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Basil Strickland, FRCP, FRCR
Clinical Radiology (1997) 52, 484-485
Obituaries BASIL STRICKLAND, FRCP, FRCR I first met Basil Strickland in the early 60s when I was a house physician at the Brompton. My chief had sent me to see him to discuss or probably question a report. I do not remember the patient but I do remember the quiet courtesy with which the definitive explanation was given. Nothing had changed at our next encounter in the Final Radiology Examination some years later. Was I given the first film, mitral stenosis, due to Peter Kerley's influence on Basil's career or because he knew I was working at the National Heart Hospital? I am sure that it was Basil the man, not Basil the examiner, who sent me off to a flying start that day. Subsequently, I worked with him at the Brompton for over 15 years. I learnt much from him. His calm integrity in situations often dominated by powerful chest physicians resolved many a difficult problem, both clinical and political. Perhaps it was the position which he occupied 'Physician in charge of the Radiology Department' which said it all. I think that, at heart, he was a physician rather than a radiologist_ His abiding passion was the imaging of chest disease but from a truly clinical perspective and how essential that was; a lesson in priorities which we need to relearn today. He was able to assess problems with great clinical accuracy and so advise on the most sensible investigation which was by no means always radiological. He was able to do this by means of great clinical and radiological experience. He took great pride and joy in passing on these skills by means of teaching. His presentation to Brompton FRCR courses will be remembered by many as superb examples of clarity in demonstrating complex radiological data often enhanced by his own delightful drawings. His knowledge and skill was frequently confirmed in exemplary dissections of impossible quiz films. Clinicians and Radiologist alike will remember him with gratitude for his timely introduction of computerized tomography to the Brompton. We had perhaps been somewhat conservative in the early 80s as to whether computerized tomography had much to offer chest imaging. Perhaps it was Basil's interest in interstitial lung disease which prompted him to explore the possibility of high resolution computerized tomography. He was at the forefront of purchasing a scanner which at the time led the field in high resolution imaging. The position of the Brompton today in the field of interstitial lung disease owes much to the detailed CT studies performed in those early days. In the mid-80s, chest radiology was not renowned for interventional procedures. It is greatly to Basil's credit that he introduced the technique of bronchial artery embolization to the Brompton. The need for this procedure was due to the increasing population of patients with cystic fibrosis who due to improved management regimes were surviving into adult life. Although not a frequent complication, lifethreatening haemoptysis from a bleeding bronchial artery was a frightening event for patient and clinician alike. Under Basil's practical guidance, embolization of these acutely bleeding arteries became a routine procedure gaining the grateful thanks of all concerned. It was at the Westminster Hospital that his managerial skills were at their best. For many years, he successfully directed the Radiology Department there and was largely responsible for designing and equipping a new department © 1997 The Royal College of Radiologists.
in the Page Street wing. Lessons are always learnt from such ventures and some of these have been embodied in the new Chelsea Westminster Imaging Department. His retirement party, held in the Page Street wing, was a very happy occasion. We began with a symposium to which Physicians and Radiologists with whom Basil had worked contributed. The wide diversity of topics paid tribute to his range of interests and expertise and it was a fitting valedictory event. Basil was a superb diagnostician and an excellent teacher but it is as a person that I will long remember him. He cared about people. If it was within his power to do so, he made sure that careers were developed to the benefit of young radiologists, their departments and their clinical colleagues. He also had his priorities clearly defined. If there were family problems, these took precedence and rightly so. In diagnostic imaging, getting it right matters - the report says it for ever. Not only did Basil get it right many many more times than most but he did so, 1 think, because to him people really mattered. That is how I will always remember him; people were his first priority. Michael Pearson Basil Strickland, Consultant Radiologist and former Director of the Diagnostic Radiology Departments of Westminster and The Royal Brompton Hospitals, (b 1922; q St George's Hospital 1945, FRCP, FRCR). Died of septicaemia following severe gastroenteritis on 4 September 1996. His early training in a variety of medical and paediatric posts, and passing the membership examination, accounted for his clinical acumen which so often gave him the edge in his radiological diagnoses throughout his career. He trained in radiology at St Mary's and became a consultant at Westminster Hospital, aged 33 years. His numerous publications and radiological specialist interests were wideranging and included arteriography, and later the imaging of the chest, particularly high resolution thin section CT scanning of interstitial lung disease: a revolutionary technique he pioneered which has very great diagnostic value. He gave the George Simon lecture at the Royal College of Radiologists (1980), was made an honorary Fellow of the American College of Roentgenology, and was a member of the Fleischner Society. He was a gifted lecturer and taught many British and overseas radiology trainees and postgraduates, and examined for the final radiology Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists. He was editor of the British Journal of Radiology and Investigative Radiology and a keep protagonist of academic radiology. Outside medicine, he was a good swimmer, enthusiastic gardener, and a lover of classical music and opera, especially the tenor voice. He leaves two daughters~ Nicola Strickland JOSEPH VINCENT OCCLESHAW, MB, ChB, BSc DMRD, MD, FFR, FRCR Joe Occleshaw was born in Liverpool on 6 December 1927. He went to school in that city and ultimately to its Medical School. He qualified in July 1951 and also achieved a BSc in Physiology. His radiology training began in Oxford, from where he gained the DMRD, and continued in Sheffield,
