Resource Name:
MorrisonMalcolm1.jpg
File Size:
213.89 KB
Resource Type:
JPEG Image
Asset Name:
E010642 - Morrison, Malcolm Cameron Tatham (1928 - 2024)
Title:
Morrison, Malcolm Cameron Tatham (1928 - 2024)
Author:
David Williamson
Identifier:
RCS: E010642
Publisher:
The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Publication Date:
2024-07-03
Subject:
Description:
Obituary for Morrison, Malcolm Cameron Tatham (1928 - 2024), Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Language:
English
Source:
IsPartOf Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Date of Birth:
28 May 1928
Place of Birth:
Brighton
Date of Death:
16 May 2024
Titles/Qualifications:
FRCS 1960
MB BS London 1951
Details:
Malcolm Morrison was a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon. He was born in Brighton on 28 May 1928. His father, William James Morrison, died when he was five, and his mother, Lucy Eleanor Morrison née Tatham, moved frequently as she tried to support Malcolm, his older sister and younger brother. He attended Bournemouth School for Boys, and then went on to study medicine at St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School. His mother died just after he started, but fortunately he was given a bursary to enable him to continue his studies. He qualified in 1951. His love of anatomy classes influenced him towards surgery and a period of working in trauma at Birmingham Accident Hospital cemented his career path.
He carried out his National Service between 1952 and 1954, as a medical officer in north Africa and Malta. After training at Rowley Bristow Hospital, Salisbury General, the Middlesex Hospital, St George’s, Southampton and St Thomas’, he was appointed as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Swindon in 1967. He worked alongside Ian Young, Eric Denman and Patrick Monahan until his retirement in 1991.
As was common for orthopaedic surgeons of that era, Malcolm treated patients with any orthopaedic condition, although spine and hip surgery were his preferred sub-specialties. At St Thomas’ he was influenced by the ‘father of manipulative medicine’, James Cyriax, which led to Malcolm developing a special interest in manipulation of the neck and lumbar spine. Even after retiring, he continued to treat staff at the hospital.
He used ward rounds as an opportunity to teach the junior doctors and would emphasise the importance of the clinical history and careful examination. He could be a very exacting teacher.
‘Morrison, Swindon’ was a familiar introduction to a statement or question raised at many a meeting, followed by Malcolm making a very pertinent point, often returning the audience to the basics of the field being discussed or, in the case of meetings at the local hospital, some small-print error or even discovery by Malcolm of ways that ‘management’ was going to ‘put one over on the doctors’. Malcolm had a penchant for reading all material produced for a meeting and finding issues with which he disagreed.
Whilst working, Malcolm was heavily involved in the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association and he retained an interest in medical politics in retirement, continuing to attend meetings where he would give strong opinions and lament what he saw as the demise of the profession.
In his early years as a consultant, he regularly played cricket and subsequently golf. When he retired, the orthopaedic department organised a golf day to which previous registrars he had trained were invited. Over 40 took part and it was so popular that it became an annual event with Malcolm presenting ‘the Morrison Cup’ to the winning golfer each year. He continued to play into his early 90s.
He was also a lover of art, participating in National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) trips, and he enjoyed attending Girdlestone Orthopaedic Society meetings as he was a trainer of Oxford-based registrars.
Malcolm had a very active mind right to the end, writing his ‘final notes’ for distribution at his funeral. In 1957 he married Ann Elizabeth Budd. They divorced in 1989. Malcolm died on 16 May 2024 at the age of 95. He was survived by his daughter, Phrynette, and his son, Ashley.
Rights:
Copyright (c) The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Image Copyright (c) Images reproduced with kind permission of the Morrison Family
Collection:
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
Format:
Obituary
Format:
Asset
Asset Path:
Root/Lives of the Fellows/E010000-E010999/E010600-E010699
Media Type:
JPEG Image
File Size:
213.89 KB