Dr Frederick James Brunton

Frederick James Brunton, MBBS FRCP FRCR

'Freddie' was the first of a small group of post-war trained radiologists appointed to work at Southampton General Hospital in 1963. With his colleagues he helped transform the department into a national centre of excellence. He was a superb observer and diagnostician, as well as a gifted and experienced teacher. He was a major force in initiating the training programme in radiology and ensured its swift development when the medical school opened in 1970. He was appointed a College examiner in the 1980s.

18 December 1926 to 04 March 2003

Freddie became the father figure of the General Department. He was possessed of great personal charm and his relaxed manner helped establish Southampton's reputation as a warm and friendly unit. He was a good-humoured and popular colleague, whose idiosyncrasies were widely known and loved. As a registrar at St Mary's he would sit in the library, resplendent in red goggles and clogs, reading the journals while dark-adapting. The sound of those clogs remained a trademark. He described the filing system on the floor of his office as deep litter and who but Freddie would use the departmental intercom to summon those waiting outside his door.

Born in 1926, the third of seven children, Freddie was educated briefly at Dulwich College before transferring to Blundells School when London was bombed. He qualified at St Mary's where he was a keen rock climber and an excellent swimmer and water polo player. After qualifying, Freddie served as a medical officer with the SAS in the 1950s. He was parachuted with the regiment behind terrorist lines in the Malayan jungle, where he earned a mention in despatches. After National Service he continued training at the Central Middlesex Hospital where he met his wife Gillian, who was a medical student. He then worked at the Brompton Hospital before returning to St Mary's to begin his training in Radiology under Rohan Williams and David Sutton.

He had many talents and interests outside radiology and had a lifelong love of the countryside. He was a keen ornithologist and gardener, a talented golfer and an enthusiastic artist. A first class fly fisherman, he always had a box of meticulously hand-tied flies and was selected to demonstrate fly-casting when the National Game Fair was held at Broadlands. He seemed to have a natural aptitude for everything he did, despite his languid and apparently laid-back manner.

Freddie died very suddenly after a short illness. He had a gift for friendship and will be sadly missed by his many friends and colleagues, but leaves a rich professional and personal legacy. After a long and happy marriage, his wife Gillian and their children, Richard, Edward and Emma, survive him.

Memoir authors: Keith Dewbury and Peter Cook