Prior to the development of antibiotics, bacterial infection, such as sepsis and gangrene, was a primary cause of wartime casualties.
George Archibald Grant Mitchell, OBE, TD, MB, ChB, ChM, MSc, DSc, FRCS, helped transform the impact of infection on soldiers during the Second World War through his research into antibiotics. In 1939, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps based in Egypt and Western Asia, where he carried out trials of penicillin on wounded service people, contributing to the large-scale development and production of penicillin.
In 1943, he returned to England as Adviser in Penicillin Therapy for 21 Army Group, which included over a million British, Canadian and Polish personnel who were preparing for the invasion of Europe. Mitchell’s lectures and demonstrations to the 21 Army medical officers were published in a booklet titled Memorandum on Penicillin Therapy, serving as a practical guide to the use of penicillin in war. Following the ceasefire in Europe, alongside other medical officers, Mitchell helped to produce Penicillin therapy and control in 21 Army Group, a report detailing the results of penicillin treatment in the field. Of the 50,201 21 Army group personnel who received penicillin treatment, 94.9% survived, a testament to penicillin's success.
In 1946 Mitchell was invited to become Professor of Anatomy at the University of Manchester. He restructured anatomical teaching, built an expert team of staff and established a viable research programme. He specialised in neuroanatomy and published numerous papers and books including Anatomy of the Automatic Nervous System in 1953.
