Obituaries and Appreciations of College Members

From BMJ July 2005

RCGP News January 2008

Mike Askew, who died aged 74 in August 2007, was a highly respected clinician and a tireless worker for the Wessex Faculty and the College, which he joined as a member in 1975 and of which he was made a fellow in 1993.  After St George’s, Mike joined the Royal Navy serving at Dartmouth and the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar.  He entered single-handed practice in Gosport, building his practice up to a successful four-partner group. Mike joined the Wessex Faculty Board in 1984 and his contributions successively as Faculty Treasurer, Chairman and Provost remain a testimony to his enthusiasm and commitment.  He played a pivotal role in two successful College Spring Meetings, organising highly regarded conference sessions at the Institute of Naval Medicine.  Throughout his career Mike maintained a love of photography, regularly exhibiting works of the highest quality.  He was President of the Southampton Camera Club and won international prizes for his work chronicling the life of his practice and of Gosport.  He was renowned for his dramatic images of Namibia, Cuba and China.  The Wessex Faculty plans to hold a memorial exhibition of his work in 2008.  He leaves a wife, Jackie, and three sons.

John Dracass

Provost Wessex Faculty

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BJGP November 2007

Hamish Barber, the first professor of general practice at the University of  Glasgow, died aged 74 on 26 August 2007, after a long illness. He was born in Dunfermline, and christened James Hill Barber after his maternal grandfather, a GPin Renfrew. He qualified in medicine at

Edinburgh University in 1957.

After 5 years in the RAF, he obtained an assistant post in general practice in Callendar (where the BBC series ‘Dr Finlay’s Casebook’ was filmed). This could have been a job for life, but at this stage he discovered the thrill of carrying out original research, via an investigation of urinary tract infection, for which he was awarded the degree of MD. This was a very unusual achievement for a young GP, and it was no surprise in 1966 when he became the first GP to be

appointed to the Livingston Project — an experiment in which GPs divided their time  between a hospital specialty in which they had special expertise, (in Hamish’s case, general medicine), and general practice.

In 1972, he was appointed as senior lecturer in the organisation of medical care at the University of Glasgow. The appointment was a huge challenge. Many colleagues in the University, and in general

practice, were sceptical of what a GP could offer in a University setting. Hamish caught the ball running. He had no difficulty in accepting and meeting the unprecedented challenge laid down by the Faculty of Medicine that his course would only be accepted if shown to be effective. Although medical students had visited general practices as part of their training in Glasgow, the educational content of these visits tended to be haphazard. Hamish developed new courses, whose clinical content was defined, so that tutors could be briefed and teaching could be evaluated. His purpose was not to teach general practice, but to teach those spects of clinical medicine, including

personal and continuing care, which were best taught in a general practice setting. As there was no textbook, he wrote one, ‘The Textbook of General Practice Medicine’. With no resources for teaching, he had to recruit, maintain, and expand a cadre of  volunteer GP tutors. His course passed the test and was included in the medical curriculum. Within 2 years, funds had been obtained to establish a separate university department of general practice and the Norie Miller chair, endowed by the General Accident Insurance Group, for which Hamish, with his ideas, energy and leadership, was the natural choice.

The hectic pace did not stop. Only those who were there can know just what  Hamish achieved in Glasgow in a remarkably short space of time. Hamish was a true academic entrepreneur, building a portfolio of clinical trials funded by pharmaceutical companies, enabling him

to increase his core staff to the critical level necessary for survival. Hamish also maintained a fruitful relationship with General Accident, as it continued to support and be interested in the activities of the department. General practice teaching expanded to feature in every year of the course. His department was at the forefront of educational developments, such as problem-based learning, joint teaching of

students from medicine and social work, computer-assisted learning, and a modulebased MSc course in general practice.

Based at Woodside Health Centre, Hamish was at the forefront of service developments in primary care, pioneering the team approach with health visitors leading programmes of prevention for child

care, and care of the elderly. At one time, half of the general practices in Scotland were using his Woodside child health record.

Hamish himself had the priceless inborn ability to interest and inspire those he taught. Many doctors remember his contribution to joint teaching sessions with hospital colleagues at the RoyalInfirmary, and many careers were influenced as a result. By the time Hamish retired in 1993 after two decades at the helm, he had left a legacy from which new success was assured, and it was a pleasure to him that that has been the case. Five of his team (David Hannay, Stuart Murray, Frank Sullivan, Tim Usherwood, and Jill Morrison), themselves became professors of general practice.

Hamish had a wide range of interests outside general practice. Following his early ambitions to be a marine architect, he became an expert model boat builder, his work including a full range of Scottish

fishing vessels, 10 of which are now on permanent display, as ‘the Barber Collection’, at the Scottish Fisheries Museum at Anstruther. He was a fine mountaineer, yachtsman and cook. He married Pat in 1958 and they had four children, Susan, Penny, Nicky, and Colin. Pat died in 1980. He married Marion in 1991, including her two sons Steve and

Jonathan in a large family now containing 11 grandchildren.

