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Resource Name:
Resource Type:
External Resource
Metadata
Asset Name:
E009311 - Lawson, Robert Alexander Murdoch (1938 - 2017)
Title:
Lawson, Robert Alexander Murdoch (1938 - 2017)
Author:
A K Deiraniya
Identifier:
RCS: E009311
Publisher:
London : Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2017-02-17

2017-08-24
Description:
Obituary for Lawson, Robert Alexander Murdoch (1938 - 2017), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Full Name:
Lawson, Robert Alexander Murdoch
Date of Birth:
11 February 1938
Place of Birth:
Ardross, Ross-shire, Scotland
Date of Death:
10 January 2017
Place of Death:
Blackburn, Lancashire
Titles/Qualifications:
MB ChB Edinburgh 1961

FRCS Edinburgh 1966

FRCS 1971
Details:
Robert Alexander Murdoch Lawson (known as 'Bob') was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. He was born on 11 February 1938, in a farmhouse in Ardross, a tiny village in Ross-shire in the Highlands of Scotland. His parents, Margaret Perrins Lawson née Murdoch and Robert MacKenzie Lawson, had settled in Ceylon after their marriage, but returned home to Scotland for the birth of their first child. After eight weeks, they returned to subcontinent, and the family continued with their happy life in Colombo until the imminent threat of a Japanese invasion forced the evacuation of British women and children to South Africa for a couple of years. On their return to Colombo, Bob's father became ill with lung cancer and died on New Year's Day, 1945. With no financial support abroad, Bob's mother wisely decided to return to the safety and comfort of the family farm in Ardross. There Bob went to the local primary school, where he excelled, mainly, he would say, because there were only three in his class. From there he went to George Watson's College in Edinburgh, where he boarded for six years. Bob was forever indebted to the Scottish educational system for this and for the following six years at the Edinburgh University Medical School. After three house jobs in Scotland, Bob went to Sarawak for six months, where he had 'wonderful experience in surgery, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology too, and life itself'. On his return to Scotland, he held senior house officer posts in the accident and emergency department at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and in anaesthesia at the Western General Hospital. This was followed by four years in general surgery at Bangour General Hospital, at the end of which a career move to cardiothoracic surgery saw him move south of the border to Shotley Bridge Hospital in County Durham. He spent 1972 and 1973 as a registrar at the Brompton Hospital. This was followed by a two-year fellowship with Albert Starr in Portland, Oregon, after which he returned to the UK to complete the last two years of his senior registrar training on the London Chest/ Brompton/National Heart circuit. He was appointed as a consultant at Wythenshawe Hospital in south Manchester and at Pendlebury Children's Hospital, Manchester in 1977. Bob was a caring, compassionate, committed and conscientious clinician; he saw his patients twice a day and at weekends throughout the year without fail. In addition to his work at Wynthenshawe Hospital, he shouldered a significant paediatric surgical workload at Pendlebury. This was an onerous undertaking considering the emergency component of that type of surgery and the travel involved. Bob was available 24/7 for his patients. He was an excellent clinician, a skillful operator and a gifted teacher, who contributed a great deal to developing cardiac surgical services. He was highly regarded and universally respected by his fellow consultants, nursing colleagues, trainees and patients alike. Many of his patients became lifelong friends. He retired from Wythenshawe in 1998, but continued at Pendlebury for three more years. He met and married Liz (Elizabeth Ettie Clark) in 1965 when she was a staff nurse on the paediatric ward of the Western General Hospital, where they both worked at the time. They went on to have five children and nine grandchildren. On retirement, the Lawsons moved to Blackburn, where Bob was able to indulge his passion of walking in the hills of Pendle. His enjoyment of hill walking was severely curtailed in recent years with the onset of a spinal disorder. He loved reading poetry and watching Scotland play rugby. For a number of years, he had a love affair with low slung sports cars. Despite bilateral hip replacements at the tender age of 45 or thereabouts, he could get in and out of his TVR and Lotus Elan cars with amazing agility and grace. When he could no longer manage the graceful entry and exit, he settled for a Skoda Superb. He travelled a great deal over the years with Liz and sometimes with his large family. Europe-wise, he loved Greece the best. Bob was a true Scot, proud to be so and loved everything Scottish, particularly the Highlands and the north west. His death came unexpectedly two weeks after admission to Blackburn Royal Infirmary on Christmas Day with an acute pneumonia. Bob was a loyal friend and an exemplary colleague of unimpeachable integrity; throughout the 40 years I knew him he displayed malice towards none and charity to all. He died on 10 January 2017, aged 78. He will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered by all those whose lives he touched, none more so than his wife Liz, children (Becky, Kate, Libby, Tom and Hannah) and his nine grandchildren.
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/E009000-E009999/E009300-E009399
Media Type:
Unknown