Timothy Gordon Cooke

Tim Cooke was St Mungo professor of surgery in the university of Glasgow and clinical director of surgery. He was a breast and gastrointestinal specialist, laboratory and clinical researcher, and a major contributor to medical education and led the provision of breast services and surgical oncology in the Glasgow region. He spearheaded an interdisciplinary approach to cancer care and did a great deal to tailor treatment to individual patients. Regarded as a true visionary, he was heavily involved with NHS reorganisation in greater Glasgow, a task which required vision, tact, and tenacity, qualities which his colleagues unanimously agreed he had in abundance.

Tim was born in Birkenhead, Liverpool; his father was a sales consultant and his mother a ward clerk. He originally planned to study zoology but decided instead on medicine when he saw the care that his ailing grandmother received. He received his secondary schooling at the Birkenhead Institute, where …