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Dr John Wedgwood was born in London on 28th September 1919, a direct descendant of Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the world famous pottery firm. For many years he was a non-executive director of the company, of which he was very proud.

He qualified from Trinity College Cambridge and Guy’s Hospital Medical School. After passing the Conjoint Examination in 1943 he joined the RNVR becoming surgeon lieutenant, serving in Europe and the Far East. Unfortunately his minesweeper, HMS Squirrel, was mined and he suffered severe injuries to his left leg and back, which troubled him for the rest of his life.

After demobilisation he completed his Cambridge medical degrees and passed the MRCP examination in 1949. Initially he wanted to be a cardiologist and was appointed senior registrar, firstly at Addenbrooke’s and then at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Bacterial endocarditis was the subject of his MD thesis. However his interest in care of the elderly and rehabilitation was ignited when he surveyed 200 chronic sick patients in a Cambridge workhouse. He found that the patients were well looked after but received no active treatment and stayed in bed most of the day.

His first consultant appointment in geriatric medicine was in 1960 at Bury St. Edmunds where he joined the two other pioneering geriatricians in East Anglia: John Agate and Bill Davison. He met many of the early workers in geriatric medicine including Marjory Warren, Chris Boucher of the Ministry of Health, George Adams and the gerontologist, Alex Comfort. When he started at Bury he had no medical, rehabilitation or secretarial staff and to improve medical recruitment he commenced teaching for the MRCP examination. He was responsible for 243 patients in old infirmaries, one of which still had gas lighting. The wards were grossly overcrowded. Bedpans were washed out in the patients’ bath and sister’s office doubled as a day room. Only relentless nagging of authorities resulted in new wards and improved facilities for the patients and for teaching. He organised medical meetings for physicians at Bury St. Edmunds and began research into dementia using the mainframe computers at Essex University. He gained the support of the Regional Medical Officer to build a ‘best buy’ hospital at Bury, a new 45-bed geriatric unit, a day hospital, a post-graduate medical centre and to upgrade his remaining old wards.

He became much involved with the emerging British Geriatrics Society, which in those days lacked permanent premises of its own. He was elected treasurer (1966-72), chairman of the Executive Committee (1968-1973) and was chairman of the Editorial Board of the Society’s journal Age and Ageing (1969-1986). He assisted in the wise investment of the Society’s funds and helped to place the Society on a business basis as a company limited by Guarantee as well as a registered Charity. The local firm of solicitors he utilised is still used by the Society. In 1994 he was awarded the Society’s Presidential medal.

In 1968 he moved to the Middlesex Hospital as consultant geriatrician and shared facilities with Dr (later Professor) Exton-Smith at St Pancras Hospital until he acquired Athlone House in 1968. He used his two-week teaching slot to promote multidisciplinary teaching of geriatric medicine to doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. He was appointed an examiner for the MB and the MRCP examinations. He continued his interest in research publishing articles on subjects ranging from rehabilitation, pressures sores, heart disease, bacterial endocarditis, automated psychometric testing, disability medicine, brain injury, hospital management, the future of geriatric medicine to clinical problems.
In 1980 he was appointed Medical Director of the Royal Hospital at Putney, where he stayed until he retired in 1986. He organised the building of a brain injury unit, a long-term rehabilitation unit, a day hospital, an engineering workshop, improved patient accommodation and research offices. He continued with research, developed multidisciplinary teaching, enhanced facilities by fund raising, and improved building design with the help of the Royal Society of Arts. It was for this work that he was appointed to the order of CBE in 1987.

Retirement brought no rest because he was appointed Chairman of the Royal Surgical Aid Society, (AgeCare). He increased the medical input into the Society’s committees; organised large multidisciplinary conferences on subjects such as good food for residents and design of care homes; developed thriving multidisciplinary teaching in the Society’s homes, the philosophy of which has become internationally recognised, and opened new residential homes.

He died in Shepperton on 30th August 2007 and is survived by his second wife, 3 sons, 1 stepson and 2 daughters. A celebration of his life was held on 29th November.

Michael Denham

BGS Newsletter, December 2007
Issue 14 ISSN 1748-6343 14