Edward Henry Larkin
BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7371.1040/e (Published 02 November 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:1040Data supplement
Edward Henry Larkin
Former consultant psychiatrist London (born Sydney, Australia, 1908; q Sydney 1930; DPM England 1937; MRCP London 1946; FRCPsych 1971), d 12 May 2002.
Edward Larkin was educated in Sydney, Australia, and while a student and young doctor he was also a music critic on the Sydney Morning Herald.
He was proud of his father, Edward Lennix Larkin, who played rugby union for Australia and then became the first permanent secretary of the New South Wales Rugby League. Under his guidance rugby league became the dominant winter sport in Sydney. He was also a Labour member of the Legislative Assembly and was the first person in public office to enlist in the 1st Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. He was killed in action at Pine Ridge, Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915.
After working at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Edward came to England with the intention of training as a thoracic surgeon. But one of his locum appointments was at Goodmayes Mental Hospital in Essex and this experience, together with his natural perceptive gifts, initiated his interest in mental illness. During the second world war he was a colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps and was appointed reader in psychiatric medicine at the Royal Army Medical College at Millbank. His final posting was to Bedford, where he supervised the rehabilitation of shell shocked soldiers.
After the war he held consultant appointments at the Metropolitan Hospital, the West End Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and the Paddington Clinic and Day Care Hospital. His final NHS post was as the senior consultant at Halliwick Hospital, Southgate, London, the first purpose built psychiatric day hospital in England. He remained there until his retirement.
He enjoyed his new found leisure time and, while always a talented pianist, he now taught himself the organ, violin, and cello. He read Greek and Latin texts everyday before breakfast and became proficient in Arabic.
One of his friends was the music critic Martin Cooper and he contributed to the latter’s book Beethoven: The Last Decade, in which he wrote an extensively researched and much quoted chapter on Beethoven’s medical history. [David Woodrow]
See more
- Introductory AddressProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 1-4; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.1
- Report of the Meeting of the Eastern Branch of the Provincial Association at Bury St. Edmond'sProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 10-13; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.10
- Mr. Warburton's Bill for the Regulation of the Medical ProfessionProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 13-15; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.13
- An Atlas of Plates, illustrative of the Principles and Practice of Obstetric Medicine and Surgery, with descriptive LetterpressProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 4; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.4
- A Practical Treatise on the Diseases peculiar to Women, illustrated by Cases, &cProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 4-5; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.4-a