Former colonial medical officer and later executive dean, faculty of medicine, Aberdeen University (b 1909; q Edinburgh 1934; OBE, CBE), died from colorectal cancer on 14 November 2000. After qualifying he spent eight years as medical officer at the Church of Scotland mission hospital, Blantyre, Nyasaland, before transferring to the Colonial Medical Service in which he worked for the next 20 years, 13 of them as director of medical services in British Somaliland, Zanzibar and Sarawak. In 1963, he was appointed vice dean (later executive dean) at the medical faculty, Aberdeen. He retired from the faculty in 1975 and took up the position of honorary secretary in the newly formed Institute of Environmental and Offshore Medicine. His particular interest in his long career was medical training, first of medical assistants and nurses overseas, and latterly of medical undergraduates. His interests included the Church, ornithology, music, and sports. His wife, Isobel, died two months after he did. He leaves a son.

Former general practitioner York (b Glasgow 1919; q Glasgow 1942), died from cardiac failure on 16 August 2000. He served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force bomber command until 1947. Ossie, as he was known, then bought into a partnership in York, but this was dissolved in the early 1960s and he practised single handedly until he retired in 1983. While in practice he was assistant police surgeon for 14 years and served on the local medical committee, including three years as chair. He was a keen and knowledgeable gardener, and to find a single weed in his garden was almost impossible. Other interests—besides his beloved Jaguar—included collecting silver, Russell Flint watercolours, and good claret. Predeceased by his wife, Pat, he leaves two daughters and two granddaughters.

by Alistair Clark

Former consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon London Hospital and Epping (b 1930; q Cork, medicine 1954, dentistry 1958; FRCS, FFDRCS), died, after deterioration with Alzheimer's disease, on 24 August 2000. Orphaned at 13 but not left homeless, he was supported by close family. He held preregistration posts in medicine and surgery at St Mary's Hospital in Philadelphia, United States, before returning to study dentistry. Sir Terence Ward became a mentor and father figure during registrar training at East Grinstead. Senior registrar posts at the Eastman and a happy 18 months at St Thomas's Hospital followed. Terry was the quintessential Irishman, courteous, whimsical, and good company. He brought a breath of fresh air to the orthodox establishment of The London, winning the consultants' 100 yards sprint in his first year following appointment in 1966. His London appointment was shared with duties at the regional maxillofacial unit at what was then Honey Lane Hospital, Waltham Abbey. In committees, he was an infuriatingly fierce defender of his viewpoint, yet fair when he had to concede a point. A genuine and gregarious companion, he attended the Cheltenham Hunt Race Meeting for 36 consecutive years. His registrars remember his compassionate example in clinical work in the management of patients with severe facial injuries. He leaves a wife, Una, five sons and two daughters.

by John Carter

Professor of anatomy University of Maryland, Baltimore, 1975-86 (b Reading 1926; q Cambridge/St Mary's 1949; PhD), d 2 June 2000. After house jobs, Chris was called up to the Royal Army Medical Corps and served as a surgeon in Malaya. Following a brief interlude in the UK, he joined the overseas civil service, first working as a surgeon in Mulago Hospital, Kampala, and then as lecturer in anatomy at Makerere College, the University of East Africa. He returned to the UK in 1963 and was appointed lecturer and subsequently reader to the department of anatomy, University College London. In 1975 he joined co-researchers as professor and head of the division of gross anatomy at the University of Maryland. It was during this time that he wrote and designed the illustrations for his textbook Anatomy as a Basis for Clinical Medicine, first published in 1985 and followed by two editions. After retirement from Maryland, he returned to Oxford where he worked as consultant in anatomy to the university and anatomy tutor to several colleges. As well as a widely published researcher into muscular innervation and function and an enthusiastic teacher, Chris was an outstanding cabinet maker, and his and others' homes were filled with examples of his beautifully carved and turned furniture. He enjoyed music, reading, gardening, walking the English and French countryside, and had an interest in antique silver. He leaves a wife, Mary; five daughters; and 10 grandchildren.

by Margaret A Hall-Craggs

Former general practitioner Harrow, Middlesex (b Harrow 1915; q King's College Hospital 1940), died from prostate cancer on 31 October 2000. He worked in general practice until 1978, and was active in medicopolitics, serving as chair of the Harrow division of the BMA for four years and as chair of Brent and Harrow local medical committee. He was involved with two working parties dealing with health service funding and the legal implications of artificial insemination. On retirement he was appointed secretary of the Middlesex local medical committee, and set up a visiting service to advise doctors on improving their premises and developing their practices. He also acted as an adviser to doctors involved in partnership disputes. He enjoyed golf and bridge. Predeceased by his first wife, Mary, and his second wife, Norah, he leaves two daughters and a stepson; and seven grandchildren.

