John David Thornhill

John David Thornhill, known to all as “David,” was born in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, and his early education, after prep school in Sheffield, entailed boarding at the Shrewsbury School. From 1970 to 1973 he was at Manchester University, where he gained a 2.1 degree in social science. Early on in his studies for this first degree he realised that he really wanted to study medicine. He was encouraged in this goal by an early mentor, Professor E Wilkes of the department of community medicine at Sheffield, who recognised David’s undoubted early potential. In 1974 David began his medical studies for 1st MB at Sheffield Medical School.

Even at this early stage of his career David had decided to be a GP. He was a “people person,” and general practice was to be his natural milieu. One of his fellow students at this time describes him …