Sir Ian William James McAdam
Former professor of surgery Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (b 1917; q Edinburgh 1940; FRCSE, FRCS; OBE), d 4 March 1999. His appointment enabled him to play a leading part in the growing international reputation of the medical school, then the only one in east Africa. The first generation of east African surgeons were trained in his department, and the quality of their training was such that the MMed in surgery was recognised by the surgical royal colleges in Britain. Although he laid no claim to be a basic scientist, he made major contributions to clinical research. He was a prime mover in establishing the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service, and was instrumental in establishing the Polio Treatment Centre and the Cancer Institute. A founder member of the East African Association of Surgeons, he later became its president.
There can be few surgeons who have had to deal with a major head wound sustained by their country’s president (Obote) after a failed coup and operate in a theatre full of excited soldiers with automatic weapons. McAdam’s contribution to the development of a multiracial society and his leadership qualities made it inevitable that he would come into contact with the brutal regime imposed by Obote’s successor, Idi Amin. In 1972 he and two professorial colleagues were expelled, and he devoted his considerable energies in exile to the plight of colleagues, many of them of Asian descent, who had been forced to leave. After a year at the National Cancer Institute in Washington he returned to Africa, to Plettenburg Bay in South Africa where he undertook all the surgery in Knysna Hospital until he was 72.
An outstanding sportsman, McAdam gained a blue for tennis at Edinburgh and represented Uganda at many sports, winning national titles at golf, tennis, and motor rallying. His other hobbies included photography, gardening, and a love of the African bush and its wild life. His first marriage was dissolved and he and his second wife retired to Oxfordshire in 1992. All his homes were havens of warm hospitality, favourite watering holes for their immense circle of friends. He leaves a wife, Pam, and three children from his first marriage (one a professor of tropical medicine and director of the Medical Research Council unit in the Gambia and one a child psychiatrist).
by
John Randall Archibald
Former general practitioner Rossendale, Lancashire (b London 1919; q Manchester 1943), died from heart failure on 16 November 1998. His parents were both in general practice, and after service in the Royal Army Medical Corps in India he joined his widowed mother instead of following a career in dermatology. In the close knit community of the Rossendale Valley, which he served for 35 years, he was known as “Dr John” and two practices eventually amalgamated to become a health centre with six doctors and two satellite surgeries. He valued the links with the local St John Ambulance Association. He had to retire in 1980 after coronary bypass surgery but maintained a keen interest in medicine. Though quiet and reserved, he had a sparkling sense of humour. He had a deep love of music and enjoyed gardening. Devastated by the death of one of his daughters, he found solace in his faith. He leaves a wife, Margaret; two daughters; and 12 grandchildren (one a doctor).
by Nanette Lye and Fiona Maggy
Joan (“Judy”) Britton (née Kelly)
Associate specialist in radiotherapy St Thomas’s Hospital, 1973-92 (b 1924; q St Thomas’s 1952), d 9 February 1999. Judy had an unusual career. During the war she studied physics and carried out research on concrete for airfield runways. After the war she became a physicist in the radiotherapy department at St Thomas’s Hospital and then joined the first intake of women into the medical school. After bringing up her family she returned to medicine in 1973, initially as a research assistant in the hyperbaric oxygen unit at St Thomas’s. Thereafter she became a clinician. On retirement she moved to the Cathedral Close in Salisbury. She leaves a husband, Hubert, and five children (one a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and one a consultant neurologist).
by Thelma Bates
Margaret Yvonne (“Peggy”) Currie
Former senior clinical medical officer Leeds and west riding of Yorkshire (b 1926; q Leeds 1950), died from lymphoma on 26 January 1999. After junior jobs in obstetrics and gynaecology she spent a year in general practice before entering the community health service. She concentrated on cervical cytology and believed that a cervical smear should be taken by a doctor as it provided a useful opportunity for a pelvic examination. As well as being capable she had a warm and approachable personality. Outside medicine her interests included gardening, embroidery, playing the piano, and walking in the Lake District. She leaves a husband, Jim (a former general practitioner); a son (a consultant physician); two daughters; and four grandchildren.
by James I Currie
Donald Andrew Ewing
Former general practitioner Folkestone (b Rochester 1914; q Sheffield 1951), d 11 February 1999. He was a traffic superintendent in the telephone department of the Post Office before he was called up when he served in the administrative side of the Royal Air Force during the war. He then studied medicine and spend three years as a ship’s surgeon in the Union Castle liner, Braemar Castle, before entering general practice. Donald also worked in local authority child welfare clinics for nearly 20 years and when he retired he worked as a locum. Outside medicine he enjoyed camping, mainly in France, worldwide travelling, wine, and gardening. He leaves a wife, Pam.
