Christopher John (“Jack”) Dewhurst

The 20^th century will be remembered in the history of medicine as having been blessed by some of the most outstanding men of all time. Jack Dewhurst will certainly be remembered as one of the doyens of obstetrics and gynaecology. Great men are a rarity. Many are gifted, many are gentlemen, some are modest. Jack Dewhurst encompassed all of these traits of greatness.

Jack was born in 1920 in Garstang, near Preston in Lancashire. He was the only son of John and Agnes Dewhurst, a market gardener and a district nurse. His father worked away from home during the week and his mother's commitment to nursing meant she was rarely at home. Jack recalled his childhood as being particularly lonely, and he was sent away to school to St Joseph's College in Dumfries.

During his childhood Jack was a very talented sportsman, but his sporting love was always cricket and he spent all of his summers at Fylde Cricket Club. At the age of 16 he scored a century for the senior team and took a hat trick in the same season. Cricket remained his sporting love for the rest of his life, but his academic talents managed to shine through, and in 1938 he gained a place at the University of Manchester to read …