James Douglas George (“Dougie”) started his career in Belfast. He studied medicine at Queen's University, where he gained a boxing blue, showing early on in his career his ability to juggle academic and sporting prowess. His first surgical posts were at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, and he completed his training as a senior surgical registrar on rotation at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
He was a “surgeons' surgeon” who reduced waiting lists and cut through bureaucracy. A warm and easy manner with all those he encountered, he was popular with colleagues, nurses, and all levels of staff. Above all, he was a diagnostician and trainer of junior staff. He was an exponent of aspiration biopsy as a diagnostic tool.
Dougie developed an increasing interest in the art world. At first this interest was clearly linked to his love of surgery. He collected antique surgical instruments and gave a series of lectures focusing on the medical diagnostics in paintings. Later he was lead by his wider passion for art and the commercial world. This was to prove a second fulfilling career with his wife, Vera. Together they opened a gallery in London, Eaton Gallery in Duke Street, St James, which they ran successfully until his death. He leaves his wife, Vera; two children; and four grandchildren. Bruce, his son, followed his love of surgery and is a consultant at the Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.