Hamish Barber pioneered academic general practice in the early days, overcoming numerous sceptics, generating his own resources, and rapidly establishing a platform on which others could build. The lasting memory is of a man with great charisma and a huge range

of skills, a natural innovator and someone who really did make a difference to the development of Medical Education and Medical Practice.  Graham Watt and John Howie

BMJ  2007;335:727 (6 October),

Former professor of general practice University of Glasgow (b 1933; q Edinburgh 1957; MD, FRCGP, FRCP(Glas)), d 26 August 2007.

After five years in the Royal Air Force, James Hill Barber ("Hamish") obtained his MD while working as a general practitioner in Callendar, Stirlingshire. He was the first GP appointed to the Livingston project, involving joint hospital and general practice appointments. In 1972 he was appointed as senior lecturer at Glasgow University, and had no difficulty meeting the unprecedented challenge that teaching in general practice would only be accepted if shown to be effective. As there was no textbook he wrote one, The Textbook of General Practice Medicine. When funds were obtained to establish a separate university department of general practice, he was the natural first holder of the Norie Miller chair, endowed by the General Accident Insurance Group.

His innovations included computer assisted learning, a module based MSc in general practice, and health visitor-led preventive programmes for children and the elderly in primary care. Hamish was a true academic entrepreneur, building capacity via a series of clinical trials funded by pharmaceutical companies and a fruitful continuing relationship with General Accident.

Many doctors were inspired by his joint teaching sessions with hospital colleagues at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. After two decades at the helm, he left a legacy from which new success was assured. Five of his team (David Hannay, Stuart Murray, Frank Sullivan, Tim Usherwood, and Jill Morrison) themselves became professors of general practice.

He was an expert yachtsman and model boat builder, with 10 fishing boats on permanent display at the Scottish Fisheries Museum at Anstruther. He leaves his wife, Marion; three daughters and a son by his first wife, Pat; and 11 grandchildren.

Graham Watt, John Howie

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From BMJ 2006, 333, 657

General practitioner Gloucester (b 1966; q Cambridge/St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, 1991; MRCGP, DCH RCP), died from intracerebral haemorrhage on 21 May 2006.

After pre-registration posts in and around London, David completed his vocational training scheme for general practice in Gloucestershire.

He then spent a year working with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) in Nigeria at a rural mission hospital. There he gained a wealth of clinical experience in paediatric diseases and also participated in training both hospital and community workers. He helped to expand the hospital and community child welfare clinics which were key to the local immunisation programmes.

On his return David pursued a career in paediatrics, gaining his membership and developing a special rapport with children. He then made the difficult decision to switch to general practice, enjoying the diversity, and the ability to form longer term relationships with his patients. David was very much a team-worker, a skilled communicator, and a natural teacher. He maintained an interest in paediatrics, doing weekly sessions in Cheltenham as a community paediatrician with a special interest in immunisation. Though he was modest about his talent, he had a fine tenor voice, singing oratorio and light opera with the Cotswold Savoyards and other local music groups. Here he met Kate, a soprano, whom he married and frequently sang alongside at concerts.

His sudden death at 39 devastated his family, colleagues, and patients, who felt they had lost not just their doctor but a trusted friend. He leaves Kate and a young son and daughter. [Justine Foster, Sue Young]

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Former general practitioner Beaufort, Ebbw Vale (b Dartford, Kent, 1950; q Birmingham 1972), died from malignant melanoma on 8 July 2008.

Still remembered for his unique mimes that became star acts of the 1973 East Birmingham Hospital Christmas show, David Christopher Bruce Bissett later settled down to become a popular general practitioner. Originally practising in an affluent area in the West Midlands, he moved to a practice in the Welsh valleys where he was much happier. He was senior partner at a young age and a trainer for most of his career.

Known for his infectious laugh and sense of humour, he also became prone to bouts of severe depression, which eventually caused his premature retirement in 2003, though he continued to work part time for the army. An adopted child, he spent much time in retirement discovering and meeting his "true" family in Australia.

The small melanoma removed in 1998 recurred seven years later. A devoted family man, he was determined to see his only daughter married in his home village of Llanvetherine, near Abergavenny. He succeeded, dying two days later.

Before his death he tellingly remarked that terminal cancer was nothing compared with the hell of major depression.

He leaves his wife, Rosemarie; daughter, Amy; and stepson, Conrad.

Peter Slimmings

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From BMJ  2007;334:541 (10 March)

Former senior medical officer, Northwest Division Regional Medical Service (b 1916; q Queen's University, Belfast, 1940; MD, MRCGP), died from primary tumour of the pons on 7 January 2007.

After his houseman's year at Lurgan Hospital, Charles Maxwell Boucher volunteered for the Royal Army Medical Corps service in Iraq, where he met his future wife, Peggy E Eldridge. In 1944 he was wounded in Italy, and after a long spell in hospital and demobilisation, he succeeded to his father's practice in County Down. In 1956 he joined the Regional Medical Service in Leeds and later London before serving as divisional medical officer of the Northwest Division in Manchester. On retirement in 1979 he worked part time for the department in Devon. Work and family apart, his great interest was sport. In his younger days he was a very keen cricketer and on retirement a keen golfer. His enthusiasm for sport, especially cricket, remained with him to the end. Predeceased by his wife, Peggy, in 1999, he leaves three children; seven grandchildren; and four great grandchildren.

