Dr Wilfred J Dally FSAS¹

• Obituary*: The obituary of Dr Wilfred J Dally FSAS was was published on 20 June 2001 at Edzell, Angus, Scotland, . Wilfred John Dally
  Former singlehanded general practitioner Edzell and District (b Ilford 1919; q St Andrews 1952), d 20 June 2001.
  After various resident appointments in Dundee and a GP assistantship in Forfar, he was appointed in 1956 to be the principal singlehanded general practitioner for Edzell and the surrounding area.
  Wilfred’s previous history was rather unusual. The son of an accountant, he attended Clarkes School in Ilford, where he was head boy. Later he became a clerk with an insurance company in London. He had been brought up in a close Congregational family and, when war broke out, at the early age of 20 he decided that he was a pacifist and registered as a conscientious objector. In July 1940, after the tribunal had released him for agricultural or ambulance work, he joined the Friends Ambulance Unit—a Quaker organisation.
  After basic training in first aid, he worked at hospitals in Epping and Bangour in Scotland, and subsequently in the Middle East (1940-3) and in Greece (1944-6). When he was in Greece, he looked after civilians, as well as armed forces personnel. He learned to speak and write in Greek, in order to communicate more easily with the Greek people.
  He had many tales to tell, but always with great modesty. He described how, on one occasion, when he discovered that the water system that had supplied the local area was contaminated, he had managed to scrounge a water filtration unit from the army for use by the village.
  Throughout this time, he studied from any old medical books that he could find, often in dangerous surroundings. He learned how to identify parasites, and other causes of disease, using a very basic kit, consisting mainly of an old microscope, with glass slides, plus some basic stains, so that he might be able to diagnose and treat his patients more effectively.
  He also eventually founded the Patras Public Health Laboratory, which to this day is still called the Wilfred Dally Laboratory.
  After the war was over, in 1947, Wilfred decided that, at the age of 27, he would become a first year mature medical student.
  Dr Dally was awarded the Douglas Adamson prize in September 1983. This award is made annually to a qualified member of the medical or nursing professions who has made an outstanding contribution to patient care, either actual or potential, in Tayside.
  Dr Dally also served on several local community councils and committees. These included: Inveresk Community Council; Edzell Village Improvement Society, for which he was given honorary life membership; and Edzell Garden Group, where he was a competent and enthusiastic member. Edzell won the annual "Best Kept Village in Scotland" on several occasions. He was also a member of the Glenesk Trust (The Retreat).
  He had a great interest in archaeology, a subject in which he was very competent, with a special interest in the Picts and local history. Often he would hire an aeroplane, or persuade those with access to one, to taken him on flights, so that he could map out archaeological sites. He was admitted as fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (October 1967).
  He was also an enthusiastic gardener and an expert bee keeper.
  He met and married Nora Rule, a nurse, in 1942. She was to be his constant source of love and support in their busy, happy life together. She also became a Quaker. Nora died in December 1997 after 55 years of marriage. They had four children—three daughters and a son. There are four grandchildren.
  Wilfred and Nora were accepted into the Quaker Society in 1956.
  Wilfred joined the Northern Friends Peace Board (NFPB), Amnesty International, the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Gandhi Movement, and Quakers in Criminal Justice. As a member of NFPB he assisted in writing the booklet Orange and Green which attempted to make sense of the Northern Irish conflict. He first went to NFPB as a representative of GM for Scotland, and in, recognition of his devoted service, was made an honorary member some years ago.
  He lived and worked in Glen House, Edzell, and remained there for the rest of his life. His patients were many and varied, from the local aristocracy to farmers, and the servicemen from the nearby United States base. It is a tribute to the respect in which he was held that even though the base closed down some years ago, a number of the personnel attended, and one spoke movingly at, his funeral. [N M Piercy]^2,3

Notes

• (Awarded to) DGA Memorial Award: Dr Wilfred J Dally FSAS was awarded the The Douglas Adamson Memorial Award in June 1983 at Dundee, Angus, Scotland, . Doctor Wilfred J Dally, a general practitioner in Edzell, has been awarded the 1983 Douglas G Adamson Memorial Prize by the University of Dundee for an outstanding contribution to patient care in Tayside. The Award is the third annual award of the prize. Dr Dally moved to Edzell in 1957 where he has run, singled handled, a pratice of 1,800 patients. Dr Dally is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.^1,2