yearsley claimed to be fourteenth in the direct male line from an officer of the wardrobe of Henry VI. He was educated at Merchant Taylor's School, which at that time occupied the Charterhouse Buildings, and at the Westminster and London Hospitals. Yearsley practised as an otologist at 23 Harley Street, and held many hospital appointments, the most important being that of senior surgeon to the Royal Ear Hospital. He was also surgeon in charge of the ear department at the Farringdon General Dispensary, and consulting aural surgeon to St James's Hospital, Balham. He was the first aural surgeon appointed to its consultant staff by the London County Council, and did much good work in connexion with the welfare and education of deaf-mutes. He was for many years consulting aural surgeon to the Royal School for the Deaf and Dumb, and did and wrote much to promote acceptance of the electrophonoid method of Zünd-Burguet.
Yearsley was an energetic, open-minded, many-sided man; fond of controversy in his early life, he mellowed with time, and his generous work for the handicapped became widely appreciated. He was a keen volunteer soldier and held the rank of major in the National Reserve during the first world war, 1914-18, and was second in command of the London Army Troops Companies, Royal Engineers (Volunteers). During the second world war, 1939-45, he was a divisional surgeon under the London civil defence authorities. He was interested in general science, and in history, archaeology, and folk-lore. He translated Forel's Sensations des insects, as well as some French otological books. He wrote a fascinating and well-documented record of the illnesses of the Kings of England, and other literary studies and original stories. His professional writings also were sound and successful. After retirement from London practice Yearsley settled at Winscombe, Ethorpe Close, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, and worked as aural surgeon to the Hospital there. He married in 1917 Florence Louise, daughter of C M Cooper, MD; Mrs Yearsley survived him with their one son. He died at his home on 4 May 1951, aged 83. Yearsley was for many years a friend of the College Library, to which from time to time he presented books.
“Breeders of the Deaf” – Percival Macleod Yearsley’s ‘self advertisement’
By H Dominic W Stiles, on 22 March 2016
In the 1920s eugenics was a very hot subject, an area of much concern to Percival Macleod Yearsley (1867-1951). Percival was a cousin (twice removed) of James Yearsley the great aural surgeon. Yearsley was formerly consulting aural surgeon to St. James’ Hospital, Balham, and to the London County Council. He died at Gerrard’s Cross on May 4, 1951 at the age of 83. He was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School and the Westminster and London Hospitals. In 1893 he was appointed to the staff of the old Royal Ear Hospital in Soho, becoming senior surgeon, and he was the first aural surgeon to the London County Council, for whom he carried out important investigations among school-children. He also interested himself in the welfare of deaf-mutes. A man of many interests, Macleod Yearsley wrote some delightful fairy tales, studied the story of the Bible, discussed the sanity of Hamlet and doctors in Elizabethan drama, took a scientific interest in the Zoological Society, translated Forel’s Sensations des insectes, and was an archaeologist of repute. In his own specialty he wrote a Textbook on Diseases of the Ear (1908) and another on Nursing in Diseases of the Throat, Nose and Ear. Later he became greatly interested in the Zund-Burguet electrophonoid treatment of deafness, on which he wrote a monograph in 1933. Energetic, open-minded, and many-faceted, he was looked upon as rather a stormy petrel by his contemporaries; but he mellowed with time, to be regarded with respect and admiration by otologists of today. (Obituary in the Lancet, 1951)
Percival MacLeod Yearsley’s signature in a copy of his cousin’s book The Artificial Tympanum
The letter, a follow up to a much longer letter signed by a number of notable people, appears in a scrap page from Ernest Ayliffe’s collection of various odd documents and letters, with associated cuttings, and the page is dated ‘Feb 22/29’. The year was 1929, the newspaper the Daily Mail.
Breeders of the Deaf
Sir,- For the past twenty-one years I have been advocating the sterilisation of those who are responsible for the perpetuation of a considerable section of our “deaf-mutes.” But hitherto such advocacy has fallen upon deaf ears.
There are numerous examples in our deaf schools all over the country of born deaf children whose disability is due to what is known as “true hereditary deafness,” a condition which, in its propagation, follows the Mendelian theory.
Dr. Kerr Love, of Glasgow, and I have published for years past a considerable amount of work upon this question, and have shown that, while there are hearing carriers of deafness whom it be difficult to sterilise, owing to the practical impossibility of recognising them until they produce deaf children, those who are born hereditarily deaf breed true, and can be safely expected to do so.
These are the cases which require sterilisation, and I have a considerable number of family trees showing this sure method of perpetuation of deafness.
I need not expatiate upon the advantage to the race and to the State if this form of deafness could be eliminated, but I would point out that the education of a normal hearing child costs approximately £5 18s., while that of a deaf child is £69 18s. 10d.
This gives an additional reason for sterilisation of the unfit, and it is satisfactory to see that the letter published contains the names of bishops as well as of men of science.
MACLEOD YEARSLEY, F.R.C.S., F.R.A.I.
81 Wimpole street, W.1.
As you see, Ayliffe added some comments –
Comments
Wish to call attention to this very damaging letter to the cause of the Deaf.
Whatever the merits of the system it is a brutal one.
May be justification for it in a few cases- but very few.
Why Deaf & Dumb! Why not blind. You get some cases to my certain knowledge – generations of them (in few cases likewise)
Why not M.Ds?
Why not the vicious?
Why not criminals?
[pencil] Difficulty of appeal [pencil]
Our appeal for the Deaf is very seriously jeopardised by such a letter.
Can anything be done by the committee to counteract it?
[pencil] Implications by quotation from Kerr Love
Ought we to repudiate the whole thing or let Yearsley get away with his self advertisement? [pencil]
B.D.D.A. – [pencil] Indignation – but –
N.I.D.
Ayliffe’s comment there seems to expose Yearsley. His understanding of the new science of genetics does not seem to be great. Despite his other certain talents, in this letter he comes across as a shameless self-promotor, a mere shadow of his relative.
Percival Macleod Yearsley Lancet. 1951 May 19;1(6664):1130.
Updated 23/12/2016 with photograph of Yearsley from Teacher of the Deaf
Publications
External Publications
Injuries and diseases of the ear. Rebman, 1897.
Nursing in diseases of the throat, nose and ear. Scientific Press, 1899.
Adenoids. 1901.
Textbook of diseases of the ear. Kegan Paul, 1908.
The abuse of the singing and speaking voice, translated from Malménage de la voix par J G E Moure et A Bouyer. Kegan Paul, 1910.
Translation of Conduction sonore par Ziind-Burguet. 1914.
Throat and ear troubles. Methuen, 1915.
The story of the Bible. Watts, 1922; 2nd edition 1933; 3rd 1948.
A fairy-tale of the sea. Watts, 1923.
The folklore of fairy-tale. Watts, 1924.
The development of speech in the normal child. Brit J Child Dis 1926, 23, 1.
A manual of the electrophonoid method of Zünd-Burguet for the treatment of chronic deafness (auditory re-education). Heinemann, 1927.
The sanity of Hamlet. Bale, 1932.
Otosclerosis, with special reference to aetiology and treatment. Bale, 1933.
Doctors in Elizabethan drama. Bale, 1933.
Le Roy est mort, an account of the deaths of the rulers of England. John Heritage, 1935.
An analysis of over 4000 cases of educational deafness. Brit J Child Dis 1934-35, 31-32 (six articles).
Forel's Sensation des insects, translated.
