Consultant physician;
born May 1, 1923 died April 29, 2006
ROBERT Walker, a consultant physician at Law Hospital in Lanarkshire, has died aged 82.
Robert Walker was born in Muirhead, Glasgow, and was educated at Allan Glen's School before going on to study medicine at Anderson College in Glasgow where he worked through the holidays in order to join the Royal Army Medical Corps.
Robert spent his free time learning to drive ambulances, and then working with the ambulance volunteers, picking up injured troops from the ships at Clydeside and civilians from the bombsites in Clydebank.
Having studied for the medical and surgical qualifications LRCP and LRCS (Edinburgh) and MB BS (London University), he graduated in 1944 and completed a year of house jobs in Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Fully qualified as a junior doctor, he enlisted as a lieutenant with the Royal Army Medical Corps and spent three years in India. The first posting was a tented hospital north of Madras before he was moved on to an Italian PoW camp in the foothills of the Himalayas, and from there to a tour of examining the troops on the north west frontier near Afghanistan.
Shortly afterwards, in Simla, Robert survived a serious crash when the lorry he was in overturned. He was shipped home.
Back in Scotland, Robert returned to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where he worked for a year as a clinical attachment while obtaining his London University MD in 1948. After working as a registrar for a year in Ballochmyle Hospital, in East Ayrshire, he spent five years at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
From 1955 until his retirement in 1988, he worked in Law Hospital in South Lanarkshire, first as a senior registrar and then as a consultant. In 1961 he took his family to Boston where he spent a year as a research fellow of Harvard University.
Over the years that followed, he developed the cardiology service for Law and built upa cardiology unit and specialist team.
Robert Walker's other clinical interest was diabetes and here, too, he played a major part in developing and building a diabetic service in Law Hospital, including an evening clinic for diabetic outpatients so his patients would not miss work.
He also taught undergraduates at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and examined for the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Robert was on the shadow board for Lanarkshire Health Board in 1973 and on the selection committee which appointed the first Lanarkshire Health Board. He was also president of the Scottish Society of Physicians in 1984. Colleagues at Law Hospital saw him as driven by a commitment to the NHS and someone determined to maintain high standards.
He was a committed Christian, involved in his church, a keen supporter of many international medical mission organisations and a leader of Whitecraigs Boys Crusader class for 30 years. Throughout his professional life he was involved with the Christian Medical Fellowship, serving as Scottish representative on the executive committee and as UK chairman.
He was also responsible for organising the annual Christian Medical Fellowship lecture at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Robert loved travel and he and his wife Catherine shoehorned their family of five into an old car and travelled throughout Europe.
He was devoted to his wife of 55 years and to his family.
Robert is survived by Catherine, five children and 10 grandchildren.
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