Ann [McPherson] Egelnick

Born on 22nd June 1945, Ann was brought up in north London, the single child of Max and Sadie Egelnick (see separate entry for Max). Although she did well at Copthall county grammar school, Mill Hill, her politics and gender made it difficult for her to win a place to study medicine. Ultimately she was offered one at St George's hospital, then at Hyde Park Corner in central London.

As a medical student, she continued to be involved in a range of activities yet also graduated with distinction in 1968. Then, after training stints in London, Oxford and Harvard, and obtaining her membership of the Royal College of GPs, again with distinction, she was appointed as a principal in a practice in Oxford.

For a period in her younger days, like her parents, Ann was also a member of the Communist Party, but lapsed as internal conflicts grew without retaining bitterness about her parents, unlike some. She remaining strongly committed to socialist ideals but never joined another party.

She worked in Oxford from 1979 as a leading general practitioner and a champion of patients' rights. The writer, co-author, or editor of some 32 original papers and more than 20 books, McPherson died from cancer aged 65 on 28th May 2011.

Source: Guardian 30th May 2011