Former community medicine specialist Argyll and Clyde Health Board (b London 1913; q King's College 1935; DPH, MFCM), d 25 April 2000. Despite her diminutive stature, her energy and enthusiasm were infectious and ensured the cooperation and respect of her colleagues, whatever their discipline. In 1946 she was appointed assistant medical officer of health to Greenock, becoming deputy medical officer in 1971. She blossomed with the NHS reorganisation of 1974 and was a vital member of the Argyll and Clyde community medical specialists. The climax of her career was the commissioning of Inverclyde Royal Hospital, which opened in 1979, and she continued beyond retirement age to see the hospital running smoothly. After retirement she enjoyed travel and dancing with her husband, and more recently learnt Hebrew. Minnie brought a light touch and fun to our specialty (not forgetting her homemade wine). Her husband, Isaac, predeceased her.

Former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dewsbury and District Group of Hospitals, 1955-80 (b Leeds 1920; q Leeds 1943; MD, FRCS), died from prostate cancer on 22 May 2000. After junior posts in Leeds and a lectureship in orthopaedics Nevile moved to the Dewsbury area, where he was sole orthopaedic surgeon for many years. Here he developed his interest in fracture treatment and pioneered methods of rigid fixation and early mobilisation. This earned him an international reputation and led to many published articles. He was a fellow of the British Orthopaedic Association and an active member of the Holdsworth Orthopaedic Club. He was a member of the Leeds Medical Appeals Tribunal for 18 years and had a large medicolegal practice, which he continued after he retired. A man of great intellect with a wry sense of humour, he had many interests, including photography, which he used to produce his own teaching slides and illustrations for his papers. As an amateur aviator Nevile logged over 800 flying hours. On retirement he moved to Grange over Sands, sailed and walked, and took an interest in many local societies. He leaves his wife; three sons; and seven grandchildren.

by Michael Atkinson and Shirley Burwell

Former consultant in genitorurinary medicine (b Kassa, Hungary 1916; q Queen's University, Belfast 1941; MD, FRCP), d 11 May 2000. He left Vienna with his family in 1938 under threat of Nazi persecution and started his medical career in Zurich. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and started training in venereology at St Mary's Hospital in 1947. He became a consultant in 1951, working at the Central Middlesex for many years before returning to St Mary's in 1981. He also continued teaching and research at Charing Cross well into the 1990s. Author of 70 papers, he was an authority on Reiter's syndrome and mycoplasmal diseases. He was also one of the first to recognise the potentiation of sulphonamides by trimethoprim in 1967, and in 1977 he conducted the urea plasma experiments with David Taylor Robinson reported in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine. He edited a textbook of genitourinary medicine in 1990. Outside medicine George had many interests and spent many years converting a derelict farmhouse in Perigord. He was a great collector of pictures and numerous artefacts, geological and archaeological. He loved the music of his native Hungary, but his tastes ranged from Kodály to the Hot Club of Paris. Predeceased by his son, he leaves a wife, Betty; two daughters; and two grandchildren.

by Brian Evans

Former anaesthetist Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham (b Enniskillen, Northern Ireland 1919; q Queen's University, Belfast 1945), d 2 June 2000. Plunkett joined the navy soon after qualification and served mainly in the Pacific. Returning to civilian life, he held several hospital posts before coming to Birmingham. He was a valued and good natured colleague, who gave much thought to reducing postoperative discomfort and to developing better techniques for pain relief. Plunkett was a convivial host, a raconteur, and generous friend, and his shrewd Ulster wit served him well during his final illness. He leaves a wife, Lorna.

by F G O Burrows

Former general practitioner London (b Co Down 1916; q Queen's University, Belfast 1941), d 17 April 2000. After qualification she moved to England and worked as a medical officer to a munitions factory in Lincolnshire. She then entered general practice in north London, where she practised single handedly for 40 years. At school in Dublin she had played hockey for Leinster, and she retained her interest in sport, still playing tennis in her 80s. In her later years in practice she regarded medicine as something of a sideline to her major interest in buying and selling antiques, and during the 1980s she was a frequent sight at London's leading auction houses, eating her sandwiches in the front row. To the surprise of many of her friends she moved back to Northern Ireland when she retired. She led an active and often unpredictable social life that made no concessions to her increasing age. Her purchase of antiques continued, at one point extending to the purchase of a former public library. She was buried beside the church in County Down where her father had been rector 80 years before. She never married.

