(Medicine MBBS, 1965)
Dr Martin Hudson is a retired aviation consultant. Dr Hudson is founder of Holmes Chapel Music Society and in 2021 was honoured with a British Empire Medal for his services to music.
You qualified as a doctor from Barts in 1965 and recently received a BEM for services to music. Can you tell us about your interest in music and how this arose?
I have had a lifelong interest in Classical Music which I probably inherited from my maternal grandfather who was a double bass player and who actually built his own double bass! My mother was also a competent pianist. Sadly, although we had a Bechstein grand piano in our home (which was a vicarage), I never learnt to play the piano which is something I have always regretted.
At preparatory school in Buxton I got to know other boys interested in classical music some who have since become quite well known in that genre. I remember visits to Belle Vue in Manchester to hear the Hallé Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli performing Handel’s Messiah.
After preparatory school I attended Rossall School near Fleetwood, Lancashire (which was also where Sir Thomas Beecham had been a pupil) and became involved in helping to arrange a series of professional music concerts which included many famous musicians of the day such as the Amadeus String Quartet, Gerald Moore, Owen Brannigan and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. I also sang with the school male voice choir and helped the organist in the organ loft during some services in the school chapel by page-turning the music or setting some organ stops on his command!
The school had an extensive record library and I spent many happy times listening to classical music records including ‘entertaining’ my girlfriend at the time who shared my love of classical music. She became my wife in 1964 and we are still happily married and enjoy a life full of music.
What were some of your most memorable moments from your time at Medical School? Would you like to highlight any former members of the Barts and The London community, who you feel is/are particularly inspiring?
Barts was a wonderful teaching hospital for my six years of training, which were at times stressful but nevertheless were most enjoyable. Several fellow students rose to very senior positions in the health service. I particularly remember Leslie Rees (née Davis Dawson) who later became a Professor and the Dean at Barts. Christopher Smart and Gerry Gilmore were also in my year and I remember them well. They went on to become consultants and Gerry had a thriving practice in Harley Street. David Goodall was also in our group and he emigrated to Australia. I also remember the Powell twins who went on to have illustrious careers. Another student in my year was the late Graham Chapman who later became known as a famous comedian as part of the Monty Python group. He was a constant source of entertainment together with John Cleese and Tim Brooke-Taylor (who was at preparatory school with me). They arranged a Show each term in College Hall and then the annual Christmas Ward Shows which were put together after Christmas for a potpourri at the Cripplegate Theatre. These shows were hilarious and I still smile when I recall some of the sketches. I also remember one occasion when a young and brilliant cellist gave us a recital in College Hall. This was none other than the famous Jacqueline du Pré!
What activities were you involved with as a student?
I played rugby for the Barts first team and enjoyed matches against other hospital teams as well as playing against the Metropolitan Police (they were very tough!!). Regular visits to our sports field at Chislehurst were always a great pleasure especially the post match celebrations! Unfortunately we never were good enough to win the Hospitals’ Cup.
There was not much time for many extra-curricular activities as the academic work was demanding, but I still found time to enjoy singing in choirs and attending operas in the ‘Gods’ at Covent Garden and concerts at the Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall sitting in the cheapest seats behind the orchestra but being able to see the faces of the world famous conductors like the late Otto Klemperer, (1885-1973).
After qualifying I was appointed the House Physician to the late Professor Scowen on Garrod and Stanmore wards. This appointment lasted for a year and was an inspiring learning experience though with punishing long hours on duty.
Following my house jobs I joined the medical branch of the Royal Air Force and found a local choir whilst at the RAF Hospital at Cosford. I was posted for a year to Bahrain where I joined another choir. I also made a weekly broadcast on the local forces radio which I called ‘Midweek Concert Hall’ playing classical music records. This was most enjoyable but quite challenging.
Tell us about your medical career. What influenced you to choose your specialism? Also, thinking back to when you were a student, what sparked your interest in medicine?
I knew I wanted to be a doctor from a very early age but do not know what led me to this choice of career but I never deviated from that ambition; there were no doctors in our family. Perhaps having my tonsils and adenoids removed in hospital at a very early age, (probably unnecessarily) had a lasting effect. I can still remember the scary and risky procedure of the Ether drip onto my nose as the general anaesthetic. I also had some orthopedic issues with my knees as a toddler which required me to wear a cumbersome plaster cast.
I always felt that my vocation was to be a physician rather than in any other specialty. Living as a boy in Lincolnshire in a small village called Scampton where there was a very active RAF Station (where the famous Dam Busters Squadron was based during the war) and seeing the Vulcan bombers take off and land each day must have sown the seeds of an interest in aviation as well as medicine. This interest in Aviation Medicine developed during my Rossall days and I recall setting up an experiment for one annual Prize Day demonstrating the effect of changing altitude on the air in the middle ear and Eustachian Tube. I won a prize and received a book of my choice entitled “Aviation Medicine in its preventive aspects” which I still have. During my Rossall days I had some opportunities to go flying as a student pilot from RAF Woodvale and on other occasions during summer camps in Germany. On one occasion we flew in a fast jet from Germany to Rossall to take aerial views of the school which were later enlarged and displayed in the school library. I also won an RAF Flying Scholarship on leaving Rossall which enabled me to obtain a Private Pilot’s Licence.
