Peter Ogilvie Leggat followed in the footsteps of his father by studying at Aberdeen University and being taught anatomy by a professor who, as a lecturer, also taught his father. He has a nephew, a talented general practitioner, who has established a successful medical centre in Auckland, New Zealand.
Having graduated during the second world war, Peter enlisted in the Royal Air Force in 1942 and practised medicine throughout the remainder of the war, at home and abroad. He left in 1946 with the rank of squadron leader. He then continued his profession in the Northern Regional Hospital Authority until his retirement as a consultant physician.
Peter wanted the following quoted: “From generation to generation medicine is a vocation, an endless book, continually being renewed and expanded, each new page an intellectual stimulus, an abiding pleasure to be experienced always and abundantly. It is totally demanding and requires a very supportive and understanding family.”
Without the love, patience, and commitment of his wife, Denise, and the support and affection of his two daughters, Anne and Jennifer, much of what he accomplished in his long and varied career would not have been possible.
He retired in 1981 and moved to West Looe, East Cornwall, where he indulged his passions for fishing, local history, archaeology, and, in his final years, information technology. With Denise, he published several historical research books on the Healing Wells in Cornwall, and other local landmarks, working closely with the Old Cornwall Society. His passion for medicine never left him, even in retirement, and he was regularly seen at the local hospital library reading up on all the latest journals and publications. In his last years, with failing eyesight and health, he continued his readings through the internet right up to his final days.
Peter led a very long and fulfilled life and departed with few regrets, leaving everyone who ever came into contact with him feeling a little richer in their lives through knowing him.