Walter SommervilleCardiologist Walter Sommerville, who died in London at the age of 91, was one of only a handful who made it to the top echelons of the profession as a consultant in a London teaching hospital.
Born in Clontarf, Dublin, in 1913, the only son of Patrick and Kate Sommerville, he was educated at Belvedere, where he was a formidable member of the debating team. He went to University College Dublin and graduated with honours in medicine.
After two years as a house physician in the Mater hospital, he moved to London at the outbreak of war in 1939. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force but, as a doctor, was refused and firmly redirected to the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served on troop ships before being picked out for training in chemical and biological warfare.
This took him to Canada and he was later seconded to the United States War Department chemical warfare unit. He was part of the classified preparations for the invasion of Japan that, in the event, was rendered unnecessary by the dropping of the atomic bombs. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Legion of Merit.
At the end of the war, in a Boston pub, Walter was accosted by a Metro- Goldwyn-Meyer talent scout who, observing the handsome young doctor with his elegant English accent, believed that he had discovered another Ronald Colman and offered him a screen test for a lucrative Hollywood contract.
Prudently Walter declined the offer in favour of training in cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
In 1947 he returned to London and in the succeeding years did fundamental research on the effects of potassium on the heart. In 1954 he was appointed consultant cardiologist to the Middlesex and Harefield hospitals and practised from rooms in Harley Street.
He was elected president of the British Cardiac society and was editor of the British Heart Journal. In the many talks he gave on his subject, he emphasised not only its technical and scientific aspects but also the importance of compassion for patients and for their dignity.
He was recognised abroad as the face of British cardiology. It was a sign of his professional eminence that in 1982 he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire).
In 1957 he married Jane Platnauer whose career was in paediatric cardiology. They had four children, Lorne, Rowan, Crispin and Katie. He was a genial and generous host with a wry sense of humour whose conversation was sparkling, and a wonderful ambassador for Ireland.
Walter Patrick Sommerville: born
October 2nd, 1913; died July 20th, 2005