Have you had any stand out moments in your career as a medic where you realised that you were doing a job that you really loved?
While in the Royal Air Force in 1968 I was posted to Bahrain for one year as the Physician helping to man the sixty bedded RAF Hospital. The other doctors were a surgeon, an anaesthetist and an obstetrician/gynaecologist. We looked after the RAF personnel and their families, the Cheshire Regiment and the USA Navy personnel who were stationed there. The hospital also served most of the expatriates living on the island. Those were the days when one learnt ‘on the job’ and I soon found out that my duties involved being the radiologist including learning how to perform contrast radiography such as Barium Meals, IVPs and Cholecystograms. Fortunately I had the benefit of expert tuition from the Consultant Radiologist at the Bahrain Government Hospital in Manama and an experienced RAF Radiographer. Acting as the Pathologist meant I had to read the cross matching for blood transfusions and in this I was expertly guided by a Senior Warrant Officer who had many years of experience.
I learnt so much so quickly which developed my knowledge and skills in these disciplines and made me feel immensely satisfied that I was fulfilling my dream of being a doctor. On returning to the UK after a year I was seconded to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to study for the Membership of the Royal College of Physician of Edinburgh which I successfully achieved.
On leaving the RAF I decided to enter General Practice and joined a practice in Holmes Chapel where I worked for nearly 30 years becoming the Senior Partner in the last 10 years. Those were the days of comprehensive patient care where we dealt with almost everything including home visits, night and weekend duty, minor casualty and terminal care. It was exhausting but very rewarding. Fortunately there was still some time for music, starting Holmes Chapel Music Society and enjoying walking holidays squash and golf with the family...
Whilst in General Practice I became involved in the field of Hypertension and did much teaching and writing on this subject. I was also appointed to be the GP representative on the MRC Mild Hypertension Treatment trial. As a result of this work I was honoured to be made a Fellow of the Edinburgh Royal College of Physicians which is a rare accolade for a GP. I also had the opportunity to give many lectures and to write articles about the management of hypertension.
Another highlight in my medical career was to work for six months as a GP in New Zealand. A fellow GP from Christchurch and I swapped jobs and houses and this experience of working in another country was not only a rewarding experience but was also immensely enjoyable.
With my interest in aviation medicine still very much in my thoughts I had the opportunity to be trained and appointed as an Aviation Medical Examiner for the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
I decided to leave General Practice in 2000 as I was finding the work increasingly stressful and demanding. My wife and I then set our own private business from home seeing both commercial and private pilots for their routine medical examinations not only for the UK Civil Aviation Authority but also for the USA, Canadian and Australian Aviation Authorities.
What did your work as an Aviation Medicine Consultant involve?
In 2000 I was appointed as the Medical Adviser to Thomas Cook Airlines, a post I held for 17 years until I finally retired at the age of 76! This job was challenging but extremely interesting and I had the opportunity to travel abroad to several locations.
In 2000 I was appointed as the Medical Adviser to Thomas Cook Airlines, a post I held for 17 years until I finally retired at the age of 76! This job was challenging but extremely interesting and I had the opportunity to travel abroad to several locations. The work involved not only caring for pilots but also dealing with passenger medical clearances, providing up-to-date medical kits on all the aircraft and helping to prevent ill health among our crews while they were overseas. For example I drafted a policy for Malaria prevention which highlighted the important prevention measures to be taken in at risk destinations... I also compiled an A – Z of common medical conditions and their effect on ‘fitness to fly’ which assisted the Thomas Cook passenger clearance staff to deal with the more straightforward cases when passengers had declared a health problem prior to travel. I also helped to set up a ground to air medical advice service using excellent facilities from a specialist company based in the USA. This enabled many potential expensive diversions to be avoided.
I also had the opportunity to go on a 23 days ‘Round the World’ excursion with 200 passengers, pilots and cabin crew as the travelling doctor. Again this was very challenging and tiring but nevertheless was most enjoyable. I have recalled this adventure many times when asked to talk at aviation medicine conferences.
Another interesting but challenging task was to visit several overseas destinations such as Indonesia, India and Djibouti to select suitable hospitals for our crews and passengers should they need medical assistance whilst overseas.
