Thomas Le Quesne Blampied
Thomas Le Quesne Blampied
This article by Francis Corbet was published in the second
volume of A Biographical Dictionary of Jersey
Thomas Le Quesne Blampied, son of Adolphus Jean Blampied and Mary Ann, nee Le Quesne, was born on 4 May 1891 in St Helier. He was educated in Jersey and at the Royal Veterinary College, London, from which he qualified in 1917.
Joining the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, he was posted to India, where his observations on osteoporosis of the horse provided material for a thesis which, in 1921, earned him a Fellowship of the Royal Veterinary College. In the same year he returned to Jersey and acquired the practice of the late Richard Voisin.
Continuing research in his Jersey practice, he co-operated with Russell Greig of the Moredun Institute on the etiology of milk fever in cattle, a most valuable contribution to the health of the Jersey breed.
In co-operation with Albert Messervy, other veterinary surgeons and the Medical Officer of Health, he persuaded the States to introduce, in 1932, measures for the elimination of brucelosis with the happy result that this disease, with its detrimental effects on the economy and on human health, was eradicated from the island by 1938, whereas in England it was still common until the 1980s.
Appointed States Veterinary Surgeon in 1935, he played a leading role in the adaptation of agriculture and husbandry to the unique needs created by the German Occupation from 1940 to 1945. With the consent of the occupying forces, he made frequent trips to occupied France to secure supplies of seed and other agricultural necessities, cattle for meat, agricultural implements and, on one occasion, even a cargo of ready-made horseshoes.
On one of these trips, early in the Occupation years, he cycled through Brittany and Normandy, escorted by a German officer, making purchases and obtaining promises of supplies wherever he could. An appeal by the Guernsey authorities, at just the time when his collection was ready for shipment in Granville, resulted in in it being shared with that island.
His services to the Superior Council and his contribution to the survival of the inhabitants of the island went unrecognised by any decoration.
Tom Blampied was a vice-president of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society for several years to 1935 and his services to the society were recognised by the award of life-membership in 1973.
He played a leading role in the founding of the Alderney Animal Welfare Society, in 1953, by organising a support group of Jersey animal lovers. He also provided advice and guidance in the rehabilitation of that island after the devastation of World War 2.
In 1921 he married Rosalie Baker, daughter of businessman Frederick Baker. They had two daughters and one son, Nicholas Le Quesne Blampied, who followed his father in practising as a local veterinary surgeon.
Thomas Le Quesne was predeceased by his wife and died in his 90th year on 2 November 1980.
