RCSEd Fellow Major General Tim Hodgetts Visits the College
RCSEd Communications Team
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is honoured to welcome Major General Tim Hodgetts, a distinguished Fellow of the College with a Fellowship in Immediate Medical Care (FIMC).
Major General Hodgetts, the UK's most senior army medic, recently concluded his tenure as Surgeon General in May. He now holds the prestigious positions of Master General of the Army Medical Services, and is on the Board of Trustees of the Poppy Factory.
During his recent visit to Edinburgh, Major General Hodgetts launched his new book of war poetry, Frontlines and Lifelines. On August 27, he was warmly received at the RCSEd, where he laid a wreath at the College's memorial bench in memory of our fallen clinical colleagues and gifted his book to the College. In a gesture of appreciation, he was presented with a copy of the College's own collection of poems.
Professor Robin Paton, RCSEd Honorary Secretary, commented:
It is a great honour to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to welcome Major General Hodgetts to the College for the laying of a wreath at the College’s memorial bench and for the launch of his new book on war poetry. This cements the important, long, distinguished history and current symbiotic relationship between the British Armed Forces Medical Services and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
After laying the wreath on the memorial bench, Major General Tim Hodgetts recited one of his poems, The Black Snake:
Long and black
With high gloss back
Is our most deadly snake
Through glass belly,
The mourners see
Britain on the caskets draped.
The Legion’s flags
With respect sag,
Dipping as the snake glides by.
A Petal shower
Forms a thin cover
As families, in silence, cry.
This wooden meal,
Far from unreal’s
A consequence of modern war;
Where choice, not need,
Impels we feed
The virtuous cycle to endure.
(Tim Hodgetts gifting his book to Robin Paton and Anna Paisley)
We are truly privileged to celebrate his contributions to both medicine and the arts.
