Peter Blaxter died suddenly on the 3rd May 1997 from a heart attack. He had suffered from circulatory problems for some years and shortly after his retirement developed a homonymous hemianopia as a result of an occipital lobe infarct, a cruel blow which he bore with stoicism.

He was born in 1918 and educated at Tonbridge School. His medical training was at St John’s College, Cambridge and Guy’s Hospital. Following qualification in 1942 he held house …