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Kenneth Robertson Dempter (Claude) Medical Student

Former consultant pathologist King Edward VII Hospital, Windsor (b 1924; q St Thomas’s 1945; MD, FRCPath), d 6 March 2001. kenneth robertson Dempster Belsen

He was baptised Kenneth Robertson, but known almost universally as “Claude.” He was mentioned in Wisden in 1943 after dismissing Edrich and Ames, Test cricketers, while playing for Epsom Town against the Royal Air Force.

In 1945, he was one of a group of medical students to be sent with the Red Cross to Belsen immediately after its liberation. After qualification and national service in Fort George, Scotland, he returned to St Thomas’s as registrar and then lecturer before being appointed consultant pathologist to Windsor in 1957.

Retiring in 1989, he suffered a severe stroke the following year. Though severely disabled, he was nursed at home by his wife, Mary. He leaves Mary; four children; and 10 grandchildren.

by David Dempster

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This archive has been established after my own relative, Reg Price, took part in the liberation and subsequent humanitarian effort of Bergen Belsen in April 1945. Reg produced this famous sign at Belsen. As part of the 113th DLI, Reg and his comrades were at Belsen for 5 weeks and left when the last hut was empty and ceremonially burnt down. This archive compiles all available resources to build a lasting tribute to all the men and women who helped - any unit, any nationality. If you have a relative, or any info, on the relief effort at Belsen, we’d love you to please get in touch. Email us: liberator@belsen.co.ukThank you Nick Price CreativesFacebookTwitter