Dr. Harold Orr, OBE, MD (c. 1889 – December 26, 1952) was a highly influential Canadian medical officer, dermatologist, and public health pioneer. During the Great War, Dr. Orr served overseas as a medical officer with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), eventually rising to the rank of Major. Trench fever—spread by body lice—was an immense health crisis, filling up to a quarter of Canadian army hospital beds by 1916. Following discoveries that heat could destroy the vector, Captain (later Major) Orr designed a highly efficient field disinfection facility known as the “Orr Hut”. It was designed primarily to combat pediculosis (lice infestations) and the spread of trench fever and typhus among front-line soldiers by rapidly treating clothing and blankets. The galvanized tin hut utilized a floor heater to maintain a dry heat of 65°C. It could disinfect the clothing of up to 1,000 troops per day, requiring only 15 minutes per load. This invention markedly reduced illness and morbidity across the Allied armies.
Following his wartime service, Dr. Orr was awarded an O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and went on to establish a prestigious medical and administrative legacy in Alberta. In 1952, he made history by becoming the first dermatologist elected President of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). He passed away in December 1952 while serving his CMA presidential term.
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