Cover image for
Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E007401 - Lacey, Denis Westgarth (1914 - 1985)
Title:
Lacey, Denis Westgarth (1914 - 1985)
Author:
Sir Barry Jackson
Identifier:
RCS: E007401
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2015-06-05

2018-05-24
Description:
Obituary for Lacey, Denis Westgarth (1914 - 1985), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Lacey, Denis Westgarth
Date of Birth:
14 March 1914
Date of Death:
26 April 1985
Place of Death:
Pavenham
Occupation:
Titles/Qualifications:
MRCS 1937

FRCS 1948

LRCP 1937
Details:
Denis Westgarth Lacey was born on 14 March 1914. He was educated at the Perse School, Cambridge, and St Edward's School, Oxford, before proceeding to the Middlesex Hospital Medical School where he qualified in 1937. He joined the RAMC in 1939, was taken prisoner at the evacuation of Dunkirk and remained a prisoner of war until 1945. During his prolonged captivity he was able to render outstanding surgical aid not only to his own men but to those of the enemy. He then returned to the Middlesex Hospital where he held various junior appointments before being appointed consultant surgeon to Bedford General Hospital in 1951. On his retirement he had been senior surgeon for 15 years. A good all round general surgeon, one of his interests was thyroid surgery and he had a particular interest in gastrointestinal surgery especially in conservative treatment of inflammatory disease of the intestine. He once described himself as "an operating physician". He was an excellent diagnostician and his opinion was widely sought and much respected. He was a good listener and always kind to patients but vigorously demanded his own very high standard from nurses, house surgeons and other colleagues. Both before and after his retirement he was very much a family man. His hobbies were foreign travel, sailing and especially gardening at which he excelled, rearing many beautiful and exotic flowers and trees. He died suddenly at his home in Pavenham on 26 April 1985 and was survived by his wife, Joy, and two sons, one of whom is a doctor in general practice.
Sources:
*Brit med J* 1985, 290, 1912 with portrait
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Format:
Obituary
Format:
Asset
Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E007000-E007999/E007400-E007499
Media Type:
Unknown