Obituary Cyril Astley Clarke

J Med Genet 2001;38:281–284 281 Obituary J Med Genet: first published as 10.1136/jmg.38.5.281 on 1 May 2001. Downloaded from Cyril Astley Clarke last half century. This work typified his unwill- ingness to be deterred by the gloomy prognisti- cations of experts in their fields, who often told him that his thinking was way oV the mark, and his instinctive gift for what Peter Medawar called “the art of the possible”, reflected in his ability for sensing the quality of his younger colleagues and the science that they were pur- suing. Cyril Astley Clarke was born in 1907. His father, Astley Vavasour Clarke, was a physician at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and one of the first to use x rays in this country; his grandfather was senior surgeon to the same hospital. He was educated at Oundle, Caius College, Cambridge, and Guy’s Hospital Medical School. After three years in life insurance practice, which allowed him time to indulge in his passion for sailing and oVered him the opportunity to examine Winston Churchill, he enrolled as a medical oYcer in the RNVSR and served throughout the war in the navy, ending his service by writing one of his first papers, on the neurological complica- tions of malnutrition that he observed in Brit- ish prisoners of war in Hong Kong. After the war Cyril moved to Liverpool http://jmg.bmj.com/ where he became Consultant Physician at the The passing of Cyril Clarke marks the end of David Lewis Northern Hospital. Despite busy the era of great medical all rounders. His career hospital and private practices he, together with as a clinician ranged through life insurance his long time friend and collaborator P M practice, medical specialist in the navy, consult- Sheppard, began a series of classical experi- ant physician, and later Professor of Medicine ments on the genetics of swallowtail butterflies, in Liverpool, and, finally, President of the work which later stimulated his interest in on October 3, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. Royal College of Physicians of London. His medical genetics. The success of the team of research contributions were equally broad young clinical research workers that built up based, spanning his classical work on mimicry round him left him less time for his clinical in swallowtail butterflies to his enquiry into practice, and he was appointed Reader in longevity by tracing and studying the lifestyles Medicine at the University of Liverpool and, in of centenarians who had received congratula- tory messages from the Queen. He was one of 1963 on the retirement of Henry Cohen, he the first in this country to appreciate that became Professor of Medicine, a post that he medical genetics, far from being a discipline held until 1972. He founded the NuYeld Unit which focuses on rare and esoteric diseases, has of Medical Genetics, which he directed from a major role to play across every aspect of day 1963 to 1972. On the year of his retirement he to day clinical practice. This led him to estab- was elected President of the Royal College of lish the NuYeld Unit of Medical Genetics in Physicians of London, a post he held with great Liverpool, which became a stable for many distinction and flair until 1977. From 1977 to who went on to develop this field throughout 1983 he served as Director of the College’s the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Medical Services Study Group, and from 1983 But Cyril Clarke’s most important contribu- to 1988 was Director of its Research Unit. tion to medicine, and one that reflects his flair Among his many other activities he served as and willingness to chance his arm in problems President of the Royal Entomological Society which were often outside his field of expertise, and, much to his delight, President of the Brit- was his inspiring leadership of the Liverpool ish Mule Society. He spent his later retirement team that discovered how to prevent rhesus in Liverpool continuing his work on the genet- haemolytic disease of the newborn, one of the ics of butterflies and in a characteristically major advances in preventive medicine of the broad range of medical research. www.jmedgenet.com 282 Obituary Cyril’s interests in butterflies, which started as he claimed, straight from the mouth of one of a childhood hobby, was reawakened while he his teachers at Guy’s, who, as he got older, was serving in the navy and visited Australia. He restricted his personal pharmacopoeia to mor- J Med Genet: first published as 10.1136/jmg.38.5.281 on 1 May 2001. Downloaded from had a childhood ambition to breed the swallow- phia and sodium bicarbonate, and was not too tail butterfly, Papilio machaon, and he developed liberal with the bicarbonate. a technique for making them mate by hand. By As Professor of Medicine he led his depart- chance, he obtained a North American swallow- ment with a light