by Gay Davies

Former consultant in genitourinary medicine University College Hospital, London (b 1923; q Guy's 1947; MD), died peacefully on 19 September 2000. While in general practice, he developed an interest in venereology, and produced the first major study on genital warts, to which reference is still made. He was appointed consultant in venereology at Charing Cross Hospital before moving to UCH, where he embarked on a series of classic studies on the epidemiology, laboratory diagnosis, and chemotherapy of infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. Numerous research papers, chapters, and textbooks followed, and the quality and value of his work was acknowledged worldwide. An early and influential champion of arguments that saw VD clinics replaced by departments of genitourinary medicine, he was elected president of the Medical Society for the Study of Venereal Diseases (1985-87), and in 1987 received the Thomas Parran Award for Life Time Achievement from the American Venereal Disease Association. David was a private man. This, along with his increasing deafness, led some to think him aloof, even cold. In fact, he was warm and humorous, and his knowledge of literature and music, especially Wagnerian opera and jazz, made him excellent company. Predeceased by his wife, Joan, he leaves three children and two grandchildren.

by A J Boakes and G L Ridgway

Former general practitioner, Pwllheli, Gwynedd (b Blaenau Ffestiniog 1923; q Liverpool 1948), died from bronchial carcinoma on 3 October 2000. After graduating, he worked as a houseman in Liverpool and in Wrexham before being called up for army service. He entered a practice in Pwllheli in 1952. The practice, based on a small market town, was not an easy one. It had responsibility for a large Butlins holiday camp and a large Polish community, many of whom were unable to speak English. Some of his older Welsh patients also had little English, but Roy was bilingual. His placid nature and sense of humour instilled confidence in patients seeking counselling. To be within easier reach of their children, Roy and his wife moved to Cheshire in 1993. He leaves Marian; two children; and two grandchildren.

by Wil Owen

Former professor of anaesthesia and professor emeritus McGill University, Canada (b 1927; q Edinburgh 1953; FFARCS), died from cancer on 13 September 2000. After completing house jobs, and a year in anaesthesia, he obtained a fellowship in pulmonary physiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, where he was much influenced by the highly academic approach to anaesthesia. In 1958 he went to Aarhus, Denmark, where there was keen debate on the future of the specialty. After three years in Britain, he went on in 1963 to be a consultant to the University of the West Indies—he was appointed for one year, but he stayed nine. Anaesthesia had been a division of surgery, but within three years of his appointment a department of anaesthesia was recognised—with intensive care added to its charge—and a diploma course in anaesthesia was established, the first postgraduate degree awarded by the university. In 1968, he became the first professor of anaesthesia there, creating a modern department comparable to any in the West. In 1971 he moved to McGill University, becoming professor of anaesthesia. He retired in 1992, but worked in Nepal and Ethiopia, teaching and setting up training programmes for doctors and nurses. He was without pretension, and had a life-long love of music. He leaves a wife, Jenny.

by Joy Newman and others

Professor of morbid anatomy University College Hospital Medical School, London, 1964-81, and later emeritus professor (b 1916; q Cambridge/the London Hospital 1940), d 3 September 2000. He had a distinguished career in pathology, in particular in the field of neuropathology where he was influenced by the long tradition at the London Hospital. After junior posts at the London, Joe saw wartime service as a surgeon in the navy where he was in charge of laboratories in hospitals and a hospital ship. After the war, he returned to the London to pursue his interest in morbid anatomy, rising to senior lecturer by 1949. He then worked in the United States from 1951, first at the State University of New York, and then in Cincinatti. He then returned to the UK in 1958, becoming reader and honorary consultant at University College Hospital Medical School in 1959 before succeeding to professor. He was a superb pathologist, especially in the post- mortem room where his knowledge and teaching skills were unrivalled. He was also chairman of the National Muscular Dystrophy Research Committee. He remained active in the field of neuropathology for many years after his retirement. Towards the end of his life he nursed his wife, Hilda, devotedly through her final illness. He leaves two children and two grandchildren.

by Peter Sutton and Cyril Fisher

Haematologist Canterbury and Thanet District Health Authority 1951-83 and emeritus professor International Society of Haematology (b 1918; q 1941 London; MD, FRCPath), d 8 October 2000. He developed the haematology services at Canterbury and Thanet, laid the foundations of the haemophilia service, and remained its director until his retirement. The reputation of this service was such that students with haemophilia could confidently attend Canterbury University. He was also jointly responsible for oncological and leukaemia services and worked with the Medical Research Council leukaemia trials and British lymphoma trials. He made himself readily available to junior and senior staff, always willing to help with investigations and to offer new tests. He took his full share of forensic work and administrative activities, being a member of several committees. His experience of wartime service with the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Far East left a lasting impression, and he was president of the Thanet Branch of the Burma Star Association. In spite of his clinical commitments he found time to enjoy sailing, golf, supporting the local rugby team and Rotary and Past Rotary, having been president of the local clubs. He leaves a wife; two daughters; and five grandchildren.

by David Lillicrap