Michael Thomas Ward

Michael Thomas Ward (“Mike”) was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, to Peter and Winifred on Burns’ night 1935.

A spirited education at St Mary’s propelled Mike, in 1958, into the dragon’s lair under the auspices of Felix Eastcott, who had recently been credited with the first carotid endarterctomy, and the brilliant but irascible cardiologist Jack Litchfield.

This was the era of Richard Gordon’s inspiration, however, and long periods of dedicated continuous duty were peppered with Dunkirk fuelled pockets of hilarity and high …