Sue Redman

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BMJ  2005;331:968 (22 October)

Former general practitioner London and casualty officer Whittington Hospital (b 1915; q London 1942), died in her sleep on 20 June 2005.

From Severn Faculty Newsletter

Dr Dick Bruce, former Severn Faculty Provost,  for many years the doyen of Gloucestershire family doctors died on 2nd June 2008.

 He was a founder member of the College, subsequently    becoming a fellow and provost of the Severn Faculty.  He headed the team which organised the first College Spring Meeting to be hosted by the faculty.  He ran the meeting with great precision and provided a memorable educational and social programme.  He introduced the new College toast at the event.  The event was a much needed financial success for the faculty which put it’s finances on a much more secure footing. 

  Dick was born in Spain, the son of a Gibraltarian mother and a Scots mining engineer father in 1919.  He was fortunate to survive the post WW1 influenza pandemic.  Following school in England, he commenced medical training.  Soon after qualifying at St Thomas’ in the middle of WW11 in 1942, he became a regimental medical officer mainly with front line tank units fighting their way across North Africa and northwards through Italy.

 Following the war he entered general practice in Sussex prior to the introduction of the NHS.  Many years later he wrote a memoir of his time there, which was lodged in the College  archive and quoted in part in the July 2008 edition of the RCGP News celebrating NHS60.

  In 1948 he moved to Cheltenham.  He remained in practice there, giving a very    personal and caring service for forty one years until retiring at seventy.  Right up until his retirement, he was the driver for innovation and change, which ensured that the partnership was at the forefront of new      developments.  In particular he pioneered appointment systems, health visitor attachments and the pruning and     summarizing of patient records.

He developed a keen interest in medical education and helped to found the Cheltenham Postgraduate Centre.  He  became the foundation of GP Clinical Tutor and subsequently took on the post of Course Organizer of the new GP Vocational Training scheme as well.  His ‘String of Pearls’ one week refresher courses acquired a legendary reputation and were heavily oversubscribed.  Dick ensured that the robust educational programme was matched by an equally robust social programme!

Dick took on a regional role when he was appointed as University of Bristol Associate Advisor, with particular responsibilities for training practice approval visits and trainer courses, which he organized at Dillington House. 

Having become a member of the RCGP prior to the introduction of membership examination, Dick, in his sixties at the time, decided that he really ought to take this  examination that his trainees were sitting.  This he duly did and passed.

He had great powers of organisation and boundless energy which enabled him to pack so much into each day.  He had the advantage of rising very early for a walk of several miles.  Returning at 7am he would then telephone barely conscious colleagues with his latest idea or innovation, when their   resistance would be at its lowest.

 Dick was a most amiable companion and raconteur.   Recalling his tales of the libidinous octopus, the peripatetic tortoise vendor, the oriental gentleman’s oxygen pipe or the Irish bank manager at the races will raise a smile with many who knew him.   For his many friends the enduring memory of him will be the boundless energy, the sincerity, the expansive grin, the twinkling eyes and the inimitable chuckle.  He engendered both respect and affection in equal measure.

On retirement, he moved to Scotland and settled with his wife Valerie in Dumfries.  There he was able to indulge his love of Scotland and all things Scottish, particularly rugby. Appropriately, his colleagues, with whom he was hugely popular, had presented him with full Scottish evening dress and accoutrements on his retirement.  His boundless energy continued with eight mile early morning walks, sculling and coaching at the local rowing club, carving horn walking stick handles and taking lessons in German and Gaelic.   At the age of eighty five, he took the driving test of the Institute of  Advanced Motorists.  Despite having to drive at unaccustomed slow speeds, he passed.

His final illness was protracted and debilitating, but sustained by his Catholic faith, he maintained his enthusiasm for life right to the end.  He leaves his third wife, Valerie and six sons from his previous two marriages.

Roddy Hughes

BMJ 2008;337:a2242

Retired general practitioner (b 1919; q St Thomas’s Hospital, London, 1942; MRCGP, FRCGP), d 2 June 2008.

After qualifying Dick joined tank units in North Africa and Italy as a regimental medical officer. He entered general practice in Sussex after demobilisation. In 1948 he moved to Cheltenham, remaining in practice there until he retired, aged 70. He was a founder member of the Royal College of General Practitioners, subsequently becoming a fellow and provost of the Severn faculty. In his sixties he took and passed the RCGP membership examination.

He took a keen interest in medical education and became foundation clinical tutor at Cheltenham Postgraduate Centre, course organiser to the new GP vocational training scheme, and subsequently University of Bristol associate adviser.

On retirement, he moved to Dumfries, where he enjoyed his hobbies of walking, rowing, horn carving, and all things Scottish. He maintained his great energy and enthusiasm until the end —aged 85, he took and passed the Institute of Advanced Motorists driving test.

