Latest news with #RAMC
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Rt Rev Hewlett Thompson, long-serving Bishop of Exeter greatly valued for his pastoral gifts
The Right Reverend Hewlett Thompson, who has died aged 95, was Bishop of Exeter from 1985 to 1999, and before that spent 11 years as Suffragan Bishop of Willesden in the London diocese. Thompson was essentially a pastoral bishop, who eschewed controversy and was once accused by a vicar's wife of 'elevating the ostrich position to an art form'. This was in marked contrast to the style of his maternal grandfather, Lewis Donaldson, a socialist Canon of Westminster who had led marches of the unemployed in the 1920s and whose friendship with his grandson's godfather Hewlett Johnson, the notorious 'Red' Dean of Canterbury, had influenced the choice of name for the future bishop. In 1987 Thompson secured a Church Times headline for his advocacy of a lunchtime break for the clergy, and when at home he set them a good example by having a short afternoon nap. As one of the earliest and most enthusiastic advocates of collaborative ministry, he complained whenever he was given a special welcome to a parish on the grounds that he was not a visitor but a partner in a joint spiritual enterprise. He was therefore all the more surprised, and hurt, when in 1991 one of his senior priests, the Vicar of Plymouth, published an open letter accusing him of being 'cocooned and complacent' and of 'lofty disdain' for the needs of the parishes. Other Devon clergy were, however, quick to come to the defence of their bishop and to praise his approachability and pastoral concern. It was suggested that the aggrieved vicar was upset by Thompson's suggestion that the time had come for him to move to another parish. The son of an RAMC Colonel who served in both world wars and won an MC, Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson was born in Hove on August l 1929. He was educated at Aldenham School and after National Service in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he took Seconds in history and theology. He prepared for Holy Orders at Cuddesdon Theological College and was ordained in 1954 to a curacy at St Matthew's Church, Northampton – a church famous for its Henry Moore statue of the Virgin and Child and other artistic enterprises. In 1959 Thompson was appointed Vicar of St Augustine's Church, Wisbech, and after a strong pastoral ministry there moved to St Saviour's Church, Folkestone, a parish of more than 10,000 people. This was a time of reform and renewal in the Church of England, and Thompson had a particular concern for encouraging and equipping the laity for greater responsibility in their parishes and for stronger witness in their workplaces. It was on the strength of his leadership at Folkestone that the Bishop of London invited Thompson to become Suffragan Bishop of Willesden in 1974. He quickly settled into a caring pastoral ministry in an area of north London that had considerable social problems, and he identified the improvement of race relations as a priority. In 1976 he became vice-chairman of the British Council of Churches Community and Race Relations Unit and was chairman from 1980 to 1984. Thompson was also one of the first bishops to initiate a system of clergy appraisal – a voluntary scheme which enabled him to have annual discussions with his parish priests on the essentials of their ministries. This proved to be so successful that it was eventually adopted throughout the London diocese and spread to many other dioceses. After ll years in north London, Thompson was beginning to wonder where his future work might be, when he was given the opportunity to become Bishop of Exeter. This appointment owed something to the fact that Graham Leonard had succeeded Gerald Ellison as Bishop of London and wished to surround himself with suffragans who shared his own distinctive views, not least outright opposition to the ordination of women to the priesthood. But Exeter was looking for a pastoral bishop and this is what they got, and in 1992 their bishop was among those who voted for women priests. From 1991 to 1997 he was chairman of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council where, once again, his pastoral skill and experience, as well as his ecumenical commitment, proved invaluable. On retiring from Exeter he moved to Westmorland, helping out there by officiating at St Theobald's at Great Musgrave in the Vale of Eden, where his wife's family's came from, as well as at other local churches. He set up a trust to buy the field next to St Theobald's to ensure that it was preserved, and in 2013 the tithe barn was restored for use as a community amenity. Among his interests outside the Church Thompson enjoyed fell walking, and latterly he made a written study of his colourful family history, which included suffragette aunts. He read Gladstone's Diaries and Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga in cycles. Hewlett Thompson married, in 1954, (Elisabeth) Joy Fausitt, who survives him with their two sons and two daughters. The Rt Rev Hewlett Thompson, born August 14 1929, died May 13 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Maj Gen James Crook, RAMC scientist who studied the biological impact of nuclear tests
