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OBITUARY loved him as a man, and when he retired from the active staff of St. Mary’s, old residents attended from far and near a dinner in his honour and presented him with his portrait of which each cherished a reproduction. He married in 1891 Edith, daughter of Mr. R. B. Wilkinson, and had four sons and two daughters. Happy and successful in his work, happy in his home life, he, like all others, had his draughts of bitterness. His eldest son, a youth of great promise, was an undergraduate at Oxford when war broke out and, join- ing up at once, laid down his life in Gallipoli. His third son, after being called to the Bar, died after a long illness. He leaves a widow, two sons and two daughters, one son in the Navy, the other one of the younger consulting physicians in Manchester. WM. FLETCHER SHAW. In the words which I now write about Professor Archibald Donald I shall speak of him essentially from the personal point of view. Our friendship extended over 40 years and our inter- course was of the closest and happiest kind. It is indeed difficult to portray one so many-sided and excelling in so many ways. When I think of him, one thought which readily arises is that it is rare indeed that professional attainments and distinction are so strikingly associated with so loving and simple a character. Another is that while he drew his chief joy from his family life, he had also a special pleasure in associating with his many friends. Indeed, to use a somewhat trite expression, he had a genius for friendship. When I first knew him he was rapidly rising into eminence as a gynaecologist. Of spare and slight build, he had an excel- lent constitution; he was active and alert in mind and body and capable of much physical endurance. In his early days he was a keen mountaineer with a preference for rock-climbing; from what I heard of his feats before I knew him well, they were of no mean order. Throughout his life he was devoted to golf and had great enjoyment from it. He played the game in the true spirit, always content with the result, though some special excellence which not seldom appeared in his play would bring out a humorous smile of contentment. Our golfing parties were delightful and for a long time occurred regularly; they were a great attraction for him. Tired in body and sometimes suffering from bronchial catarrh, he would travel from Manchester to Machrihanish to join them in the middle of winter. He had great recuperative powers and would soon be one of the most cheerful 535

ARCHIBALD DONALD

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OBITUARY

loved him as a man, and when he retired from the active staff of St. Mary’s, old residents attended from far and near a dinner in his honour and presented him with his portrait of which each cherished a reproduction.

He married in 1891 Edith, daughter of Mr. R. B. Wilkinson, and had four sons and two daughters. Happy and successful in his work, happy in his home life, he, like all others, had his draughts of bitterness. His eldest son, a youth of great promise, was an undergraduate at Oxford when war broke out and, join- ing up at once, laid down his life in Gallipoli. His third son, after being called to the Bar, died after a long illness. He leaves a widow, two sons and two daughters, one son in the Navy, the other one of the younger consulting physicians in Manchester.

WM. FLETCHER SHAW.

In the words which I now write about Professor Archibald Donald I shall speak of him essentially from the personal point of view. Our friendship extended over 40 years and our inter- course was of the closest and happiest kind. I t is indeed difficult to portray one so many-sided and excelling in so many ways. When I think of him, one thought which readily arises is that it is rare indeed that professional attainments and distinction are so strikingly associated with so loving and simple a character. Another is that while he drew his chief joy from his family life, he had also a special pleasure in associating with his many friends. Indeed, to use a somewhat trite expression, he had a genius for friendship.

When I first knew him he was rapidly rising into eminence as a gynaecologist. Of spare and slight build, he had an excel- lent constitution; he was active and alert in mind and body and capable of much physical endurance. In his early days he was a keen mountaineer with a preference for rock-climbing; from what I heard of his feats before I knew him well, they were of no mean order. Throughout his life he was devoted to golf and had great enjoyment from it. He played the game in the true spirit, always content with the result, though some special excellence which not seldom appeared in his play would bring out a humorous smile of contentment. Our golfing parties were delightful and for a long time occurred regularly; they were a great attraction for him. Tired in body and sometimes suffering from bronchial catarrh, he would travel from Manchester to Machrihanish to join them in the middle of winter. He had great recuperative powers and would soon be one of the most cheerful