by J Hefferman
William Ian Leslie Fraser
Former general practitioner Carnoustie, Angus, 1953-88 (b 1923; q Glasgow 1949), d 20 February 1999. After two years in the Royal Navy he became one of the first GP trainees in Scotland. In Carnoustie he saw the transition from a small seaside resort to a community which grew rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, and he and his colleagues pressed for a new health centre, which opened in 1977. At a time when GPs with academic interests were rare William kept detailed records in the hope of providing a link between herpes zoster and the risk of subsequent malignant disease. He later became a trainer. His medical style was straightforward and honest. His enthusiasm for motor cars led to his association with the Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Club, and he was medical officer at the annual Glamis Transport Extravaganza. After retirement he was the first chairman of the Angus Crossroads Care Attendance Scheme and was an honorary life commodore of the Carnoustie Yacht Club. He leaves a wife, Betty; two sons; and four grandchildren.
by Peter W Thornton
Ian Goodhall Meiklejohn
General practitioner East Wemyss, Fife (b Milngavie 1917; q Glasgow 1941), d 27 February 1999. He combined general practice with an interest in engineering. His first business venture was the production of one of his inventions, a pit prop debarking machine, which was sold throughout Britain and Scandinavia until pit props made of wood were abandoned in favour of steel ones. In the late 1950s he designed a tubular steel golf trolley, produced at home until factory premises were acquired. He retired in the late 1960s to concentrate on production and a business employing 35 people produced over two million trolleys. He retired from business in 1985 and devoted himself to investing, a long running battle with the tax inspectorate, and some new ideas. One of these, a vertical axis wind turbine, is operating on the Lomond hills. Not surprisingly, both his sons are engineers. He leaves a wife, Dora; two sons; and a daughter (a general practitioner).
by Doreen Mitchell
Maurice James Dewar Noble
Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Marston Green Maternity Hospital, Bimingham, 1960-82 (b Edinburgh 1919; q Edinburgh 1942; FRCS, FRCOG), d 29 January 1999. Although he had had tuberculosis, Maurice became a powerful swimmer and badminton player. He came to the wilds of Marston Green when it was the biggest maternity hospital in Britain, getting into the Guinness Book of Records for the greatest number of deliveries. He delivered a woman of her 22nd child, which must also have been a record. His family’s Hogmanay parties, to which the whole hospital was invited, were unforgettable. When he had to retire through ill health he built himself woodworking and engineering workshops and was in demand as an expert fixer. In his younger days in Scotland he built a television before there were any transmissions and had to wait until he was posted to England before he could switch it on. He became the back room boffin for the local drama group where he was famous for his special effects. He leaves a wife, Ena; a daughter and two sons; and five grandchildren.
by J M Stuart
George Ronald Crompton Peatfield
Former consultant surgeon Bedford General Hospital (b 1912; q Cambridge/The London 1937; MCh, FRCS), d 16 February 1999. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Middle East and later in Europe. When he came to Bedford Ronald became involved in hospital administration and was secretary of the Bedford Medical Society for 14 years. He was responsible for the inauguration of day surgery in Bedford, and with Dr Margaret Snelling and help from the Sue Ryder Foundation he established St John’s Home, Moggerhanger, for the care of patients with terminal cancer. He was its medical director for 10 years. Ronald had a great ability to communicate with patients and took care to discuss with them and their relatives their illness and its likely outcome. Whether it was day or dead of night he was always immaculately turned out and this attention to detail was carried through in his clinical work and his private life. He was a keen gardener, carpenter, and numismatist. He meticulously planned the numerous foreign trips he and his wife took. He leaves a wife, Ruth; two sons (one a consultant neurologist); and five grandchildren.
by Jack Valentine and Richard Peatfield
Robert Pollock
General practitioner Bedford, 1947-77 (b Monaghan, Eire 1910; q Trinity College Dublin 1937 (first class honours)), died from multiorgan failure on 17 January 1999. Born on the family farm, Bob matriculated at 15 and ran the farm for six years, during which time he bred and exhibited a Shorthorn bull that won first prize at the Royal Dublin Show. At 21 he started night school and in six weeks learnt enough physics and chemistry to pass the entrance examination to Trinity College. He paid his way by running cramming courses for junior colleagues. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1939 and was taken prisoner at Dunkirk. He frequently had to operate on patients in prisoner of war camps with no anaesthetic, just hypnosis. He was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the Americans. While in general practice he learnt to fly but failing eyesight obliged him to retire in 1977. Bob moved to Milford-on-Sea where he had already built up a thriving holiday business. Predeceased by his eldest son, he leaves a wife, Elizabeth; five children; 12 grandchildren; and one great granddaughter.
by Elizabeth M Pollock
Ruth Margaret Taylor (née Howitt)
Retired general practitioner (b London 1915; q Cambridge/King’s 1939; DRCOG, MRCGP), d 19 March 1999. She was an accoucheur at King’s during the war and then went into public health in Exeter and Reading and eventually into general practice in London. She retired to Bosham in west Sussex and became a parish counsellor and horticulturist. She leaves a husband, Selwyn (a retired consultant surgeon); a son and a daughter; and a granddaughter.
by Selwyn Taylor