Roddy Hughes

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General practitioner Livingston and associate adviser South East Scotland Deanery (b 1951; q Glasgow 1974; FRCGP), died from ovarian cancer on 15 February 2008.

Ann Maris Campbell trained in medicine and paediatric haematology before entering general practice. She became a full time principal in Balfron, where she was a GP trainer and police surgeon. Following a move to Edinburgh in 1999, she became a part time principal in Craigshill, Livingston, and an associate adviser in the South East Scotland Deanery, responsible for senior house officer training. She was a lead practice accreditation visitor and West Lothian local appraisal adviser. She was a keen golfer and a magnificent friend and colleague. Her shining example lives on. She is survived by her husband, Jim Rennie, and sons, Gavin and David.

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BMJ March 2006

Former general practitioner Sherburn, North Yorkshire (b Otley 1924; q St Andrews 1950), died suddenly from a subarachnoid haemorrhage on 12 Sep 2005.

During the second world war Marie trained as a dispenser and worked in Yorkshire hospitals until she was able to train in medicine. As a student she was woman president of the union.

Former general practitioner Runcorn, Cheshire (b 2 November 1919; q Liverpool 1942; MRCGP), died from cardiac failure due to atrial fibrillation and prostate cancer and aortic valve replacement on 23 June 2008.

It is an honour to write this for a dear friend and colleague. Eric was my senior medical partner from 1971 to 1984 in the Castlefields practice in Runcorn, Cheshire, and my personal general practitioner, and on his retirement I had the pleasure and privilege to be his general practitioner until my retirement last year.

Eric was born and educated in Liverpool both as schoolboy and medical student and served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the second world war. He married Margaret and moved to Runcorn just before the NHS to be the marvellous general practitioner he remained. He was a wonderful exemplar of all that is good in British general practice, a gentleman in all its meaning, and a knowledgeable carer. He served his patients diligently and with great devotion and in doing so remained a shining example of the doctor that we, his colleagues, could only aspire to be. Eric taught us all by deeds and words, and in the stressful time of setting up a new practice in a new town with literally dozens of patients joining us each week, he provided that so essential calm leadership.

But Eric was also a visionary leader outside his practice, working with the county council and new town development corporation in first setting up the pioneering multi-purpose Castlefields Health Centre that opened in 1971—a far cry from his more traditional two man practice in the "old" town, where he continued to also work. Yet he found time to lead the development of general practice in the burgeoning new town of Runcorn and later became a member of the then local district management team, using his experience and wisdom to benefit the health care of all the citizens of Runcorn. And he found time for family, friends, and his church, as well as for recreation—a devotion to golf and a passion shared by me for Lancashire County Cricket team.

I loved the man. His integrity, commitment, values, sheer hard work, and love of his patients and of general practice were a continuing inspiration and source of energy to me. But it was as a great human being that I will treasure his memory. Eric lost his beloved wife to illness and suffered greatly in his later years from severe illnesses, yet he met those tribulations with an admirable stoicism and is survived by his four children, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing, and 10 grandchildren. Eric, can I thank you in your untimely absence for all you have selflessly achieved and influenced. You are hugely missed.

David Colin-Thomé

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From the Westmorland Gazette

DR SHEILA Cochrane, who was widely known as a General Practitioner for 30 years, and for her lifelong service to several local charities, has died at her West Bank home, in Kendal, aged 84.

She was born in Kendal in 1923, daughter of Dr James Cochrane, and was educated at Kendal High School for Girls where she became head girl.

In 1941, she went up to Newnham College, Cambridge, to read Mathematics. In 1943, she was called up and joined an Admiralty Research Station on the Clyde, where she worked on the first anti-submarine sonic detection systems.

When the war ended, her father suggested that she study medicine, and she moved to Liverpool to begin another degree. She graduated from Liverpool University in 1951 and subsequently spent four years in Liverpool hospitals, including Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Although her early preference had been for obstetrics, she took up General Practice and moved back to Kendal in 1955, joining her father at the Maude Street Surgery. Her father died only three weeks later.

Dr Sheila continued in practice there until 1985, for many years the only female doctor. She associated herself with the Helme Chase Maternity Home, and many Kendalians will associate her as having assisted their coming into the world. Dr Sheila also kept up her mathematical skills by doing the book- keeping for many years for the Maude Street Practice.

Dr Sheila was always inspired by her father's example, and followed him in contributing to civic life in Kendal. She became a governor of Kendal High School, a president and trustee of the Kendal YWCA, president of the Kendal branch of the Royal College of Midwives, a trustee and sponsor of the Sylvia Morris Trust for Uganda and president of the Westmorland Caledonian Society.

She was also involved with the British Red Cross, the St John Ambulance and the Derian House Children's Hospice. Her main contributions were to the Westmorland branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she was chairman for more than 25 years, and to the Kendal branch of the Save the Children Fund, where she was treasurer for 43 years - the longest tenure of this post in the charity's history.

Her charitable activities were recognised in 1999 by the conferment of a Paul Harris Fellowship, the highest award within the gift of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, in recognition of her professional and voluntary service to communities and individuals at home and overseas.

