Dr James Leighton Hopkins

Personal details

Dr James Leighton Hopkins FFARCS LMSSA DA

29/12/1900 to 02/01/1963

Place of birth: Llanelly, Carmarthenshire

Nationality: British

CRN: 715800

Education and qualifications

Professional life and career

Postgraduate career

Details of his early career are sketchy, but he was at some time RMO at Wimbledon Hospital. However, most of his early years were spent as a ship’s surgeon with the P&O Line, only developing an interest in anaesthesia in the latter half of the 1930s. His first anaesthetic appointment was as resident at Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, and by the end of the decade he was anaesthetist to a number of hospitals, notably the Metropolitan and the Prince of Wales’s, London. During WW2 he gave great service to Charing Cross Hospital, and after the war it became his main hospital. Ill-health forced his early retirement in 1961.

Professional interests and activities

Little is known of his interests and activities, but for a number of years he was a contributing author to ‘Pye’s Surgical Handicraft’.

Other biographical information

Known as a ‘bon viveur’ in every sense he had a wide range of interests including horse racing, cine-photography and his garden. A sociable man and a generous host, he was a founder member of the John Snow Lodge. He was married, but no children have been identified.

Author and sources

Author: Dr Bob Palmer

Sources and any other comments: Obituaries. BMJ 1963; 1: 127 & Anaesthesia 1963: 18: 246-7| Ancestry.co.uk | Medical Directory | Katrino DiMuro of the Archives Library Service of King’s College, London | Dr A P Rubin