Henry Thomas Marsh CBE

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

(born 5 March 1950) is an English neurosurgeon, and a pioneer of neurosurgical advances in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. His widely acclaimed memoir ''Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery'' was published in 2014. According to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', this memoir is "so elegantly written it is little wonder some say that in Mr Marsh neurosurgery has found its Boswell." His second memoir ''Admissions: A life in brain surgery'' was published in 2017. ''And Finally'', his most recent book, was published in 2022 to critical acclaim and explores his bewildering transition from doctor to patient.

Early life

Marsh is the youngest of his parents' four children. His parents, the law reformer Norman Stayner Marsh (1913–2008) and bookshop owner Christiane "Christel" Christinnecke, relocated from

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

to England in 1939 after his mother had been denounced to the Gestapo for "making anti-Nazi comments". They married in London in the late summer of 1939. Marsh was born in 1950, in the countryside outside

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His father was teaching at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Marsh attended the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

in Oxford. The family later moved to

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

in London and he was sent to

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, for a while as a boarder. Academically successful, he studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, Oxford University, achieving

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

, before graduating with Honours in Medicine from the Royal Free Medical School. His educational background and its social implications, however, left psychological issues and Marsh, contemplating suicide, was a voluntary patient for a while, taking a year off from studying to work as a porter in a northern hospital.

Career

Marsh was until 2015 the senior consultant neurosurgeon at the Atkinson Morley Wing at

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

, south London, one of the country's largest specialist brain surgery units. He specialises in operating on the brain under

local anaesthetic A local anesthetic (LA) is a medication that causes absence of pain sensation. In the context of surgery, a local anesthetic creates an absence of pain in a specific location of the body without a loss of consciousness, as opposed to a general a ...

and was the subject of a major BBC documentary ''

Your Life in Their Hands ''Your Life in Their Hands'' is a long-running BBC TV documentary series on the subject of surgery, examining surgical practice from the point of view of both surgeons and patients. Its first run was produced by Bill Duncalf and Mary Adams, co ...

'' in 2004, which won the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Gold Medal. He has been working with neurosurgeons in the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

, mainly in

with protégé neurosurgeon Igor Kurilets, since 1992 and his work there was the subject of the BBC Storyville film ''

The English Surgeon ''The English Surgeon'' is a documentary film that premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2007. It focuses on the work of Henry Marsh, a neurosurgeon from the UK, and his efforts to help desperately ill patients in Ukrainian hospitals ...

'' from 2007. He has a particular interest in the influence of hospital buildings and design on patient outcomes and staff morale; he has broadcast and lectured widely on this subject. In 2017 Marsh published ''Admissions: Life as a Brain Surgeon'', a second memoir with

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld a ...

, an imprint of Orion. Marsh was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's long-running ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' in September 2018. His favourite selection was ''Better Not Look Down'' by B.B. King.

Awards and honours

Marsh was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

. Also in 2010 he presented the Leslie Oliver Oration at

Queen's Hospital Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by ...

Personal life

Henry Marsh is married to the social anthropologist Kate Fox and spends his spare time making furniture and keeping bees. He is a younger brother of the architectural historian

Bridget Cherry Bridget Cherry OBE, FSA, Hon. FRIBA (born 17 May 1941) is a British architectural historian who was series editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides from 1971 until 2002, and is the author or co-author of several volumes in the series.

. Marsh is a Patron of

My Death My Decision My Death, My Decision (MDMD) is an organisation that campaigns for the legalisation of assisted dying in England and Wales. The group was founded in 2009, in order to campaign for a change in the law and advocate on behalf of adults of sound ...

, an organisation which seeks a more compassionate approach to dying in the UK, including the legal right to a medically-assisted death, if that is a person's persistent wish. In April 2021 it was announced that Marsh had been diagnosed with advanced

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

, which as of August 2022 is now in remission. Henry Marsh,
How brain surgeon Henry Marsh went from doctor to patient,'

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

13 August 2022 He has, in the meantime, visited Ukraine to teach and advise local doctors.

Publications

* * *

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Henry 1950 births Living people People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of the UCL Medical School Alumni of University College, Oxford Alumni of the University of London English neurosurgeons Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons 21st-century English medical doctors