Maurice Roy’s Protest by Xavier Riaud

by Xavier Riaud

Abstract by Jo Cummins

French dental surgeon Maurice Roy was born on Christmas Eve, 1866. He proved to be a remarkable character; fiercely independent with a strong, social conscience.

At only 14 years of age, Roy was already earning his living as an apprentice dental technician and by 18, he had saved enough money to enrol at the prestigious École Dentaire Paris. He graduated in 1886 and, four years later, after establishing a dental practice, he returned to the École Dentaire to teach.

Roy’s life was not entirely devoted to the art and mystery of dentistry. In 1898, he joined the campaign to rehabilitate Capt. Dreyfus, a young French army officer who some people believed had been unjustly imprisoned for espionage.

The question of Dreyfus’s guilt or innocence divided the French public: Opinions ran high on both sides. The case became known as the ‘Dreyfus Affair’. When the author Emile Zola published his famous letter, J’Accuse, in defence of the convicted man, Roy added his name publicly to the petition, which eventually secured Dreyfus’ release and restored his good name.

In the early years of the 20th century, Roy concerned himself with social welfare projects. He was one of the founding members of The World Dental Federation, becoming vice president of the organisation in 1911. He was also involved with the French Dental Cooperative Society, which supplied equipment to practitioners. At the start of the First World War, he founded the relief committee for combatants who had suffered wounds to the face, and established surgical and prosthetic protocols that were widely adopted.

In 1928, Roy began to withdraw from public life but he continued to be active in The World Dental Federation. In 1933, he attended their Congress in Edinburgh to support his friend Georges Villain in denouncing the rising Nazi Party and offering the Federation’s support to Jewish German dentists. At another Congress three years later in Vienna, Roy received the Millar Prize for his work. He was awarded the Legion of Honour in the same year.

When France was eventually occupied by the Nazis during World War II, Roy hid Allied airmen and resistance fighters in his house. As head of the École Dentaire, he also forbade Jewish students to wear a yellow star on the premises.

These activities and other measures he practised against the Nazis put Maurice Roy and those he associated with in danger. For this reason, in his old age, he was ostracised to some extent, but it is likely that Roy would have considered this a fair price to pay for his protest against the Nazis. He died in 1947.

The full article by French dental surgeon and historian Dr Xavier Riaud, can be read in Dental History Magazine Vol. 12:1, pp. 12–13, 2018. The cost of a subscription to DHM is currently £10 per year.