by Anna McKee and Martin McKee

Former associate psychiatrist Mount Pleasant Hospital, Hastings (b 1931; q London 1956), died from systemic lupus erythematosus on 30 May 2000. As a student she was affected by what came to be known as the Royal Free Disease and the rest of her life was dogged by its after effects. She did her house jobs in Hastings and was proud to have been Michael Devas's first house surgeon. She later became psychiatric registrar at Hellingly Hospital and then a medical assistant at Craig Phadric Hospital in Inverness. She returned to Hastings to be near her aged parents and work in the field of mental handicap. She was known for the thoroughness with which she investigated the physical abnormalities of her patients and this interest resulted in two publications on Down's syndrome. She retired in her early 50s on health grounds and she spent the last year of her life in a nursing home. Paula was a perfectionist with a critical mind and strong opinions expressed with vigour and an engaging stutter. She was loyal and generous to her friends and to her church. She was an indefatigable letter writer (always in beautiful handwriting and at great length), was knowledgeable about music, devoted to Greece, and keen on Scottish country dancing. Animal welfare was a major concern and she kept many cats. Paula was unmarried.

by R E Irvine

Former general practitioner Stoke-on-Trent (b Stoke-on-Trent; q Manchester 1993), died from an intracerebral bleed on 28 May 2000. Farooq spent his youth working in the family grocer's shop and playing truant. Unfulfilled in his adopted career as a general practitioner, he developed interests in forensic medicine and medicolegal work. His real passion, however, lay in charitable work, and he repeatedly made trips to Bosnia to deliver aid. Later he travelled to Mecca on behalf of the Foreign Office and provided medical help to British pilgrims. Despite his accomplishments he remained humble and kind. Outside medicine he loved cricket and was enthusiastic about Graeco-Roman mythology. He leaves a wife, Nasrin, and four children.

by Fareed Bashir and Naveed Syed

Former general practitioner Ramsey, Isle of Man, 1947-85(b 1920; q Leeds 1943 (Hons); MRCGP), d 8 May 2000. He was involved with Ramsey Cottage Hospital, serving on the management committee and consolidating the hospital into a large active unit. As an anaesthetist at Ramsey and the district general hospital in Douglas he introduced new techniques and undertook an onerous on call commitment. He did GP obstetrics and looked after patients with tuberculosis at a time when there was neither an obstetrician nor a chest physician on the island. He and his partners provided cover for the TT races. Outside medicine his interests included carpentry, photography, organ music, and the Methodist church—he served as circuit steward for 10 years. After retirement he served on various government committees and was a trustee of the town band, but his later years were marred by ill health. Rowland thrived on argument, usually having the last word, but was very supportive and his patients' advocate. He leaves a wife, Joyce; four children; and eight grandchildren.

by Terry Collins

Consultant and director regional radiotherapy centre, Colchester (b 1917; q Cambridge/St George's 1940; MD, FRCR), d 14 June 2000. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in the second world war as a major, partly in the Middle East. When he moved to Colchester he was head of a busy department, initially housed in a temporary building. The postwar years saw a widening of the scope of radiotherapy with the introduction of radioactive isotopes in diagnosis and treatment, and Rees's enthusiasm and experience ensured that the department benefited fully from these advances. He was also chief assistant at the radiotherapy department at The London Hospital. Rees was a fully rounded personality, as much at home in teaching as in the art of living. He enjoyed the good things in life and he and his wife were excellent hosts. In his later years he enjoyed regular holidays in France in the company of friends whose tastes were similar to his and he set up an “outpost mess” in various gites. He leaves a wife, Heather, and a daughter and a son.

by F J A Bateman

Pathologist Medical Research Council (b Pretoria 1923; q Witwatersrand 1951; MD, FRCPath), d 25 May 2000. During the second world war he served as a gunner in the South African artillery throughout the Italian campaign. In 1954 he was appointed asbestos research fellow at the South African pneumoconiosis research unit, with a remit to investigate the dangers of commercial types of asbestos. This remained his main interest until he died. In his necropsy of a Bantu man in 1956 he found asbestos bodies in the lungs and insisted that this was a mesothelioma. The resulting paper was originally rejected but when published in 1962 became the most cited paper in industrial medicine. In 1962 Chris was invited to join the Medical Research Council's pneumoconiosis unit in Cardiff to study the extent of asbestos disease in the United Kingdom.

He encouraged many studies, including work on Canadian asbestos miners and on Devonport dockyard workers. He organised the first large colony of pathogen-free rats for intrapleural and inhalation studies. An inhalation study of different fibre types led to Wagner's classification of experimentally produced fibrosis, which is still used for comparison in other studies. His study of occupational lung diseases included the pathology of workers exposed to coal, talc, slate, and kaolin. In 1985 he was awarded the Charles S Mott prize “for the most outstanding recent contribution to cancer research” for his important contributions to knowledge of asbestos fibres. Chris was loyal to his staff and had an ever present sense of humour. He leaves a wife, Margaret (a doctor, who worked with him for over 30 years); a son; and two daughters (one a doctor).

by F D Pooley, M M F Wagner, and C P Wagner