Dr William Marson Maidlow
Personal Details
Dr William Marson Maidlow MRCS LRCP FFARCS DA
15/08/1912 to 02/09/2002
Place of birth: Ilminster, Somerset, England
Nationality: British
CRN: 571073
Education and qualifications
| General education | Charterhouse School (Godalming, Surrey) 1926-1931, winning History and Latin Prizes. St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, University of London 1931-1938. |
|---|---|
| Primary medical qualification(s) | MRCS Eng., LRCP Lond., 1938 |
| Initial Fellowship and type | FFARCS by Election |
| Year of Fellowship | 1953 |
| Other qualification(s) | DA (RCP&S), 1939 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
Following qualification Maidlow undertook House Officer posts at Taunton and Somerset Hospital. From May 1939 to January 1940 he undertook a resident anaesthetic post at St Bartholomew’s followed by further resident anaesthetic posts at Southampton and Bristol hospitals. In May 1942 he was appointed as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps for wartime military service. He served as a Specialist Anaesthetist in Malta and with the 8th Army in North Africa, achieving the rank of Major. Following his military attachments he returned to Bristol where he was appointed from September 1946 as a supernumerary Anaesthetic Registrar at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. In 1948 he was appointed as (the first) Consultant Anaesthetist to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where he remained until his retirement in 1977. Answering the question about choosing a career in anaesthesia, Dr Maidlow stated that his interest developed as a medical student and he found the challenges more glamorous than following his late father into general practice; also he was motivated by his teachers: HEG Boyle, C Langton Hewer and Frankis T Evans.
Professional interests and activities
During his career Dr Maidlow was a founder member of the Society of Anaesthetists of the South Western Region; also a member of the British Medical Association and of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland. He published several articles in the medical journals including papers on the use of intermittent intravenous pentothal to achieve anaesthesia, the danger of intubation under trichloroethylene, and the usage of spinal anaesthesia. His article about intermittent pentothal includes an interesting diagram of the arrangement of the equipment utilised, which is of historical interest regarding the early protagonists of intravenous anaesthesia.
Other biographical information
His father was a General Practitioner in Ilminster Somerset. He was one of four siblings a sister and two brothers. William alludes to the fact that his father’s death whilst he was at medical school in 1933 placed some challenges upon the family regarding his education.
William married Helena Wolfe in 1940 and they had two sons: William b. 1949 and Robert b. 1954. He was a keen sportsman, gardener, photographer and collector of church and classical music; he travelled widely in the British Isles, hill climbing, birdwatching and visiting churches. In retirement he lived in Taunton, passing away aged 89 years, survived by his family.
Author and sources
Author:
Dr Innes Simon Chadwick
Sources and comments:
Dr Maidlow’s self submitted College autobiographical “Boulton Form” dated 1989.
Crossley J. Obituary William Marson Maidlow. BMJ 2002; 325 (2 Nov.): 1041.
Medical Directories 1940 and 1968.
The Medical Directory. Churchill Ltd. London. 1954. Vol 2. Page 1343.
The Medical Register. GMC. 1942. Accessed on- line via Ancestry.com.
Bibliographic information accessed on-line via via Ancestry.com
Maidlow WM. Spinal Analgesia for Urological Procedures Using Buffered Isotonic Nupercaine. Anaesthesia 1951; 6(3): 164-167.
Maidlow WM. (Correspondence) Curare. BMJ 1947; I (5 April): 466.
Maidlow WM. (Correspondence) Continuous Pentothal Anaesthesia. BMJ 1941; I (3 May): 687-688.
Maidlow WM. (Correspondence) The Danger of Intubation under Trichloroethylene. BMJ 1948; I (13 March): 523-524.
Maidlow WM. (Correspondence) Heavy Percaine in Spinal Anaesthesia. BMJ 1942; I (7March): 339-340.
Maidlow WM. Intravenous Anaesthesia, Continuous Positive-Pressure Drip Saline with Intermittent Pentothal. BMJ 1944; 2 (30 Sept): 432-433.