Michael George Corbett Ashby, MRCP, FRCP (1 November 1914 – 10 December 2004) was a consultant

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

at the

Whittington Hospital Whittington Hospital is a district general hospital, district general and teaching hospital of UCL Medical School and Middlesex University School of Health and Social Sciences. Located in Archway, London, it is managed by Whittington Health NH ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and an

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

for the prosecution in the failed trial of suspected

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

John Bodkin Adams John Bodkin Adams (21 January 18994 July 1983) was a British general practitioner, convicted fraudster, and suspected serial killer. Between 1946 and 1956, 163 of his patients died while in comas, which was deemed to be worthy of investigation ...

.Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006;

Life

Ashby (always known as "Mike") was born in

, the son of Arthur Brian Ashby, a barrister and company chairman, and Dame Margery Corbett-Ashby.Royal College of Physicians
/ref> He was educated at Ashdown House Preparatory School and at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire ...

. He studied medicine at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, and at the

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...

. Whilst at Oxford he rowed in the boat that won the

Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the Uni ...

in 1936 and 1937. At London Hospital he was United Hospitals

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

boxing champion for two successive years.

Career

After qualifying, he was a house physician before joining the

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, where he served from 1943 until 1947, becoming a medical specialist in 1945. On discharge from the Army in 1947 he worked at the National Hospital before returning to London Hospital as senior registrar to Russell Brain and Ronald Henson. In 1949 he was appointed consultant neurologist to the Whittington Hospital in north London, where he remained until his retirement in 1975. He succeeded Macdonald Critchley as consultant neurologist to the Royal Masonic Hospital in 1965, also retiring from there in 1975. He also had a private

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.Guenther Podola Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola (8 February 1929 – 5 November 1959, alias Mike Colato) was a German-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in the UK for killing a police officer. His trial was notable and controversial because of his ...

and

murder trials. His evidence in the latter in 1957 has been criticised for being too indecisive. While fellow witness Dr Arthur Douthwaite was adamant Adams had killed the victim,

Edith Alice Morrell Edith Alice Morrell (20 June 1869 – 13 November 1950) was a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, and patient of Dr John Bodkin Adams. Although Adams was acquitted in 1957 of her murder, the question of Adams' role in Morrell's death ex ...

, Ashby was more hesitant. In summing up, the judge called Ashby "the key witness", one "coming between the extremes", whose "border-line evidence" made it unsafe to convict. Adams was acquitted of the Morrell charge but was due to be tried for the murder of

Gertrude Hullett Gertrude "Bobby" Hullett (1906 – 23 July 1956), a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, was a patient of Dr John Bodkin Adams, who was indicted for her murder but not brought to trial for it. Adams was tried in 1957 for the murder of E ...

straight after. The prosecutor,

Reginald Manningham-Buller Reginald Edward Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne, (1 August 1905 – 7 September 1980), known as Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, Bt, from 1954 to 1962 and as The Lord Dilhorne from 1962 to 1964, was an English lawyer and Conservative po ...

, withdrew the charge however by entering a

nolle prosequi , abbreviated or , is legal Latin meaning "to be unwilling to pursue".Nolle prosequi
. refe ...

– partly because – in his words – the case would again be "based on the evidence of Dr Ashby". Adams was thought by

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

Francis Camps Francis Edward Camps (28 June 1905 – 8 July 1972) was an English pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer John Christie and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. Early life and training Camps was born in Teddingto ...

to have killed 163 patients.

Family

In 1944 Ashby married Pamela Mary Roffey. They had two sons and two daughters. Their elder daughter, Charlotte, died in a car crash in 1966, the day before her 21st birthday. In October 1982 Ashby and his wife were interviewed by the historian, Brian

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

, primarily about his mother, as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled ''Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.''

Personal interests

Ashby was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and director of ceremonies at the London Hospital Lodge.

References

External links

Royal College of Physicians article on Ashby

Report on Ashby's evidence in the Adams trial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, Michael 1914 births 2004 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors British neurologists People educated at Oundle School British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers Military personnel from London