FP News
Tributes Mr Douglas W. M. Davidson 1928 – 2018 Class of 1947 Mr Douglas Davidson or Doug as he was affectionately known to relatives and close friends, passed away peacefully in Blairgowrie on 1 February 2018, aged 89.
Prof. Michael Rosen CBE 1927 – 2018 Class of 1945 Born in October 1927 in Dundee, Michael attended the High School of Dundee until 1944 when he commenced his medical studies in St Andrews, the first in his family to attend university. Upon graduating, Michael then joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he swiftly rose to the rank of Captain and served in Egypt. Here, he ordered his squadron to repaint the barracks before a visit from Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who was apparently so impressed by him that she had him transferred to a cosier billet in Cyprus. Michael completed his medical training in Bradford, Newcastle and Cleveland, Ohio, before being appointed to a Consultant post in Cardiff in 1961, where he spent the rest of his life. Renowned for keeping the untidiest office in the hospital, colleagues had mentioned how at times it was physically impossible to enter his room due to the mound of paper overflowing from his desk. What some may say he lacked in height, Michael more than made up for in his attitude towards life with his clear, far-sighted vision coupled with a brisk ‘can-do’ attitude and considerable charm and wit. He was a natural born leader who worked within a medical speciality that, rightly or wrongly, had a reputation for conservatism and timidity. He fought for the recognition of anaesthetists as the guardians of the surgical patient and shunned the image of them being likened to a handmaiden of the surgeon. The course of his professional career saw his list of achievements continuing to grow. Some of his earliest work in 1960 addressed the issue of a lack of medical suction, something that he tackled so successfully that all in the profession now take effective suction for granted. Michael was also a pioneer of individualised pain relief after surgery, developing the Cardiff Palliator, a device that allowed patients to trigger delivery of morphine directly into the bloodstream whilst using technology to keep them safe while doing so. He will be primarily remembered, however, as a pioneering obstetric anaesthetist and a champion of maternal safety who published more than 170 papers, and edited and wrote seven books. In his later years, he focused his attention on achieving standards for pain relief for babies undergoing circumcision. His Jewish faith, although never in the foreground, was a comfort to him. Many of his co-religionists will recall being given a mandatory tumbler of whisky to break their 24-hour Yom Kippur fast. Family was very much at the heart of Michael’s life. He met his wife Sally at a cocktail party in London and they married several years later in 1955, going on to have three children together, Timothy, Amanda and Mark. Sally sadly died earlier this year, and Michael, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, followed her peacefully some two weeks later. He died on May 2 2018, aged 90.
Born in August 1928, Douglas attended the High School of Dundee until 1947 when he then went on to study at Dundee School of Pharmacy. Come 1951, he became a registered Pharmacist and shortly thereafter began working in the family’s pharmaceutical business in Blairgowrie, which was the base for his entire professional life. He was the third generation of Davidsons to manage the family business, Walter Davidson & Sons Limited (Davidsons Chemists). For more than half a century, Douglas worked as a practicing pharmacist. He had a particular interest in community pharmacy and veterinary pharmacy and additionally held various offices, specifically in the health and pharmacy sectors, at local, regional and national (UK) levels. He was a member of the Board of Perthshire General Hospitals and later the Tayside Health Board. Additionally, he became a Council Member of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain for a number of years in the 1980s. Douglas followed in the family tradition of serving the local community in public office and was a Baillie and Town Councillor of Blairgowrie, holding the posts of Senior Baillie, Treasurer and Dean of Guild, and for many years also a Justice of the Peace for Perthshire. He undertook a keen and active role in advancing the interests of the Blairgowrie area, involving himself in a variety of bodies with that aim. Additionally, he dedicated a lot of his spare time to local organisations and held a number of posts as a result, including that of President and Secretary for the Blairgowrie Rotary Club and Founder and Chairman of the Blairgowrie Round Table. He was also the recipient of the Paul Harris Medal due to his contribution to his local Rotary Club. Possessing an extremely strong work and public service ethic, allied with his commitment to and passion for pharmacy, Douglas had a reputation for great kindness and integrity. He was held in extremely high regard and was thought of with great affection throughout the local community and the wider professional community. Until about a year ago, when health issues curtailed his activities somewhat, he could be found most days at work in his office in the company’s Blairgowrie headquarters or out visiting one of the branches. Despite suffering from ill health, his indomitable spirit was not diminished. Douglas was sadly predeceased by his wife Avril in 2004 but is survived by his daughter, Gail, and his son, Graeme.
57
