#15061, John Ernest LOVEGROVE

At Ampleforth John (J64) played hooker for the First XV and was  a keen member of the Rovers, visiting the Cheshire Home at Alne.  He was by nature unassertive, quietly thoughtful, kind, caring and conscientious and from an early age wanted to be a doctor so went on to study medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London.  He was very artistic and as a junior doctor made a life size plywood 'cut out' of an intimidating hospital matron with a cat o' nine tails in one hand and a poor fearful junior doctor peering nervously out of her top pocket.  In those days matron's rule was paramount!  He gained FRCS at the young age of twenty-eight.  To widen his technical expertise John spent ten years serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps, rising to the rank of Colonel.  He was mentioned in dispatches in recognition of his"gallant and distinguished service" during two tours in Northern Ireland and he received a Montefiore Prize for being judged the best army surgeon in that year.

John married Julie, a physiotherapist, with whom he enjoyed an adventurous life in Germany, Cyprus, Nepal and Hong Kong, together with their two sons, David and Nicholas.  He was passionate about raising awareness of, and treating bowel cancer.  He ran 35 marathons in a T-shirt which proclaimed "JUMBO - walking, running, crawling to fight bowel cancer".  His nephew Simon recalls:

"He was an outstanding surgeon whom I was lucky enough to witness in action during my pre-medical school 'work experience' in Nepal.  Methodical, calm and totally committed to doing his level best, he performed many operations in the Gurkha military hospital in Dharan.  Despite having fairly primitive surgical instruments by today's standards, he was flexible and innovative in approach and almost always had really good clinical outcomes.  He was the ultimate general surgeon.  He seemed very comfortable with all manner of operations including obstetrics, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, paediatrics and even complex respiratory procedures.  However, what really struck me was John's ability to listen carefully to patients.  In this respect he was an excellent physician; few surgeons have this natural gift.  A human being doing his best, in difficult circumstances and with limited resources, for a fellow human.  Six years later I headed to Dewsbury District Hospital, with a car full of anxious medical students whose Final Exams were imminent, to seek John's guidance and reassurance.  he putus up in the mess where, having re-joined the NHS, he was living in temporary accommodation at the time.  For two full days he drilled us on all manner of surgical scenarios until the early hours and woke us with a cup of tea to join him on his 7.30 am ward round.  As we drove back down the M1 all five of us medics breathed a sigh of relief knowing we had the surgical long and short cases and viva voce in the bag.  The RAMC and the NHS were lucky to have him, and so were we.  John's increasingly obsessive dedication to his work adversely impacted his ability to live a balanced family life.  He and his family became evermore challenged by a resultant decline in his mental health.  He died with his sons by his side and is greatly missed by his whole family."

John was brother to Edwin (J61), David (J70), Simon (J73) and Richard (E80), uncle to Dr Simon Lovegrove (E85), James Lovegrove (E 93), and great uncle to Charles Brett (O21), Sam Lovegrove (DO 22), Emil Lovegrove (DO), and Louisa and Emily Brett (St. Margaret's).

Obituary Taken, almost word for word, from the 125th volume of the Ampleforth Journal.  Posted August 2023