touch, preferring to let bright tail, Papilio polyxenes, and was able to mate this youngsters go their own way, but always around with P machaon. He produced F1 hybrids, and if they needed support. His remarkable flair then backcrosses, and hence discovered that and enthusiasm, and his ability to sniV out tal- their colouring reflects only a single gene diVer- ent and to pick research areas of importance, ence between the two species. Philip Sheppard was undoubtedly the major factor which led to read of this work and contacted Cyril and thus the wonderful achievement of the rhesus team, started a long standing and extremely produc- and to the success of the Department of Medi- tive collaboration on the genetics of mimicry in cine at Liverpool and its major influence on the tropical butterflies. The two of them also development of medical genetics. became interested in moths and industrial As a person, Cyril was a complex mixture of a pollution and followed up the observations of life long schoolboy, constantly bubbling with Bernard Kettlewell on the adaptive changes in enthusiasm and new ideas, and yet at the same the colouring of moths in relationship to time he could appear to be rather distant, so that pollution. Starting in 1959, and working every his students and junior staV sometimes found year up to 1994, Cyril and his colleagues caught him diYcult to approach and not a little terrify- moths in June and July using a mercury vapour ing. This was undoubtedly a reflection of his lamp. Overall, they collected 17 648 betularia innate shyness; as they got to know him better and were able to relate the proportion of his extraordinary warmth became apparent. He carbonaria to the level of pollution. was extremely loyal to his staV and supported There seems little doubt that Cyril’s interest them throughout their careers, usually behind in medical genetics was stimulated by his work the scenes and often without their knowledge. In on butterflies. It was Philip Sheppard who 1935, he married Frieda, or Féo as she was suggested to him that blood group genetics always known. Féo became an integral part of all might be a productive way into this field. Cyril Cyril’s work and his many other activities, which started by examining the relationship between ranged from crewing for him in his annual small blood groups, secretor status, and duodenal boat racing (not a relaxing pastime since Cyril ulcer and then turned his attention to rhesus had been an Olympic trialist and hated losing) to haemolytic disease. After his student Ronald breeding swallowtail butterflies in captivity. It Finn confirmed the observation that ABO was a remarkable partnership; Cyril never fully incompatibility between mother and fetus is recovered after Féo’s death in 1997. They are protective against haemolytic disease in the survived by three sons. newborn, and hearing of the transplacental pas- Cyril’s work was widely recognised. He was http://jmg.bmj.com/ sage of red cells from the fetus to the mother, elected FRS and received many national and Cyril and his colleagues evolved the notion of international awards. At the age of 88 years, injecting mothers with anti-rhesus antibody still busy at his research, he wrote that he (anti-D). Studies using male volunteers were would very much like to know why butterflies initially unsuccessful because they were carried have an XX chromosome complement in out with complete anti-Rh. But, at the sugges- males and XY in females, yet the latter live tion of Ruth Sanger, they were able to prevent much longer than the tempestuous XX males. immunisation in a further set of volunteers by “God moves in a mysterious way” he con- on October 3, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. using incomplete anti-D. The story of this cluded. Certainly there can have been few success was heralded in a local Liverpool more mysterious phenomena than the multi- newspaper with the headline “Men of Mersey- faceted talents, flair, and complexity and side Mothers To Be”. The rest of this story is warmth of character of the man who wrote well known. these words. Cyril was a caring if slightly eccentric DAVID WEATHERALL clinician, very much of the old school, who believed in minimal intervention. His advice to (This is an extended version of an obituary which appeared in his new house staV on the use of drugs came, The Guardian.) www.jmedgenet.com Obituary 283 Cyril Clarke, Journal of Medical Genetics, and the foundation of clinical genetics J Med Genet: first published as 10.1136/jmg.38.5.281 on 1 May 2001. Downloaded from Cyril Clarke became editor of Journal of persuaded to move to Liverpool from the Medical Genetics in 1969, five years after its Oxford School of Evolutionary Genetics, was inception, and he continued to edit it for the crucial in developing this basic work and in next 15 years.

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