In 2000, she received the Save the Children Fund Award for Distinguished and Meritorious Service from Princess Anne.

Dr Sheila was a lifelong member of St John's Presbyterian Church, subsequently Kendal United Reformed Church. She was also a dog lover, and was rarely seen without her West Highland terriers. Proud of her Scottish heritage, she holidayed on the islands of Iona and Islay for more than 30 years, involving herself fully in local life there.

A keen swimmer, she would take a dip in temperatures which deterred most. She loved opera and ballet, and attended performances wherever she could. She was defiant against the onset of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases which so sadly afflicted her final years.

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From BMJ March 2007

Former general practitioner Clacton-on-Sea, Essex (b Glasgow 1926; q Glasgow 1954; DA, DObst RCOG), d 7 October 2006.

After service in the Royal Navy, William Henry Cochrane ("Henry") commenced medical studies at Glasgow University in 1948. He worked post-qualification in the anaesthetic department at the Western and Royal Infirmaries and in the obstetrics and gynaecology department at the Southern General Hospital, all in Glasgow. He moved to Essex in 1960 to enter general practice, and became widely known in the Clacton area for his community involvement and dedication to his patients. He also conducted anaesthetic sessions at Clacton and Colchester hospitals and for many local dentists, and became medical officer for the local Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Red Cross, and the annual Essex long distance swim. Henry was also a school governor and a founder member and chairman of the North-East Essex Doctors' Emergency Service, attending many road accidents. He leaves a wife, Roma; three children; and six grandchildren.

Roma Cochrane, Fiona Buckley

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Stanley trained at Dulwich College and Guy’s Hospital. At the start of the war he joined the Royal Navy eventually serving on the air craft carrier HMS Implacable, when it brought far east prisoners of war home to Britain.

After the war he served as a registrar at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, London, and took this experience to General Practice in Guildford where together with Sister Immaculate of the Franciscan order he founded the Mount Alvernia maternity service. The patient paid for Mnt Alvernia’s  services, whilst Stanley and his colleagues managed the pregnancy and delivery ( including forceps and ventouse) under the NHS.

After the Theatre in the Round was built Whitaker A, Cobb, Cole, Starte, and Whitaker J, followed suit with one of the first purpose built surgeries, Dapdune House, also designed in the round. (BMJ 1967).

Stanley was a founder fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners working on several committees and he became provost of the SE Faculty in 1968.  He retired from GP in 1981.

He was married to Margaret, who died 6 years before him, for nearly 60 years, and they had two daughters and four grandchildren, two of whom are doctors. At his best he played golf off 6, and was variously a member of West Hill, Hankley, and West Surrey where he became captain.

Stanley was considered by all who knew him, as a ‘true gentleman’ and one of the old school of GPs who committed their lives to their patients. His smile and humour will be missed by all.

Malcolm Read [son-in-law]

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Former general practitioner Johnstone, Renfrewshire, and medical administrator Scottish Home and Health Department (b 1928; q Glasgow 1951; MRCGP), died from bronchial carcinoma on 7 February 2008.

Born in Greenock in 1928 and educated at Greenock Academy, Ian Gordon Conn graduated from Glasgow University in 1951. After house appointments in Greenock, he was called up to the Royal Air Force. He served on several Lincolnshire airfields, where he gained experience of aviation physiology and attained the rank of squadron leader. After national service, he joined a practice in Corby, Northamptonshire, as a trainee general practitioner and gained valuable experience in a busy industrial practice. In 1956 he joined a practice in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, a town undergoing stressful changes—the machine tool factories were in decline; large numbers of Glasgow citizens were being resettled in the town; alcohol problems were rife; and the drug misuse epidemic was developing. Ian met all these challenges and built a very successful practice and a fine reputation as a general practitioner.

In 1971 he joined the Scottish Home and Health Department as a regional medical officer in which service he later became the senior medical officer in charge of the Edinburgh District Office. After retiral, he continued as a part-time regional medical officer for the Glasgow Office and was also invited to become a medical assessor to the National Insurance Appeals Tribunal, in which office he continued to the age of 72. His varied medical career was a reflection of his wide knowledge and experience and his high professional standards.

Ian was a keen sportsman, especially on the golf course and curling rink. He enjoyed a happy family life and was hugely proud of his children and grandchildren. He leaves his wife, Joan, and three sons, all members of the medical profession.

John W Gibb

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John Raisley Coope, General Practitioner (b 1928;q Manchester 1952;MBChB FRCGP) d. 25 December 2005.

Dr John, as he was known to us all, was the most outstanding son and citizen of Bollington in the past century. He was born in Bollington in 1928, one of seven children; his parents were general practitioners in the village and he carried on the practice, now at the Waterhouse, in partnership with his wife Jean and brother Maurice.