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and active members of the party, regaling us with anecdote and story. He had an intense interest in people and things and a keen sense of humour. Growing disability in the later years of his life gradually came to debar him from outdoor recreation. He had to give up golf, but for a time derived much pleasure from driving a little car. Latterly his outdoor enjoyment was confined to walking and sitting in the beautiful garden which he had planned and seen grow up around his house at Alderley Edge. For some time before the end he was confined to the house. Yet all through this period of failing health there was no grumbling or repining.

Donald was simple in his tastes and requirements, fond of games and reading of all kinds, and a boyish spirit was with him till the end. He had a fine taste in books and was widely read, and he took pleasure in the possession of fine editions, of which he had many examples. All these facts show that in the midst of a strenuous professional life he had a full capacity for the enjoyment of his times of leisure. His was a delightful house to visit. Many are the occasions on which I enjoyed his hospitality, and each succeeding visit added to the pleasure derived from his friendship. The atmosphere was one of peace and happiness, and he himself was indeed “the perfect host”.

In the affairs of life, Donald was eminently wise, careful and judicious in coming to conclusions, yet when once they were arrived at he expressed them clearly and forcibly, and they always carried weight with his fellows. Kindly and genial and generous with regard to minor failings, he had rigid principles as to what he held to be right. Especially strong was his contempt for and condemnation of anything unworthy in a professional aspect. I have a clear picture of him expressing himself scornfully yet calmly with regard to anyone who was exploiting in any way his profession for personal gain. These traits were widely recognized, and to be approved by Donald was something to be prized. I am not dealing with his professional work, but in this personal account I must not fail to mention his devotion to the younger men whom he trained and helped, and the pleasure he derived from their achievements and advance. And if their published work was, as sometimes happened, the outcome of his own thought and methods, he was delighted that it should be SO:^

In this respect he was quite unselfish. I t is no wonder that not only did he occupy a unique position in the medical profession in Manchester but was held by his pupils in the highest affection and esteem.

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Donald’s family life, as has been indicated, was a peculiarly happy one, yet he was not without his sorrows. His eldest son Allan, of exceptional qualities and powers, was killed early in the War, and this loss cut him deeply. A few years later he had another bereavement in the death of his son John, a lovable man and of great promise. These trials were bravely borne, but made a lasting impression. His fortitude largely concealed the grief that was there.

As has been said, the later period of his life was one of growing disability, attended at times with no small amount of distress, yet all through it his personal qualities shone out clearly. I visited him on several occasions when he was practically an invalid, and always found him cheerful, unselfish in his interests and uncom- plaining. His courage and serenity of mind made an impression on me which I shall never forget. And now at the end of a memorable life, rich in achievement and beneficent throughout, there has passed from us a brave and loving spirit.

ROBERT MUIR.

Archibald Donald came to Manchester in 1885 and for more than forty years was in active practice in that city.

It was not long before he became its leading obstetrician a,nd gynaecologist, and his supremacy continued right up to the time of his retirement from active hospital practice.

His influence extended far beyond his own branch of medicine because he was so well known to the laity and so respected by the general body of the profession that his opinion was sought on matters affecting the whole field of medicine. Donald had all the mental and physical qualities which go to the making of a great clinician. Not the least of these, and one which he retained to the end of his working days was an extraordinary capacity for assimilating new ideas and applying them in the treatment of his patients. New methods, new instruments, and even new ‘gadgets’ were constantly on trial, and consequently his operative technique reached a standard which few of his contemporaries could reach and none surpass.

Although born and educated in Scotland, Donald was really an Irishman, and a careful analysis of his character will show that he possessed the best qualities of both races, To Ireland he probably owed the boyish spirits and ever youthful outlook which so endeared him to his friends, but the stern and uncompromising

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