Pioneering neurosurgeon will long be remembered

A neurosurgeon renowned for his pioneering work on Parkinson's disease has died aged 93.

Professor John Gillingham was born in Dorchester in March 1916, and spent most of his career in Edinburgh.

An only son, he studied medicine at the St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College in London, where he graduated in 1939.

After completing his training at St Bart's and at the Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital for disabled children in Hampshire, Prof Gillingham enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps to aid the war effort. He found himself first in north Africa and later in Italy, and it was his experience as a medic on the front lines, dealing mostly with bullet wounds to the head, that provided him with an understanding of head injuries.

This led him, post-war, to focus on stereotactic neurosurgery and particularly its use to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

He also became one of the first campaigners in the UK for compulsory car seatbelts.

Following his return from Italy in 1945, he married Irene "Judy" Jude from Fakenham in Norfolk, and began at Bart's hospital as a neurosurgeon.

After moving to the Capital, he was appointed consultant neurosurgeon in the surgical neurology department at Edinburgh University in 1950.

Prof Gillingham hit the headlines in 1961 when he treated the leading Sri Lankan politician SJV Chelvanayakam, who was suffering from Parkinson's, in Edinburgh. Mr Chelvanayakam then lived for another 16 years.

Prof Gillingham was also credited with setting up a dedicated landline phone link between the two hospitals where he worked, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the city's Western General. This allowed Prof Gillingham and his team to monitor head trauma patients and rush between the two when required, saving many lives as a result.

From 1966 until retirement in 1981, Prof Gillingham was consultant neurologist to the British army in Scotland. He was an honorary member of neurosurgeons' societies and honorary president of the World Federation of Neurological Societies.

Prof Gillingham also became president of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1980. He was appointed CBE in 1982 and last year, at the age of 93, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Society of British Neurosurgeons.

He lived in the city's Easter Park House and later Boraston House. He is survived by his wife and sons Tim, Simon and Adam. Prof Gillingham's eldest son, Jeremy, and Jeremy's wife, Anni, died in an avalanche while skiing in 1994.

A memorial service for Prof Gillingham, who died on 3 January, will take place at Cramond Kirk at noon on 15 March.