Dr John Richardson Rook
Personal Details
Dr John Richardson Rook MBChB FFARCS DA
21/09/1918 to 29/11/1992
Place of birth: Carlisle
Nationality: British
CRN: 535441
Education and qualifications
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General education |
Fettes College, Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Medical School |
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MBChB, Edinburgh, 1942 |
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Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Election |
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Year of Fellowship |
1953 |
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Other qualification(s) |
DA(RCP&S), 1947 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
After qualifying John served in the RAMC in Sicily, Italy, Egypt, Cyprus & Palestine, becoming a specialist anaesthetist and attaining the rank of Major. He then completed his training in Oxford before being appointed anaesthetist to the Birmingham Accident Hospital in 1948. In 1952 he moved to Bromsgrove General Hospital as a consultant with sessions at the recently established Regional Thoracic Unit at Hill Top Hospital. He retired due to ill health in 1978.
Professional interests and activities
He did not have academic interests, but was an indefatiguable worker with a cheerful personality and an imperturbable nature, playing an important part in the development of open heart surgery.
Other biographical information
Married to Jean, with whom he had three children (George, Ann & Judy) whose memories are of a man with a somewhat ‘shorter fuse’ than is implied by the above! He grew wonderful tomatoes with the aid of ‘waste’ bank blood, and they enjoyed many sailing holidays ad outings. He built a ‘Mirror’ sailing dinghy in the garage and had a major interest in railways: one room in their home housed a large model railway system; and he made a much sought after film of steam engines working on the nearby Lickey Incline.
Author and Sources
Author: Dr Robert Palmer with input from Dr Keith Roberts
Sources and any other comments: Obituary. BMJ 1993; 306: 713 | further information from son, George.