Major General James Crook, who has died aged 101, took part in a major British nuclear test programme in the course of a distinguished career in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). In 1956, Crook went to South Australia as one of a group of scientists working on the biological problems of atomic explosions. Maralinga – the name means 'Place of Thunder' – is on the edge of the Great Victoria Desert about 700 miles north-west of Adelaide. It was covered with grass, flowering shrubs and trees, and there was plenty of animal life, including lizards and snakes, rabbits, kangaroos, emus and parrots. Scientific and recreational facilities had been established, a large runway and aerodrome built and a 100 ft tower constructed at the end of a long road leading from Maralinga village. In this series of weapons tests, four rounds were planned – two from the tower, one from the ground and an air-drop from a Valiant bomber. Crook's task was to put out items of medical equipment at varying distances from the tower. Some were placed on the surface, while others, including foodstuffs, were buried to assess the effect of ionising radiation. A further task was to place articulated dummies in battle-dress to calculate the dynamic effects of the blast wave on human beings. Also exposed to the bomb were trucks, light vehicles, aircraft, tanks, guns, radar and other military equipment. Blast detectors, heat detectors and gamma neutron detectors were among a large assortment of scientific instruments laid out to measure the effects of the bomb. The area was a scene of great activity. Bulldozers, drillers, graders and mobile cranes raised clouds of dust. Several times, Crook found himself looking over his shoulder at the tower and wondering whether atomic bombs ever exploded prematurely. The first round was to be exploded from the tower. The fireball was expected to come into contact with the ground and the radioactive fall-out, affecting the first 100 miles downwind, was expected to be high. Firing, therefore, could only be permitted when the wind was in exactly the right direction and of the right strength. Crook and other service officers watched the explosion on a hill within a few miles of the tower. He wrote afterwards: 'A tremendously bright, white-blueish flash illuminated the area. It was like a magnesium flare and outshone the sun. An orange fireball rose extraordinarily quickly, attached to the ground by the mushroom-stalk cloud. The roar and the intensely hot pressure wave came several seconds later.' James Cooper Crook was born at Prestatyn, north Wales, on March 19 1923. He won an open scholarship to Worksop College before going to Guy's Hospital on a junior science scholarship. His father, Francis, had served in the First World War before going to Guy's, and his grandfather, Sir Edwin Cooper Perry, was Superintendent of Guy's from 1897 to 1920 and vice-chancellor of London University. In 1946 he was commissioned into the RAMC as a National Serviceman and was serving in North Africa during Britain's severe winter of 1947-48. A soldier's life seemed preferable to that sort of experience and he decided to make a career in the regular Army. After three years in Cyrenaica Province, Libya, he returned to England to begin his training in pathology at the Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital at Millbank in London. It was during the period 1954 to 1957, when he was the Army medical liaison officer to the Medical Research Council in the radiobiology unit at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell in Oxfordshire that he attended the nuclear tests at Maralinga. Early in the morning, on the day following the explosion of the first round, he drove to the health control checkpoint, where a complete decontamination centre had been established. He changed into protective clothing, including rubber boots, overalls and a respirator. He was given a personal dose-rate meter and walked to the 'dirty' car park. There he collected a 'dirty' jeep and drove towards the bomb site through a scene of devastation – with blackened earth, charred and flattened trees, and fires burning in vehicles and other target items. As he retrieved the food targets, the needle on his dosimeter was recording several roentgens per hour. He wasted no time in completing the task and returned to the centre to undress and shower. This was followed by rigorous monitoring to confirm that he was completely free of contamination. There followed postings to Cyprus during the EOKA Emergency, and to the David Bruce Military Hospital in Malta. He was the RAMC specialist and pathologist at the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down in Wiltshire from 1960 to 1963. After a posting to Eastern Command Laboratory, he moved to the Ministry of Defence. He hated having to wear a city suit, a bowler hat and carry an umbrella, and he jumped on the hat when he finished the appointment. After five years in command of the British Military Hospital at Munster in West Germany, he returned to the MoD – this time without a bowler hat. It was his final appointment. He was promoted to major general and finished as director of Army Pathology. In 1981 he retired from the Army and worked as a civilian medical practitioner at the Army Blood Supply Depot in Aldershot , where he became known as 'the Bleeding General'. In retirement in Cornwall, he loved travelling and, having loaded his family into their veteran Morris Oxford, he would drive across France to Bavaria for camping holidays. He also enjoyed researching the family history. In 2023 he received the British Nuclear Tests Medal and wore it at the last Remembrance Service he attended. James Crook married, in 1950, Ruth Bellamy, who was serving with Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. She died in 2015 and he is survived by two daughters and a son. Major General James Crook, born March 19 1923, died March 16 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
