[1][2] Coombs was born in Castle Cary, Somerset, Frome, England, on 5 September 1879.
During World War I he was a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps and served in England, Egypt, Mesopotamia and France.
In 1910 he made one of the earliest diagnoses of coronary thrombosis, and before his death in 1932, he had documented 144 cases of this condition.
[5] His most well known written work is "Rheumatic Heart Disease", a book that was published in 1924.
He is also remembered for his work in the management and prevention of childhood heart disease.