Francis Anthony Almond

Francis Anthony Almond (“Frank”) was a Lancashire man and proud of it. He was born in Lower Darwen near Blackburn, and grew up in Blackpool, but he chose London to pursue his ambition to study medicine. His first three years at Barts were spent at Queens’ College in Cambridge, where the preclinical school had remained evacuated since the war. Frank’s years as a clinical student and on the house were spent at Hill End and Barts. While administering an anaesthetic he was told off by the nurse in charge for resting his feet on her clean trolley. Romance blossomed, and Diana soon became the love of his life. They married in 1954.

After training at Netley Hospital, Southampton, and within weeks of marrying Diana, Frank was …