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

General education

Fettes College, Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Medical School

Primary medical qualification(s)

MBChB, Edinburgh, 1942

Initial Fellowship and type

FFARCS by Election

Year of Fellowship

1953

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.