Lord Butterfield of Stechford
Former regius professor of physic and master of Downing College, Cambridge, academic, and clinician Guy's Hospital (b Birmingham 1920; q Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 1945; FRCP; OBE, Kt), d 22 July 2000. In a career which spanned half a century he brought a mixture of enthusiasm, warmth, and scientific imagination to the rather rigorous climate of British academic medicine. In 1946 he was appointed to the staff of the Medical Research Council, spent several years with the Royal Army Medical Corps studying skin burns in relation to nuclear explosions, and worked with Sir William Penney at the British atomic bomb tests in the Monte Bello Islands. Chance observation of a blood glucose effect of the poison gas antidote, British antilewisite, turned his attention to diabetes, which became his main preoccupation after his appointment in 1958 as professor of experimental medicine at Guy's.
For the next 12 years John Butterfield headed a lively team working on diabetes from its tissue biochemistry, with pioneering studies of human forearm muscle metabolism, to its epidemiology in the field. This took the department off en masse to conduct the Bedford Diabetes Survey of 1962, which was the foundation of the major revision of the glycaemic criteria for diabetes diagnosis, still being fine tuned today. He was concerned with the establishment of the academic department of general practice at Guy's, which still provides primary care services to the then new town of Thamesmead.
In 1971 he was appointed vice chancellor of the University of Nottingham, where he tried to pacify a restless student body and presided over the creation of the clinical years of the medical school. At the same time he played a central part in developing the clinical school at the University of Cambridge, where he became regius professor of physic from 1976 to 1987. He contributed conciliatory and creative committee skills to many national and international activities, among them the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy, the MRC committee on epidemiology, the World Health Organization's expert committee on diabetes, the House of Lords science and technology committee, and the University of Hong Kong.
John was a rugby, cricket, and hockey blue and indulged in real tennis into his 70s. Summer cricket on Richmond Green, hosted by him and his wife while he was at Guy's, was a memorable annual high spot of a vigorous social dimension of busy departmental life. Predeceased by his first wife, Ann, who died in childbirth, he leaves their son; his second wife, Isabel-Ann; and their two sons and a daughter.
Allan William Abramson
Former consultant paediatrician Ayrshire (b Cairo 1909; q Cambridge/St Thomas's 1937; FRCP), d 7 March 2000. He was based at Ayrshire Central Hospital, where he had to share the care of the new born with the obsetrician, and at Seafield Children's Hospital. He set up a network of paediatric outpatient clinics, which continue today. His first houseman was not appointed until 1947 and he did not have a consultant colleague until 1969—so he was on-call for 25 years. In 1947 a sick children's nurse training school was established at Seafield Children's Hospital; it was the only one in Scotland outside a major teaching centre. Before the days of modern incubators he designed and built them from wooden boxes with glass tops and sides heated by light bulbs and using a dried milk tin as a reflector. These remained in use until 1957. After he retired he used one of the boxes to melt beeswax in support of his apiary. He had several hobbies, but boats were an obsession, and he sailed until his 90th year. He recounted a domiciliary visit when he sailed 20 miles to see a child on Arran. His other hobbies included gardening, photography, and travelling, often with his caravan. He was musical and sang in the church choir. Predeceased by his wife, Morag (a former obstetrician), he leaves three children and six grandchildren.
by J P McClure and I S Ruthven
Harry Bentley
Former consultant ophthalmic surgeon Bedford General Hospital, 1946-75 (b London 1910; q King's College Hospital 1942; DOMS), died from carcinoma of the prostate and cerebral inefficiency on 31 August 2000. He served as a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps as an ophthalmic specialist during the second world war from 1942 to 1946. Initially qualifying as an ophthalmic optician, he returned to his first love, medicine. When appointed a consultant he ran North Bedfordshire ophthalmic surgical services single handedly until he retired. He then continued in non-operative consulting practice for a further five years. He leaves a wife, Hazel; three sons (one an ophthalmic optician, one a consultant surgeon, and one a consultant anaesthetist); three daughters; 17 grandchildren (one an ophthalmic surgeon and one an anaesthetist); and four great grandchildren.
by Philip Bentley
Gerald Frederick Bond
Consultant anaesthetist Burnley General Hospital (b Glasgow 1947; q Manchester 1972), died from gastro-oesophageal carcinoma on 16 June 2000. Gerry worked in most of the Manchester hospitals before his appointment in 1979 to Burnley. He was interested in the treatment of chronic pain and left an endowment for further education in the subject. When his cancer was diagnosed he faced his treatment with fortitude, planning his funeral with typical exactitude. He much enjoyed living in the countryside, and his hobbies included the cinema, the theatre, and travel. He took pleasure in being well read. He leaves a wife, Joyce, and two stepsons.
