John Norton Obituary

Those who knew John will know what a significant contribution he made to the anatomy education of many thousands of medical students over his 38-year career, both at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (RFHSM) and then at UCL.

John joined the RFHSM in 1970 as a junior technician in the Anatomy Department and worked in the dissecting room under the mentorship of the late Professor Ruth Bowden OBE, one of the pioneers of the women’s rights movement in medicine and a graduate of the London School of Medicine for Women. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, John introduced numerous surgical approaches courses in collaboration with fellow Royal Free Consultant Surgeons from the Departments of Surgery, Orthopaedics, Plastic Surgery, Renal Medicine, and Gastroenterology. John’s extensive network of contacts at the Royal College of Surgeons resulted in him running surgical revision courses for Primary FRCS candidates. John was also instrumental in formation of the first Clinical Approaches courses, and anatomy practical classes for physiotherapists and osteopathy practitioners. John’s anatomical dissection skills were recognised by his peers as some of finest examples of the craft, especially those of the head and neck and of the hand. He worked with many famous surgeons, anatomists and GP’s during his career and artists such as Damion Hurst and Ralph T Hutchings.

John was a founding member of the Institute of Anatomical Sciences, which later went on to be the only recognised professional body for Anatomy Technicians.

John will be greatly missed and leaves behind his wife Gillian, two sons, Daniel and Nicholas, two grandchildren and a brother.

Dr Chris Thrasivoulou