Joseph Montagu Cotterill

Many surgeons have distinguished themselves as sportsmen, some at the highest level. Sir Montagu Cotterill was one such. On the cricket field he played alongside W G Grace and was regarded by some contemporaries as second only to him as a batsman. An all round sportsman he went on to become an early exponent of neurosurgery and President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Joseph Montagu Cotterill was educated at Grahamstown, South Africa and later Brighton College in Sussex. His father was appointed Bishop of Edinburgh in 1871 and Cotterill had a distinguished undergraduate career in Edinburgh University with prizes in surgery and pathology. He became House Surgeon to Professor Annandale in the final years of the old Royal Infirmary in High School Yards. After a period as Surgical Tutor under Annandale, he became Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary. Regarded as a neat and rapid surgeon rather than an innovator, he was one of the early exponents of neurosurgery in Edinburgh, working in association with Sir Byrom Bramwell. With the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed Senior Surgeon to the Second Scottish Territorial General Hospital situated in Craigleith Hospital, later the Western General Hospital.

He had been President of the College of Surgeons in 1907 and was knighted in 1919.

Arguably his fame as a sportsman eclipsed that as a surgeon. From his earliest days he had shown a natural aptitude for ball games. In Sussex he had played for the country from the age of 18 and was selected to play for the Gentlemen against the Players. He frequently batted alongside W G Grace. During his time in Edinburgh, he was a stalwart of the Grange Cricket Club. He was Captain of rugby at Edinburgh University and was skilled at golf, billiards and an excellent shot.

In later years he became an enthusiastic motor cyclist and at the age of 70 was involved in an accident which resulted in a depressed skull fracture which required elevation. With the robust constitution of a sportsman he made a complete recovery, dying peacefully at home in his 83rd year.