George Neil Jenkins

After becoming one of the first students in the country to read for a degree in biochemistry, Jenkins gained a PhD at Cambridge, and by the early 1940s was teaching physiology to doctors at St. Bartholomew's Hospital.

As well as ongoing work in this country, Jenkins acted as visiting professor for varying periods of time at the universities of Chicago, Toronto, Minneapolis, Edmonton, and, on three occasions, Trinidad.

During the Second World War, he was involved in studies to determine the amount of chalk which would have to be added to the bread in Britain, in order to avoid calcium deficiency in the population.

Working with R. L. Speirs, Neil found that the surface of tooth enamel is high in fluoride, a finding which never received the recognition it deserves, as it went unpublished in any dental journal.

In recognition of his contributions to dental education and research, which have had such a profound influence worldwide, Jenkins was awarded an honorary DSc by the University of Manitoba in 1983.

Neil also gave funeral orations for those who requested non-religious ceremonies, and was an active member of the Friends of Jesmond Dene and the Society for Psychical Research.