PRIVATE FRANK NOLAN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY THE GREAT WAR MEDICAL SERVICES 1 MEDICAL SERVICES 2 AMBULANCE TRAIN MILITARY HOSPITALS
WAR AND MEDICINE WHEN THEY SOUND THE LAST ALL CLEAR GROUP CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BADER GROUP CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BADER CBE DSO '
THE MEDICAL MEMORIES ROADSHOW
‘To understand where we are today
We have to know where we have come from’
PROFESSOR
ROBERT OWEN
OBE, MBBS, FRCS, MCh(Orth), DL
Bob Owen was a farmer’s son, born in Chwilog in the Lleyn peninsula, North Wales and a monoglot Welsh speaker until the age of eight. From local Primary and Grammar schools he studied Medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London, followed by three years in the Royal Air Force, where he met Meg, his wife. They had two children and five grandchildren.
Following orthopaedic training, latterly in Liverpool, in which he was outstanding and included an ABC Fellowship, he was appointed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry and North Wales Hospitals at Rhyl and Abergele. He gave sterling service to these institutions, including the introduction of the Charnley arthroplasty, complete with ‘greenhouse enclosure’ to the first centre (Abergele) outside Wrightington. This came about through his friendship with Charnley in the late 1960s. He taught him the operation and recognised that Bob had the skills and commitment to develop hip arthroplasty in North Wales.
He much enjoyed his time in Rhyl and Abergele and it was with some reluctance that in mid-career he moved to Liverpool as Professor at The Royal Liverpool Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. He served these hospitals with distinction, concentrating his clinical practice in children’s work at the latter but maintaining a general practice, including hip and knee arthroplasty at RLH. He was also an enthusiastic supporter and contributer to the Liverpool MCh(Orth) course.
PROFESSOR ROBERT OWEN
RECEIVING HIS MCH. ORTH FROM
PROFESSOR BRYAN MACFARLAND
He was an outstanding orthopaedic surgeon. Aside from his clinical and operative skills, which included complex spinal surgery, he had the wellbeing of patients and colleagues at heart. An example of his concern for patients was as the driving force behind the establishment of houses for the relatives of those undergoing hospital treatment. At Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool is the rightly-named Robert Owen House.
In relation to colleagues and friends, he was best described as ‘inclusive’. Apart from training and mentoring many young orthopaedic surgeons from around the world, the value of the whole surgical team was recognised through activities such an annual walk in Snowdonia, to which all members of the surgical team and their families were invited. Bob had open house invitations worldwide and over the years there were many reciprocal visits between him and his flock. As for his friends, they will always remember the golfing, hill-walking and dining occasions (‘Bob’s Lunches’) which he organised
He was the author or co-author of 140 scientific papers, co-editor of two notable text-books, an autobiography and author of chapters, editorials and reviews. He was a Board member of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and his eponymous lectures included the Robert Jones and Bradshaw lecturships.
He was an elected member of The Royal College of Surgeons and Founder-Chairman of its Welsh Board, Vice-President of the British Orthopaedic Association and President of the British Scoliosis Society and British Cervical Spine Society. He was particularly proud to be a founder-member and second President of The Welsh Orthopaedic Society.
PROFESSOR ROBERT OWEN
RECEIVING HIS O.B.E.
Through World Orthopaedic Concern and personal relationships he gave outstanding service to many developing countries worldwide through ‘hands-on’, representational and teaching visits, including The Lipmann Kessel Travelling Professorship
In Wales, he was Trustee or Adviser to several charitable organisations helping disabled or ill children, Deputy Lieutenant for Clwyd, Medical Ombudsman for Wales and Member of the Gorsedd of Bards and Honourable Society of The Cymmrodorian. He was a staunch supporter and Past-President of The History of Medicine Society of Wales
In 1990 he was appointed OBE for services to medicine
If one adds to all that his family and friends, travel, shooting, fishing, hill-walking and golf (after a fashion; his swing, to say the least ,was optimistic), one can see how rich and fulfilling a life he had.
He was blessed with a long and active retirement, during which he was enthusiastic and indefatiguable in plans for further adventures, convivial occasions and keeping actively in touch with the many organisations he served.
If one could summarise his life, the words ‘Welsh’, ‘Orthopaedic’ and ‘Society’ spring to mind. There was no stronger supporter of his Welsh heritage, he was an outstanding contributer to orthopaedic surgery and he espoused ‘society’ in its broadest sense, which included family, friends and colleagues.
David Jones
PROFESSOR OWEN
AND
SIR JOHN CHARNLEY
'IN HIS OWN WORDS'
I knew John in the late 60’s. I knew about his association with Harry Platt and Lloyd Griffiths and Lloyd Griffiths and John were at cross purposes they did not get on. John decided in his very positive way ok I am leaving Manchester and going to Wrightington.
He did all his experiments, the failed experiments, the 5 years where he re-did those hips on all those patients. If you did that today you would be struck off the register. It was a great thing to do. Which he did it was at that stage that I got involved with him.
I went to Wrightington I was working at the University of Liverpool first and then I came to North Wales where I established the unit at Abergele and it was at that stage that John and I became very close.
John allowed me to do the Charnley Hip at Abergele with the Green House and all the stuff. Of course then I worked very closely with John.
During the following years I had fellows coming from Oswestry for training one of which was Mike Wroblewski.
I remember quite well he was continuously asking me, he wanted to meet the great man John Charnley and he wanted to do his Hip replacement.
I resisted this as he was still doing his training but then Mike and I became very close friends and so eventually I took Mike to meet the great man.
It was then that they immediately clicked. They became very close together and gradually Mike became more and more Wrightington.
I remember the first BOA meeting at Torquay and John had asked me to give a paper about 100 cases that I had done here at Abergele.
Before and after the Greenhouse. So I gave the paper and I was criticised he has not followed these cases properly – which I had not really, but then John got up and said ‘You need to listen to this young lad I think he is on the right tracks’. I know for a fact he was at that time fully committed to a proper Charnley Procedure.
It has not changed very much because
the Gold Standard was set by Charnley in the beginning. In the following years, I went to Wrightington as a friend of John’s.
I remember on one occasion I was in Theatre observing and there was an Egyptian Surgeon that had come from Egypt. He was a very bright lad and he wanted to do the Charnley Hip in Egypt.
He was pestering John so John said
‘OK, you do the operation and I will assist.’
At the end of the operation I was in the dressing room with John and this Egyptian and John said
‘I am going to ring my Secretary and we can have a chat in my rooms at 5 o’clock.
The Egyptian was very pleased with this and went to the rooms at 5 o’clock. John sat him down and said.
‘I have seen your work and I want you back here at 5.30pm.’
In the meantime John had rung his secretary.
This young man came and John said
‘I have had a word with my Secretary and there is a train from here at 7 o’clock, I want you to take that train and I do not want to see you ever again!’
John was a perfectionist but in the background was Lady Charnley. I am sure that when he did those 50 cases which failed I am sure it was Lady Charnley who made him to re-think because he was devastated. She was a very important part of his life.
I only met her twice at parties.
Then of course I went back to Liverpool and went more to the care of Children at Alder Hey. I still did Hips and Knees at the Royal Liverpool and kept in touch with John.
Then John passed away and left Wrightington and all of his pupils from around the World to carry on supporting his name which will never be forgotten for what he has done for the Human Race in this Country and abroad is incalculable. There was a surgeon from Norwich who was looking at the problem from a different perspective, it did not really last. John’s did.
That is my humble tribute to the Great bloke
Sir John Charnley.