Without his remarkable foresight, drive, and total commitment to this town through the second half of the twentieth century Bollington would be a very much poorer place today. Dr John sensed the breakdown of society and family structure during the heady and hedonistic days of the early 1960s and felt the need to stimulate activities and interests that would bring people together particularly for artistically creative activities, to provide them with the opportunity to develop their social and artistic skills which, at the same time, would bring in the wider community to embrace their performance and perhaps to take part themselves. He created a vehicle for this in the now famous Bollington Festivals and actively chaired the Festival Committee from the first in 1964 to the Millennium Festival in 2000. His success can be measured by the fact that more than 1,000 individuals were involved in the 2005 Festival in a practical way with thousands more enjoying the performances and activities.

He was responsible for initiating, and in many cases leading, every major community artistic, musical and social activity in the town, as many as twenty in all. He encouraged the development of the already existing Band and founded the Festival Choir, both of which he also arranged for and conducted, the Festival Players, the Bollington Light Opera Group and the Civic Society amongst many others. Each of these has continued ever since and provide today a thriving testament to his contribution. He was noted for his musical skills; he became a very proficient arranger and conductor. In 1984 he was the driving force behind the development and success of the Arts Centre. In the same year he founded the William Byrd Singers in Manchester. He wrote a play with music - Wedding Photo - which was based on the photograph of a wedding taken in Pool Bank in the early 1900s and performed to much acclaim at both the 2000 and 2005 festivals.

Dr John founded the Civic Society with a number of objectives in mind. Firstly was his desire to build community spirit by bringing together those who shared common interests in the place that we inhabit. Secondly, he considered it important to maintain a ready made group of volunteers who would be available at a moment’s notice to campaign in the defence of Bollington in the event of any threat to the well being of the town whether from industry, developers, utilities or those who would profess to govern us.

 Finally, he wanted to establish a local history group that would research the history and heritage of Bollington. From this group came the amazing collection of more than 5,000 historic photographs of Bollington and its people stretching back over more than 100 years. The recognition of the importance of our heritage lead to the digitisation of the picture collection for public access and the development earlier in 2005 of the very popular Discovery Centre. The opening on 14th May was one of the last occasions that Dr John appeared at a public event and he was immensely proud that his Civic Society had developed such a valuable facility for Bollington. He was chairman of the society for around 30 years and latterly our first President.

And while undertaking all these individual achievements he gave unstinting service to the town from the Waterhouse, leading the medical staff in looking after the health of the town. It is said that at one time he knew every member of the population of Bollington by name! He was ahead of thinking when he developed and introduced population medical screening, now common place.

Dr John was, in 1993, so deservedly awarded the MBE for his services to the community. A further significant achievement was his biography of Anton Chekhov published in 1997 - Doctor Chekhov: a Study in Literature & Medicine - which is said to have broken new ground by providing the first serious assessment of Chekhov as a doctor and demonstrating the close connections between his three fields of work: as a clinician, as a playwright and story writer, and as a moral philosopher*. There were clearly many parallels between the lives and achievements of the two doctors - no wonder Dr John felt compelled to study Chekhov so closely.

My personal memory of Dr John is of a man who never stood still, one who was always directing the building of now while thinking for the future. Every conversation was marked by the sense that his thinking was ten minutes, ten weeks, ten years ahead of one's own. He was the quiet inspiration to two generations of Bollingtonians and no-one ever left a more valuable legacy to the town – community spirit; the ‘can do’ vision; collective and individual social and artistic achievement.

Dr John's passing marks the end of an outstanding era for Bollington and is a tremendous loss to the town. Perhaps our greatest memorial to his achievements will be to ensure that all that he so diligently put in place for our communal benefit is developed into the future to continuously meet his objective of community involvement and individual achievement.

Dr John's funeral was held at St Gregory's Church, Bollington on Friday 30th December 2005. A very large congregation of Bollington folk turned out to pay their respects at the Requiem Mass and Celebration of his life which was taken by Fr Robert Coupe SDB. The Band played before the service and for the first hymn, In the Bleak Midwinter. There were readings by members of the Coope family and by José Spinks. Katherine Nolan sang most beautifully Agnus Dei and the Festival Choir sang Ave Verum.

Tim Boddington Webmaster

Bollington, the Happy Valley

* Review: Doctor Chekhov: a Study in Literature & Medicine
Julian Tudor Hart, visiting professor, Department of Primary Health Care, Royal Free Hospital, London
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7117/1243

From BMJ 2 June 2007

Former general practitioner Harrogate, North Yorkshire (b 1932; q Leeds 1957), died from lung cancer on 19 March 2007

After house jobs in St James' University Hospital, Leeds, Stan married nurse Gwen Lucas and chose to do his national service in the Canadian Air Force before returning to settle in general practice in Harrogate.

He was a founder GP trainer of the vocational scheme in 1973 and also continued as clinical assistant in otorhinolaryngology. After a stroke he took early retiral to enjoy his family and a love of classical music. He had a calm phlegmatic acceptance of his own misfortune: "What can't be cured must be endured." He leaves a wife, two children, and four grandchildren.

Alisdair G Stewart

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BMJ  2006;333:553, doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7567.553

George Henry Reginald Curnock

Former general practitioner Cheshunt, Hertfordshire (b 1918; q Charing Cross Hospital, London 1942; FRCGP), died from prostate cancer on 16 May 2006.

