Debenham, Guy

Guy Philip Debenham (MD and FRCS), surgeon and engraver, was born in Scarborough, England on 27 January 1923, the son of Leonard Debenham and Anna (née Archer-Shee). He was educated at Stonyhurst College, and at the age of 21 he graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Edinburgh. Between 1945 and 1948 he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Middle East and was awarded the Palestine Medal for his service. After emigrating to Canada in 1958, he practiced medicine at several locations (Bassano, Alberta, and in Parry Sound and Hagersville, Ont.). In 1965 he and his family moved to St. Catharines where he worked as a surgeon at the Hotel Dieu Hospital and St. Catharines General Hospital. In the early 1970s he moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake. In 1990 he was the recipient of the Glen Sawyer Award from the Ontario Medical Association. He retired from the medical profession in 1991. Married twice, first to Marjorie (died in the early 1980s) and then to Diane Wheatley, he died on 1 December 2002.

Debenham was also a dedicated wood engraver. He took up engraving in the 1950s. Many of his works were exhibited at the annual Wayzgoose in Grimsby, Ont. and elsewhere in Canada, the UK, and Japan. He printed all his work on his 1862 Albion press which was donated posthumously to the MacKenzie Heritage Printery in Queenston, Ont. Debenham’s imprint was the Larchwood Press, which issued booklets, cards, and calendars. Gillian Debenham’s Piccolo’s Progress (1970), a children’s story written by Guy Debenham’s sister, is the first imprint of this fine press, published in an edition of 100 numbered copies.

2015-05-21

A. Wilson