William Valentine Mayneord, CBE FRS[1] (14 February 1902 – 10 August 1988) was a British physicist and pioneer in the field of medical physics.
He was born in Redditch, Worcestershire to Walter and Elizabeth Mayneord but after the early death of his mother was adopted by an aunt in Evesham.
He was educated at Prince Henry's School, Evesham and gained a Bachelor of Science at the University of Birmingham He entered the field of medical physics in 1924 at St Bart's Hospital in London.
During World War II he was seconded by the government to work in Canada on the radiological aspects of atomic energy development.
He was responsible for the use of fluorescence spectroscopy in the collaborative study of carcinogenic agents in coal-tar which led to the discovery of the activity of 3:4 – benzopyrene.