Obituaries BASIL STRICKLAND, FRCP, FRCR I first met Basil Strickland in the early 60s when I was a house physician at the Brompton. My chief had sent me to see him to discuss or probably question a report. I do not remember the patient but I do remember the quiet courtesy with which the definitive explanation was given. Nothing had changed at our next encounter in the Final Radiology Examination some years later. Was I given the first film, mitral stenosis, due to Peter Kerley's influence on Basil's career or because he knew I was working at the National Heart Hospital? I am sure that it was Basil the man, not Basil the examiner, who sent me off to a flying start that day. Subsequently, I worked with him at the Brompton for over 15 years. I learnt much from him. His calm integrity in situations often dominated by powerful chest physicians resolved many a difficult problem, both clinical and political. Perhaps it was the position which he occupied 'Physician in charge of the Radiology Department' which said it all. I think that, at heart, he was a physician rather than a radiologist_ His abiding passion was the imaging of chest disease but from a truly clinical perspective and how essential that was; a lesson in priorities which we need to relearn today. He was able to assess problems with great clinical accuracy and so advise on the most sensible investigation which was by no means always radiological. He was able to do this by means of great clinical and radiological experience. He took great pride and joy in passing on these skills by means of teaching. His presentation to Brompton FRCR courses will be remembered by many as superb examples of clarity in demonstrating complex radiological data often enhanced by his own delightful drawings. His knowledge and skill was frequently confirmed in exemplary dissections of impossible quiz films. Clinicians and Radiologist alike will remember him with gratitude for his timely introduction of computerized tomography to the Brompton. We had perhaps been somewhat conservative in the early 80s as to whether computerized tomography had much to offer chest imaging. Perhaps it was Basil's interest in interstitial lung disease which prompted him to explore the possibility of high resolution computerized tomography. He was at the forefront of purchasing a scanner which at the time led the field in high resolution imaging. The position of the Brompton today in the field of interstitial lung disease owes much to the detailed CT studies performed in those early days. In the mid-80s, chest radiology was not renowned for interventional procedures. It is greatly to Basil's credit that he introduced the technique of bronchial artery embolization to the Brompton. The need for this procedure was due to the increasing population of patients with cystic fibrosis who due to improved management regimes were surviving into adult life. Although not a frequent complication, lifethreatening haemoptysis from a bleeding bronchial artery was a frightening event for patient and clinician alike. Under Basil's practical guidance, embolization of these acutely bleeding arteries became a routine procedure gaining the grateful thanks of all concerned. It was at the Westminster Hospital that his managerial skills were at their best. For many years, he successfully directed the Radiology Department there and was largely responsible for designing and equipping a new department © 1997 The Royal College of Radiologists.
in the Page Street wing. Lessons are always learnt from such ventures and some of these have been embodied in the new Chelsea Westminster Imaging Department. His retirement party, held in the Page Street wing, was a very happy occasion. We began with a symposium to which Physicians and Radiologists with whom Basil had worked contributed. The wide diversity of topics paid tribute to his range of interests and expertise and it was a fitting valedictory event. Basil was a superb diagnostician and an excellent teacher but it is as a person that I will long remember him. He cared about people. If it was within his power to do so, he made sure that careers were developed to the benefit of young radiologists, their departments and their clinical colleagues. He also had his priorities clearly defined. If there were family problems, these took precedence and rightly so. In diagnostic imaging, getting it right matters - the report says it for ever. Not only did Basil get it right many many more times than most but he did so, 1 think, because to him people really mattered. That is how I will always remember him; people were his first priority. Michael Pearson Basil Strickland, Consultant Radiologist and former Director of the Diagnostic Radiology Departments of Westminster and The Royal Brompton Hospitals, (b 1922; q St George's Hospital 1945, FRCP, FRCR). Died of septicaemia following severe gastroenteritis on 4 September 1996. His early training in a variety of medical and paediatric posts, and passing the membership examination, accounted for his clinical acumen which so often gave him the edge in his radiological diagnoses throughout his career. He trained in radiology at St Mary's and became a consultant at Westminster Hospital, aged 33 years. His numerous publications and radiological specialist interests were wideranging and included arteriography, and later the imaging of the chest, particularly high resolution thin section CT scanning of interstitial lung disease: a revolutionary technique he pioneered which has very great diagnostic value. He gave the George Simon lecture at the Royal College of Radiologists (1980), was made an honorary Fellow of the American College of Roentgenology, and was a member of the Fleischner Society. He was a gifted lecturer and taught many British and overseas radiology trainees and postgraduates, and examined for the final radiology Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists. He was editor of the British Journal of Radiology and Investigative Radiology and a keep protagonist of academic radiology. Outside medicine, he was a good swimmer, enthusiastic gardener, and a lover of classical music and opera, especially the tenor voice. He leaves two daughters~ Nicola Strickland JOSEPH VINCENT OCCLESHAW, MB, ChB, BSc DMRD, MD, FFR, FRCR Joe Occleshaw was born in Liverpool on 6 December 1927. He went to school in that city and ultimately to its Medical School. He qualified in July 1951 and also achieved a BSc in Physiology. His radiology training began in Oxford, from where he gained the DMRD, and continued in Sheffield,