Dr. John F. Puddicombe, who served as Chief of Obstetrics at the Civic Hospital for many years, is best known as the doctor who delivered Princess Margriet of the Netherlands while the Dutch Royal Family was sheltering in Canada during the Second World War. But he made headlines many years before that in a terrifying attack in Montreal that left him with two bullet holes — and a story to tell.
It was May 8, 1927. Dr. Puddicombe was interning at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital and was in his private bedroom in what was then called “the doctors’ flat” when a former intern, Dr. Frank Brown came in, locked the door, and fired four shots at Puddicombe.
One of the bullets apparently lodged in Puddicombe’s Gray’s Anatomy textbook, which he’d held up to defend himself. But two others found their mark — in his neck and right arm. Tragically, Brown then turned the gun on himself. Puddicombe staggered into the corridor, calling for help, and was rushed to surgery. He ultimately recovered from his injuries and went on to have a distinguished career.
