Born at Pentonville, London, England in January 1802, was son of John Wormald, a partner in Messrs. Child's bank, and of Fanny, his wife.

His master soon employed him to make preparations for his lectures, to teach the junior students, and to assist Edward Stanley (1793−1862), the demonstrator of anatomy in the medical school, in preserving specimens for the Pathological Museum.

Wormald was the last of the apprentices of John Abernethy, and at his death the last link was snapped which connected St. Bartholomew's Hospital with Hunterian surgery.

As a teacher of surgical anatomy Wormald has seldom been surpassed; as a surgeon he was a perfect assistant, while his mechanical genius enabled him to excel in the manipulative parts of his art.

Wormald published (with A. M. McWhinnie) A Series of Anatomical Sketches and Diagrams with Descriptions and References, London, 1838; reissued in 1843.