George Henry Reginald Curnock ("Henry") intended to become doubly qualified in dentistry and medicine and had completed a year at the Royal Dental Hospital when war broke out in 1939. He felt that medical skills would be more immediately useful and so switched to the clinical medical course at Charing Cross, qualifying in 1942. After house jobs at Ashridge and Charing Cross he was accepted for the navy and served on HMS Cadmus, a minesweeper in the Mediterranean.

After the war Henry worked in the maternity and child welfare department of the County Borough of East Ham. In 1950 he was the successful candidate of 80 applicants for a post in general practice in Cheshunt, a rapidly expanding town on the edge of London, where he worked for the next 31 years, looking after rather more than the official maximum number of patients.

Henry was a founder member of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 1953 and was elected a fellow in 1983 in recognition of his earlier efforts to integrate child and school clinics in East Hertfordshire with the primary care teams. After retiring from general practice in 1981 he did part-time CMO work in school and infant welfare clinics in Welwyn Garden City, finally retiring in 1984 and moving to Bramcote in Nottingham. He is survived by Vera, his wife of 60 years; three sons; seven grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren. [David Curnock]

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BMJ Feb 2006

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BMJ March 2004

Former general practitioner Rotherham (b 9 September 1925; q Birmingham 1948), d 30 August 2005.

BMJ Mar 2006

Former general practitioner Bourton-on-the-Water and Edinburgh (b Edinburgh 1922; q Edinburgh 1951), died from bronchopneumonia on 2 November 2005.

Hunter Darling was born into a medical family. His father, cousins, and three siblings were also doctors. After attending George Watson’s College, his medical studies were interrupted by the war.

He joined the Black Watch initially and was subsequently commissioned into the First Battalion The Royal Scots. He met his future wife at a Fireman’s Ball while he was stationed at Burford in Oxfordshire. Hunter was wounded at the Battle of Kohima in 1944 and was believed to be dead. His orderly rescued him while under gunfire and received the Military Medal for his bravery. Hunter had severe laryngeal and ear injuries and was left with a permanently husky voice. He was twice mentioned in dispatches. He resumed his medical studies after the war and married Margaret in 1948.

Hunter did his house jobs at Cheltenham General Hospital. He was the first houseman of Mr Geoffrey Darke at the start of his surgical career. Years later, Hunter’s daughter was Mr Darke’s last houseman before he retired. Hunter joined two fellow Watsonians in the practice in Bourton-on-the-Water in 1952 and then moved, in 1964, to join his sister and brother in law in the first purpose built health centre in Scotland at Sighthill, Edinburgh. He was a keen GP trainer. His career ended abruptly in 1979, when he suffered a catastrophic stroke, subsequently shown to be a result of shrapnel remaining in his neck. Hunter and Margaret moved back to the Cotswolds, where she cared for him at home. He spent his last six years in a nursing home.

Hunter left the Royal Scots as a captain and joined the Territorial Army, from which he retired as a major. He was made a Serving Brother of the Order of St John in 1965 for his work in Gloucestershire. He was a founder member of the Royal College of General Practitioners and was awarded a special 50th anniversary gold medal by the college in 2002. He was a keen hill-walker in his beloved Scotland.

His wife predeceased him. He leaves a son, a daughter, and three grandchildren. [Janie Darling]

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From BMJ , Feb 2007; 334: 431

General practitioner and trainer Hutton Rudby, North Yorkshire (b 29 September 1957; q University College Hospital London 1981), died from lung cancer on 23 September 2006

Bruce Henry Davies was educated at King Alfred's School in north London, a progressive private school where his father was the deputy head, followed by medical school at University College London and then University College Hospital from 1976 to 1981, where he established an intellectual, sartorial, and culinary style that was peculiar to him.

After initial house jobs in Northallerton and Northampton he permanently migrated north, initially doing a vocational training service scheme at the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, and then taking up a post with Gordon Rider as a general practitioner in Hutton Rudby in 1986 and becoming a trainer of general practitioners in 1989.

Over the next 20 years he became a local legend. He was the village general practitioner in a small practice of 3000 patients. Although involved in computerisation from an early stage, both in his own practice and the development of national systems, he worked for 20 years without an appointment system!

He must have been more organised than those of us who loved him realised, as he managed to fit in so much more than just being a general practitioner. He was a general practitioner trainer and course organiser for the local vocational training service for 12 years; he was a mentor for many and an appraiser of general practitioner principles. He was also a member of the Hambleton and Richmond primary care trust.

Outside medicine he was a governor at the village school for 15 years and chair for the last three years. His main loves outside his family—to whom he was devoted—and his work, were gardening and cooking; he had a passion for organic food, much of which he grew himself.

All those who knew him, whether as a student, a colleague or a patient, will remember his laugh, which was unique. He leaves a wife and three daughters.

David Hughes, Roger Higson

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From BMJ  2008;336:513 (1 March)

Former general practitioner Salford, Greater Manchester (b 1918; q Manchester 1943; FRCGP), died from heart failure on 19 November 2007

Hyman Davies was a lifelong peace activist and campaigner against poverty and deprivation stimulated by his continuing passion to improve the health and lives of those he cared for.

