Ham Lambert

Noel Hamilton "Ham" Lambert (5 June 1910 – 10 October 2006) was an Irish cricketer and rugby union player. By profession a veterinary surgeon, he was noted for being the first in Ireland to own a practice devoted to the care of companion animals.

He is buried in Schull in County Cork, Ireland. The epitaph on his gravestone reads, simply, "A Lovely Man".

Veterinary career

Ham Lambert was born into a family of veterinary surgeons. His grandfather was veterinary surgeon to three reigning monarchs, Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V. His father, Bob Lambert, ran a practice which cared for the draught horses of Dublin from the turn of the 20th century until the early 1930s when working horses became less numerous.

Ham was educated at Sandford Park School in Dublin and at Rossall School in Lancashire, England before entering the Veterinary College in Dublin in 1927. Following graduation he built up an extensive cattle practice, covering a large radius from Sallins to Malahide to Enniskerry, from a base in Richmond St in Dublin. In 1939 he visited America to learn more about the treatment of dogs and cats and in 1952 sold his cattle practice and opened Ireland's first small animal practice at Richmond St. His practice was a model of its kind and hundreds of veterinary students and graduates spent time there learning the art as well as the science of veterinary medicine.

His was the first practice in Ireland to employ qualified veterinary nurses and until the early 1970s it was the only centre in Ireland recognised for the training of nurses by the RCVS.

He was noted throughout the profession for his early adoption of aseptic techniques and for his belief in the value of Vitamin E in the treatment and prevention of circulatory conditions. He frequently prescribed Vitamin E not just to animals in his care but their owners also. including nine first-class matches.

Playing career

Lambert made his cricket debut for Ireland against the MCC at Lord's in July 1931, scoring 45 runs. before his playing career was ended by a bad knee injury. He later became a rugby union referee, refereeing eleven Five Nations matches between 1948 and 1952. He was regarded as one of the best referees in the post-war era. In 2005 he was awarded a special cap for his services as a referee by the IRFU at a ceremony held in Dublin.

Other sport

In later years he was a keen and competitive golfer, playing regularly at Carrickmines Golf Club and winning the prize for the best front nine at the Lansdowne Rugby Club golf outing in his 90th year. Lambert also played badminton, like his parents, and partnered with Frank Peard in the 1940s when they were both members of Ailesbury Badminton Club.