by J C Watts
John Comyn
Former general practitioner Hythe, Kent (b 1914; q King's College 1937; MBE; OStJ), d 23 August 2000. He joined his father's practice and then served in the army during the second world war in the north African and Italian campaigns. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the MBE, for insisting, he believed, that the risks of malaria would still affect the services after they moved from north Africa to Italy. He returned to the Hythe practice and in the 1950s moved the surgery from lock up premises to a purpose built surgery. He was a founder member of the Hythe division of St John Ambulance. John used all his senses in diagnosis, backed up by his knowledge of his patients and their families. He was interested in birdwatching, helping at the Dungeness Bird Sanctuary, and was a keen angler and an expert botanist. Predeceased by his wife, he leaves a son and a daughter; five grandchildren; and one great grandchild.
by John P Barham
Alfred George Hounslow
Former consultant chest physician north London, 1943-76 (b 1911; q London 1934 (with distinction); MD) , died from pulmonary fibrosis on 12 August 2000. He was a house physician and assistant medical officer at University College, the Brompton, and Clare Hall Hospitals, and became a consultant at Clare Hall in 1943. He held posts at several other north London hospitals, including Barnet General, and conducted pioneering work in the treatment of tuberculosis before the discovery of effective drugs. He published research papers, lectured, and chaired various hospital management and medical advisory committees. After he retired he continued to work as a locum until 1982. A man of deeply held Christian beliefs, he was well known as an impressive evangelical preacher, and gained a diploma, with distinction, in New Testament Greek from the London Bible College. He was known for his generosity, sharp intellect, and integrity. Predeceased by his wife, Grace, he leaves a daughter and a son; seven grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.
by Andrew Randall
Thomas Richardson (“Dick”) Maurice
General practitioner Marlborough, 1947-80 (b Marlborough 1915; q Cambridge/St Mary's 1940), died after a fall at his home on 22 August 2000. As he recounted in The Marlborough Doctors (1994), Maurices have practised in the town since 1792; in 1947 he succeeded his father, and in 1980 was succeeded by his son, so that the succession is now in the sixth generation. Arguably, then, the Marlborough practice is the oldest in Britain. As a student Dick spent much of his time helping to treat casualties of the London blitz, sometimes sleeping in the cellar of St Mary's, where Alexander Fleming occupied an adjacent camp bed. Called up into the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1942, he justified in his second book, From Cradle to War (1998), why he wouldn't have missed war service for anything. In Calcutta he looked after 120 beds at the 47th British General Hospital, full of as many patients with Western style illnesses as with tropical diseases or battle wounds. He then moved to the Burma front, and when the 4th Army Corps broke out from its encirclement by the Japanese he helped the surgical teams to deal with numerous battle casualties. He was invalided home with an intolerable rash, which was diagnosed as the then unusual mepacrine photosensitivity.
Back in general practice he gave anaesthetics at Savernake Hospital and shared the casualty rota, but became predominatly concerned with paediatrics, caring for children in the convalescent hospital. An avid walker on his beloved Marlborough downs, Dick was also passionate about gardening and reading, especially biographies and war and political memoirs. Predeceased by a son, he leaves a wife, Anne; a son and a daughter; and eight grandchildren.
by Stephen Lock
David Muttu
General practitioner Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (bKuala Lumpur 1933; q Singapore 1958), died from a myocardial infarction on 10 May 2000. David entered general practice in 1961, continuing in the same practice for 39 years, taking his last clinic the night before he died. He looked after many families for several generations. He was a trained counsellor and was involved in the Befrienders Kuala Lumpur, modelled on the Samaritans. After communal rioting in 1969 David joined a volunteer group set up to befriend people who were troubled, irrespective of race or religion. He was the founder chairman and was awarded the Kesatria Mangku Negara for his services. A Christian and a theologian, he set up a trust fund for the support of churches, Christian work, and the care of the poor, and took part in overseas mission trips. David enjoyed power walking, choral music, and birdwatching, and he was an avid home video enthusiast. He leaves a wife, Rosalind; two sons (one a GP); and a daughter (an anaesthetic registrar).
by Suditi Muttu
Peter Colin Richardson
Former consultant in general medicine and gastroenterology Harlow Group of Hospitals (b 1932; q Royal London 1957; FRCP), died from fibrosing pulmonary alveolitis on 14 July 1999. After house jobs at the Royal London he joined the medical unit, working on hypertension in rats. Peter later developed an interest in gastroenterology and was a research assistant in the Medical Research Unit at the Central Middlesex Hospital under Sir Francis Avery Jones. He was appointed a consultant in Harlow in 1972 and his major contributions were the introduction of endoscopy and testing for helicobacter in peptic ulceration. Peter was meticulous in his assessment of clinical signs and was always thoughtful to patients and colleagues. Outside medicine his main hobbies were music, particularly opera, and gardening—he used hospital window sills for his geraniums during the winter. He leaves a wife, Judith (a former paediatrician), and twin sons.
by J R Milne
Michael Stewart Rees Hutt
A memorial service for Professor Michael Hutt (obituary, 9 September, p 640) will be held on Wednesday 11 October at 3 00 pm in the chapel, St Thomas's Hospital, London SE1.