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Sir George Douglas Pinker, KCVO (6 December 1924 – 29 April 2007) was an internationally respected obstetrician and gynecologist, best known for modernizing the delivery of royal babies.


Early life

George Douglas Pinker was born on 6 December 1924 in Calcutta, India, the second son of Queenie Elizabeth née Dix and Ronald Douglas Pinker, a horticulturist who worked for
Suttons Seeds Suttons Seeds is a long established supplier of seeds, bulbs, and other horticultural products. Today based in the English town of Paignton, the company supplies its products worldwide, and until 2014 was part of the Vilmorin Clause & Compagn ...
for 40 years, and headed the bulb and flower department for 25 years. At the time of George's birth he ran Sutton Seeds Indian Branch in Calcutta. His older brother Kenneth Hubert was born in Reading on 15 September 1919.


Education

From 1928 aged four, Pinker was educated at Reading School. In 1942, he began medical training at
St Mary's Hospital Medical School St Mary's is the youngest of the constituent schools of Imperial College London, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, wit ...
, Paddington, London, qualifying as a doctor in 1947. As a student in 1946, when the Music Society put on its first post-war production '' The Mikado'', he sang one of the leading roles. He turned down a contract with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company to pursue a career in medicine. Queen Elizabeth attended the performance as patron of both the hospital and the medical school, accompanied by the two young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret.


Professional career

Deciding to specialize in obstetrics, he served his National Service as a lieutenant in the
Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
in Singapore, where he did much of his specialist training under Benjamin Henry Sheares at the British Military Hospital, Singapore. Returning to civilian life at the
Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...
in Oxford, in 1958 he was appointed a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology to St. Mary's Hospital and Samaritan Hospital for Women, both of which he served for the next 31 years. While at St Mary's Hospital on May 27th 1971 he assisted in the first ever Caesarian section birth under an Epidural anaesthetic. He later also held the position of Consulting Gynaecological Surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital; Soho Hospital for Women; Bolingbroke Hospital, Battersea; and the Radcliffe Infirmary from 1969 to 1980. Pinker accepted an increasing involvement with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, serving as Honorary Treasurer, 1970–77. He was a past president of the British Fertility Society and supported the research that led to the birth in 1978 of Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby. His work at the Royal College earned him international respect amongst obstetricians and gynaecologists. In 1980 he was elected vice-president and finally President in 1987.


Wellbeing of Women

In 1964 he and several distinguished colleagues founded the Childbirth Research Centre. Changing its name to Birthright in 1972, it is now Wellbeing of Women.
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, whose two sons had been delivered by Pinker, became a patron in 1984. On 12 October 2011, the Right Reverend Vincent Nichols gave the first annual Sir George Pinker Memorial Address.


Surgeon and gynecologist to the Queen

In 1973 he succeeded Sir John Peel as surgeon gynaecologist to
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. The youngest person to be appointed to the post, he delivered nine royal babies: Earl of Ulster; Lady Rose Windsor; Lady Davina Windsor; Lord Frederick Windsor; Lady Gabriella Windsor; Peter Phillips;
Zara Phillips Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall (''née'' Phillips; born 15 May 1981) is a British equestrian, an Olympian, and the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips. She is the niece of King Charles III and is 20th in the line of succe ...
; Prince William; and Prince Harry. All of these births took place at
St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington St Mary's Hospital is an NHS hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, ...
, a significant break with royal tradition as all prior royal births had taken place at a royal residence. In 1990, he was replaced by
Marcus Setchell Sir Marcus Edward Setchell, (born 4 October 1943) is a leading British obstetrician and gynaecologist and the former Surgeon-Gynaecologist to Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Household. Career Marcus Setchell was educated at Felsted School in Essex. ...
CVO.


Honours

Pinker was appointed a CVO in 1983, and a KCVO in 1990. In the same year he authored the book 'Preparing for Pregnancy'. In 1991 he edited 'Clinical Gynecological Oncology'. He also contributed to several books - Diseases of Women by Ten Teachers (1964), Obstetrics by Ten Teachers (1964), A Short Textbook of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1967).


Personal life

Pinker married former nurse Dorothy Emma Russell in London on 31 March 1951. The couple had four children: Catherine & Ian (twins), Robert and William. His wife died in 2003. Pinker enjoyed all music, but particularly opera. He became assistant concert director of Reading Symphony Orchestra, and then in 1988 vice-president of the
London Choral Society The London Chorus is an amateur choir, under the musical direction of Ronald Corp. It was founded in 1903 by Arthur Fagge as the London Choral Society. Its first concert was a performance of Arthur Sullivan, Sullivan's ''The Golden Legend (cantata) ...
. He was a keen skier, sailor, gardener and hill-walker.


Death and memorial service

In his last years he was disabled by Parkinson's disease and partial blindness. Pinker died in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on 29 April 2007. A Memorial Service was held in October 2007
St Marylebone Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Ox ...
, London, attended by the Duchess of Gloucester and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece. In August 2008 it was reported that he left nearly £1.5million in his will to his four children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinker, George Medical doctors from Kolkata 1924 births 2007 deaths British gynaecologists Deaths from Parkinson's disease Neurological disease deaths in England Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Reading School Royal Army Medical Corps officers Alumni of St Mary's Hospital Medical School Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine British people in colonial India 20th-century British Army personnel