John Fry (1922-1994)

John Fry was born 16 June 1922, the son of a general practitioner. He was educated at Whitgift Middle School, Croydon, and graduated MB, BS in 1944 from Guy's Hospital. In 1955 he proceeded to MD. His first interest was in surgery and he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons at the early age of 24. However he soon turned to general practice, and just before the National Health Service was introduced, in the late 1940s, he became practitioner in Beckenham, Kent. Fry worked as a general practitioner until his retirement in 1991, never leaving to take up an academic post as some might have expected.

Fry built up a reputation for research and writing that influenced governments at home and abroad, and was arguably the leading research worker in the 1960s, writing and editing more books than any other general practitioner. His early books such as 'The Catarrhal Child' (1961) challenged the then routine procedure of tonsillectomy, whilst 'Profiles of Disease in Childhood' (1966) shed new light on the prognosis of many common chronic diseases. He was fundamental in introducing a new medical magazine, Update, and continued to write for this popular educational journal until his death. As the British Medical Journal explained in his obituary;

'his writings were widely distributed and discussed, and he became a key member of a small group who made general practice a medical discipline. His work was descriptive and analytical rather than experimental... his writing has been described as "user friendly" because it was usually straightforward, logical, and practical' (BMJ, 21 May 1994, Vol. 308, p.1367)
Within his practice he meticulously recorded, for forty years, every consultation that took place. Through this work

'he helped to reveal the goldmine of information which lay in the records of ordinary NHS family doctors... [and]... set an example of blending service work in general practice with academic research and writing which has inspired succeeding generations' (The Times, 6 May 1994)

Fry was a founder member of the College of General Practitioners (later the Royal College of General Practitioners) in 1953. He made a major contribution to the College's development, serving for 34 years on the College Council, and as a member of numerous College committees and working parties. He wrote several of the Present State and Future Needs reports.

The College honoured him with several of their highest awards over the years, including the James Mackenzie prize for research in 1964, the George Abercrombie Award, for his contribution to the literature of general practice, in 1977, the Sir Harry Jephcott Visiting Professorship, 1981/82, the Baron Dr ver Heyden de Lancey Memorial Award in 1984, and the highest of all, the Foundation Council Award in 1993, however he never became President.

In addition to his commitment to his practice and the College, Fry was a consultant to the World Health Organisation, 1965-83, and consultant in general practice to the Army, 1968-87. He was elected every year, between 1970-92, by the whole medical profession to the General Medical Council, where he became Senior Treasurer. The Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust established the John Fry Lecture after he became their longest serving trustee. He was appointed CBE in 1988. Throughout his career he was honoured with several notable awards, including the Sir Charles Hastings Prize of the British Medical Association, which he won twice, in 1960 and 1964, the Hunterian Society Gold Medal, which he also won twice, in 1956 and 1966. In 1968 he was awarded the James Mackenzie Medal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Fry married twice, first to Joan Sabel in 1944, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Joan died in 1989. He was married a second time in 1989 to Trudy Amiel (nee Scher). Fry retired just three years before his death, on 28 April 1994, at the age of 71. In his remaining years he was debilitated by a chronic lung disease, although his mind remained alert to the end.