Ian Charles Woolrych English

Ian Charles Woolrych English was born in Chigwell, Essex, the son of an undertaker. He was educated at Bancroft’s School, where he was miserable, and finally left to finish his school education with a tutor at home. Gifted academically, he easily gained a place at King’s College London, to study medicine and then moved to Westminster Hospital. He joined the Royal Navy during the war and served as a doctor on a tank landing ship during the Normandy landings, where he brought causalities home. Lord Lovatt was one of his patients, leaving his piper marching down the beach. Later, on the hospital ship Amarapoora, he collected prisoners of war from Changi jail, unexpectedly discovering his cousin among the men. On arriving home from his wartime service in 1946, he met his then …