James Donald Bell

Paediatrician Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, 1974–99 (b 1935; q Edinburgh 1955; FRCPE, FRCPCH), died from coronary heart disease on 25 July 2000. Donald's training was interrupted by national service, which he spent in the Royal Army Medical Corps as medical officer to an experimental rocket range in St Kilda. He gained some fame for saving the life of a fisherman by persuading his commanding officer to spend a large part of his budget in evacuating the man. He spent two years researching cardiotocography in Newcastle when the technology was in its infancy. He enjoyed his 25 years as a consultant in one of the most isolated paediatric units in England. Outside medicine playing his Steinway piano and golf took up much of his time. In later years he and his wife became absorbed in their garden in Ulverston. His last project was to create a lily pond and the first lily flowered on the day of his funeral. He leaves …