Being the youngest of four children and growing up in the challenging economic circumstances of the inner city between the first and second world wars developed his interest in learning both arts and sciences. After graduating from Manchester towards the end of the second world war, his initial posts were in tropical medicine, and he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in the British Army in India and then Nigeria until 1947.

On being demobbed, he entered general practice in Salford, becoming rapidly aware of the major impact of poor housing on the physical condition of his patients. He joined the Labour party (of which he remained a member to his death) not out of political ambition but as a route to seek societal change which would improve the health of those around him. He achieved notoriety by leading a march, as part of a (successful) campaign for better flood protection for the residents of Salford, drawing criticism from his medical colleagues, but as he said in his memoirs "it was simply a method of health promotion" given the respiratory effects he had witnessed of the damp housing in his patients.

His other major passion was his opposition to nuclear weapons, and he was a founding member of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). He could not conceive that medical practitioners could be anything other than active campaigners as the threat from nuclear weapons presented the greatest threat to health. He even drew the ire of Margaret Thatcher for having complained that she had not sent a message of support for the 1985 meeting of the IPPNW; this drew a written response that he should consider her view that the organisation was a front for Soviet propaganda.

Hyman was a gentle, caring, and, above all, self critical physician, and in his latter years his cases were a regular feature as fillers in the BMJ, the last published in 2006 on an almost missed myocardial infarction in the midst of a flu epidemic. He was keen to recall the lessons accumulated in several years of dedicated practice and to emphasise that he never stopped learning.

Alan Silman

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A doctor in spite of herself, Gwenda found many aspects of medicine hard and frightening. Gradually as a GP she began to learn that medicine also gives its practitioners every bit as much as it takes; and that, like life, it can never be brought under control, but can be enjoyed for its impossibility. Her abiding interests in general practice were the child-hood origins of mental suffering, and the powerful light cast upon it by adult "heart-sink" behaviour. While she saw this as her real contribution to her patients, she went on ticking just enough boxes to observe the proprieties. In her other life she loved her friends, the arts, Europe, and summer.

[ Gwenda Delany ]

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From BJGP July 2005

Alastair Donald was quite simply one of the truly outstanding GPs of his time —and one about whom no-one ever had an unkind word to say. Brought up above theLeith Mount surgery, from which he was later to become the third of four generations of the Donald family to provide care to the people of Leith and Cramond, Alastair was very much a part of the Edinburgh establishment.

• James Mackenzie Medal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh;  
• Hippocrates Medal of the European Society of General Practice (SIMG); 
• Foundation Award of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Society Interview Ivor Doney with

Dr. Stefan Cembrowicz  Nov 11, 2004

 BMJ 2008;337:a754

Former general practitioner Bristol (b 1920; q Bristol 1957; MRCGP, FFHom, MFOM, DObstRCOG, DCH, DIH, DMJ), died from respiratory failure on 8 February 2008.

Ivor Ernest Doney served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the second world war, which gave him the inspiration to start medical studies at Bristol in 1950. Progress was interrupted by tuberculosis, so he was unable to qualify until he was 36 years old. In general practice he became an enthusiastic advocate for open surgeries. He developed wider interests in medicine, gaining MRCGP, MFOM, DObstRCOG, DCH, DIH, DMJ, and later he was proud to be made a fellow of the BMA. As a police surgeon, he became increasingly involved with forensic medicine, reading papers nationally and internationally. It was fitting that having been one of the founder members of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine, one year before he died, he was made an honorary fellow. His wife, Tatjana ("Tania"), predeceased him; they had no living children.

Tony Lavelle

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From BMJ 11th Nov 2006

Former medical missionary and general practitioner Mallaig (b 1924; q Edinburgh 1950), died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on 8 June 2006.

After a brief foray into civil engineering, Donald Duck trained in medicine at the college in Edinburgh. He spent a year as general practice trainee in Skye before moving abroad with his new wife, Jean (also a doctor), to the Medical Missionary College at Ludhiana. There he learned Urdu and Hindi. He and his family then moved to hospitals in Quetta and later Kashmir, where he worked in a wide range of specialties, including eye surgery, until his return back to Britain in 1968. From 1968 till his retiral in 1993 Donald was the single handed general practitioner in Mallaig.

Though originally from London, he relished the highlands of Scotland. He was a keen fisherman and stalker. He was an elder and stalwart supporter of the kirk in Mallaig, and a gifted lay preacher. He had a keen sense of humour and enjoyed many situations where his name led to confusion—for example, when signing cheques or prescriptions (he preceded the eponymous cartoon character by 10 years).

His wife predeceased him in 1997, and he is survived by his four children (one a doctor) and seven grandchildren. [J Duck, A K Henderson]

BMJ  2006;333:605, doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7568.605-b

General practitioner Watford, Hertfordshire (b Helsinki 1957; q Selwyn College, Cambridge/University College Hospital, London,1983; MRCGP), died by his own hand on 26 May 2006.

Eivind Dullforce was an immensely kind and popular general practitioner at Coach House Surgery in Watf