During my time at Thomas Cook I became closely involved with several international aviation medicine organizations and chaired the Aerospace Medicine Association Air Transport Medicine Committee for several years. In 2013 I was made a Fellow of the Association. Following the tragic suicide crash of a passenger aircraft in Europe I became very involved in the Mental Health aspects of our pilots and cabin crew and was given the Boothby-Edwards award in 2018 for my work in this field. I also helped to set up Peer Support groups for pilots and cabin crew to encourage those with stress or mental health issues to seek confidential help at an early stage but at the same time secure their employment positions while treatment and follow-up was arranged.
Since retiring as an authorized aviation medical examiner I have continued to serve on various International Aviation Medicine organizations on a voluntary basis. I still enjoy this work which is not too demanding but keeps me in touch with Aviation Medicine and many of my colleagues. I have been most fortunate in my career in medicine and have been lucky to keep fit and healthy apart from a few relatively minor problems.
What was it like to study during the 60s and how might your experience differ from the experience of current medical students?
It is difficult to compare studying for a medical degree in the 1960 decade with the way the curriculum is today. Most of the time we studied assiduously but still had time for recreation. It was less complicated in those days and there was much less bureaucracy and less fear of litigation. Living together in a house off Regents Park with four other medical students was, as you can imagine, full of fun and much laughter but I expect this is still the same with today’s medical students!
One learnt much in my day by hands-on experience and being guided by more senior colleagues.
The Holmes Chapel Music Society is recognized as the leading classical music society in Cheshire and one of the most successful in the UK. How have you built and maintained this success? Has the pandemic had an impact on your programming and how have you mitigated this?
After I left the RAF in 1972 I moved to Holmes Chapel in Cheshire to join a general practice and soon after arriving and prompted by a neighbour, who knew of my love of classical music, we decided to form a music society. We started to promote professional classical music concerts in the village and within a few years they became well established with a flourishing membership. Initially artistes were local but gradually they came from far and wide, some were of international renown. In the period between1980 and 1990 we benefitted from generous industrial sponsorship thanks to one committee member who had good contacts so we became reasonably secure financially and were able to afford the artistes’ fees. In recent years industrial sponsorship has declined but thanks to generous contributions from some members we have remained financially secure.
One of our major costs apart from the artistes’ fees is the hire and transport of a Steinway Grand Piano which we need for many of our concerts. We have access to a very good Steinway Grand piano which was housed in a nearby town about 13 miles away. In order to drastically reduce our costs we trained our own piano moving team who were examined and approved by Steinways who awarded us a certificate of competence. This team operated for over 10 years and saved the Society a great deal of money. Unfortunately it was not possible to keep this team together and it was eventually disbanded.
From the very beginning we were able to appoint as our President, the late Sir Bernard Lovell, the famous astronomer who built the giant Jodrell Bank radio Telescope (which is still functioning and is only a few miles away from Holmes Chapel). He was a patient of mine and we got to know him well. He shared our passion for classical music. Following his death we were very fortunate to be able to appoint Sir Mark Elder the Musical Director of the Hallé Orchestra to be our President.
Sadly we had to cancel our 49th season due to the Pandemic but we approach our 50th celebratory season with a planned series of nine concerts and hope that our members and others will feel confident to attend concerts.
So as we approach our 50th anniversary season we can reflect on an amazing achievement of bringing to the heart of Cheshire, classical music performed by some of the most famous international musicians as well as new young musicians at the start of their professional careers.
Indeed we can proudly say that every day there is a musician who is broadcast on Radio 3 or Classic FM who has been to Holmes Chapel Music Society.
I was greatly honoured to be awarded the British Empire Medal by Her Majesty the Queen in the June 2021 Birthday Honours list. The citation was as ‘Founder of the Holmes Chapel Music Society and for services to music.’ My medal will be presented to me by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire at our 50th special celebratory concert when Sir Mark Elder is bringing eleven of his principal Hallé musicians to perform for us.
I regard this honour as being bestowed on the Society as a whole and in particular to my wife Sue, who has also been a member of the Committee since the society was founded 50 years ago. It has been her responsibility to select and book the artistes for each season. With the help of another committee member she has written and edited a comprehensive brochure describing our 50 years which includes detailed listing of all the musicians who have performed for us as well as the repertoire they performed. It reads like an encyclopedia of classical music!! The award is also a reflection of our hard working and dedicated committee members without whom we could not have achieved our success.
Do you have any advice for students or alumni who are considering running their own charity?
You asked me to give any advice to a student or alumni who may be considering setting up their own charity. This requires a passion for whatever subject is chosen and creating a team of others who share your beliefs and passions. As the leader you need to be the driving and motivating force but not be too demanding or dominating and to respect and encourage other’s point of view.
This motto which was passed on to me by my Grandfather when I was a very young boy has been my guiding principle though out my life:
“If a task is once begun, never leave it ‘til it’s doneBe the labour great or small,Do it well or not at all”
If you would like to get in touch with Doctor Hudson or engage them in your work, please contact the Alumni Engagement team at alumni@qmul.ac.uk.