Thomas Arthur Kemp

Short abstract

Consultant physician who twice captained England at rugby

Tom Kemp was an exceptional rugby player. While still a medical student he captained England at outside half in the two uncapped international matches in 1940. He captained England a second time in 1948 while he was a consultant physician at St Mary's Hospital, London.

After qualifying he rapidly obtained his MRCP while working at St Mary's and at Harefield Hospital before joining the army in 1943 as a medical specialist and serving in Egypt and Iraq. In 1947 he returned to St Mary's and was appointed consultant later that year.

In those early postwar years he continued with his first class rugby, playing for Richmond as well as captaining England for the second time. During his career he also played for Cambridge University, St Mary's, Richmond, Lancashire, Middlesex, London Counties, the army, and the Barbarians. Even after his serious playing days were over he and his old scrum half partner, “Cocky” Cockburn, late and last medical superintendent at St Mary's, would take a team of young medical students on most Wednesdays throughout the season to play rugby against various schools in England. His aim was to entertain and educate them in the pleasures of open rugby (and perhaps even encourage some of them to read medicine at St Mary's). His student team was not allowed to kick for touch and the style was running and passing; ungentlemanly conduct was unthinkable. He was still at the age of 42 able to demonstrate his own skill with his classic dummy, side step, and swerve.

Figure 1.

As a physician he was an avoider of tests and procedures unlikely to be of proven benefit to his patients. He was particularly interested in the physical and emotional health of young adults and soon after his appointment he started a student health service for all medical and nursing students at St Mary's, becoming in time president of the British Student Health Service.

He served on the English Rugby Football Union from 1953, was an England selector, and was president in 1971-2. He was also a long serving president of the England Students Rugby Union. The increasing professionalism of recent years distressed him greatly as he always believed that rugby should be played for the enjoyment and friendship of the players and that so much emphasis on results had made the game unnecessarily violent.

He leaves a wife, Ruth; two children; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in the hospital chapel of St Mary's on 16 March 2005.

Thomas Arthur Kemp, consultant physician St Mary's Hospital, London, 1947-75 (b 1915; q Cambridge/St Mary's 1940; MD, FRCP), d 26 November 2004.