Robert Arthur Hughes

Nancy was born on 27 September 1908, to William and Mary Elizabeth Wright, and was the middle of three children.

She grew up in Claughton, Birkenhead and attended nursing school in Liverpool.

She worked at the Isolation Hospital in Bidston for three years to begin her training, and then took a job at Northern Hospital.

Although she would return to Northern, she was accepted a position at Oxford Street Maternity Hospital to complete a course in midwifery training.

Upon returning the Northern, she met Hughes, who was working there as a surgical tutor.

Dr. Robert Arthur Hughes, M.B.Ch.B, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., F.R.C.S., O.B.E., (3 December 1910 – 1 June 1996) was a medical missionary for the Presbyterian Church of Wales who worked in Shillong from 1939–1969 at the Welsh Mission Hospital, also known as the Dr. H. Gordon Roberts Hospital, Shillong.

Hughes trained as a surgeon in London prior to his time in India.

He is called the "Schweitzer of Assam," comparing his missionary work to that of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer.

During his 40 years in India, Hughes expanded the Welsh Mission Hospital and developed a traveling dispensary to aid those in the surrounding provinces.

Hughes is best known for attempting to eradicate malaria from the area, introducing a vagus nerve resection process to alleviate pain from peptic ulcers and a rickets treatment in the infant population, recognising a protein calorie deficiency disorder called kwashiorkor in the Indian population, founding the area's first blood bank, performing the first lower segment Caesarean section without antibiotics to India, and expanding educational training for medical and nursing organisations.

Robert Arthur Hughes was born on 3 December 1910 to Reverend Howell Harris Hughes and Annie Myfanwy Hughes in Oswestry, a town in Shropshire, England.

Shropshire is along the border of Wales, the country of origin for Hughes' parents.

Robert Hughes and his brother, John Harris Hughes, were twins, though Robert was older and had better health during their youth.

Rev. Howell Harris Hughes, named after Howell Harris, was the Minister at Oswald Road Presbyterian in addition to being a pacifist and involved in the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Wales.

Annie Hughes was educated at the University of Wales in Bangor and became headmistress at a school in Rhosllannerchrugog until her marriage to Hughes.

During World War I, Howell Harris was Minister of the Tabernacle Chapel in Bangor, Gwynedd, and Arthur and Harris attended Christchurch School in Waterloo and then the Waterloo and Seaforth Grammar School during this time.

When the boys were fifteen, the family moved to Llandudno, where they attended the John Bright School.

Robert Hughes excelled in both academics and athletics.

Harris Hughes was sickly during his youth and attended the University of Wales in Bangor and became an ordained Minister after attending the United Theological College in Aberystwth.

In 1928, Robert Hughes entered Liverpool University to study medicine.

During his time in the Faculty of Medicine, Hughes joined the Student Christian Movement and the Student Volunteer Movement Union.

He was awarded the gold medal in surgery and two other academic distinctions when he graduated in 1933.

After graduating in Medicine, Hughes as a House Surgeon worked at Royal Southern Hospital under the instruction of Mr. O. Herbert Williams, a distinguished surgeon.

When he finished his time as House Surgeon, Hughes joined the medical firm of the same hospital under Dr. Norman Capon and worked as House Physician.

Hughes then decided to pursue a career in surgical medicine and was appointed the John Rankin Fellow in Human Anatomy, as anatomical knowledge was a requirement for the first FRCS examination.

After passing his first examination in 1935, Hughes spent a short amount of time as Junior Registrar at Stanley Hospital until he became Surgical Registrar and Assistant Surgical Pathologist at David Lewis Northern Hospital.

In 1936, Hughes received his diploma MRCS, LRCP.

After an unsuccessful first attempt, Hughes passed the final FRCS examination in 1937, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

In August 1937, Hughes applied to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church of Wales.

At the time, the Foreign Missions Committee of the church had two doctors applying but three hospitals in need of aid.

Once the Foreign Mission Committee accepted Hughes in 1937, he was sent to the London School of Tropical Medicine to receive his diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, or DTM&H.

Hughes was assigned to join Dr. Roberts in Shillong upon the completion of his Tropical Medicine course.

While working at the David Lewis Northern Hospital, Hughes met Ann "Nancy" Beatrice Wright, who was working as a nurse.

The two were married on 7 January 1939, and left for India three weeks later.

Although Nancy was a trained nurse, the policy of the Mission Society prohibited her from working in the hospital.

While Robert Hughes was away during World War II, Nancy Hughes resumed her duties as a nurse, tending to injured Allied soldiers at Dr. H. Gordon Roberts Hospital.

On 28 January 1939, the Hughes' left Liverpool for India aboard the City of Marseilles and in February they arrived at the Welsh Mission Hospital in Shillong, which was founded by Dr. Hugh Gordon Roberts in 1922 to serve the Khasi people.

Hughes was given charge of the general wards while Dr. Roberts took care of administrative matters until 1942.

Upon that time, Hughes was appointed Senior Medical Officer.

He was eventually elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Wales in 1975.