NIHERST: Caribbean Icons in STI

Sir John Golding built a reputation as an expert in tropical orthopaedic medicine who dedicated his life to assisting disabled persons to lead normal lives. His competence as a skilled surgeon was well known. He was respected and appreciated throughout Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Sir John was born in London on 15th April 1921. He was educated at Marlborough College then at Caius College, Cambridge where he studied for an MA. Not happy with his qualifications he wanted to do more, so he studied medicine at Middlesex Hospital, London where he qualified as a doctor in 1944. His first assignment was at the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in the remote village of Tobruk where he worked for two years from 1946-1948, and where he was the only doctor for hundreds of miles. It was this experience that sparked his lifelong interest in orthopaedic surgery. For the next two years he practised at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital where he worked as the registrar alongside his mentor the late Sir Gordon Taylor, considered the father of modern British Orthopaedic Surgery. For his excellent work as an orthopaedic surgeon he was honoured as a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in England in 1949.

Despite the prospect of a successful career in the United Kingdom, he wanted a change, and in 1953 he went to Jamaica where he spent the rest of his life. He was appointed senior lecturer to the first batch of medical students at the University College of the West Indies as they started their clinical training at the University Hospital. His area of speciality was medical ethics. He also established the School of Physical Therapy. Sir John was lauded as a great teacher and treated his students as he treated his patents, with respect and courtesy.

He made a firm decision to stay in Jamaica six months after he arrived there. A devastating epidemic of poliomyelitis had hit the country and left about 1,500 persons severely paralysed. Sir John could not simply treat the patients’ limbs and return to England. He realised that there would be a host of disabled persons in the society with little hope of becoming “normal” again. With this on his mind, he decided to stay and help rehabilitate persons back into a meaningful role in the society. Soon he began organising a polio rehabilitation centre later named the Mona Rehabilitation Centre. He gained practical training at the Centre taking care of his patients. The centre treated broken limbs but more importantly broken hearts and spirits, and he treated everyone with importance in order to raise their self-esteem to make them as good and productive as their peers.

A workshop was set up to provide employment; its wide ranging activities included the manufacture of craft items; the construction of splints, crutches and wheel chairs; painting cards; livestock rearing, and other simple tasks. Training was offered in sewing, printing, welding, barbering and all persons were guaranteed a job on completion. For handicapped children who were unable to attend school, he opened the Hope Valley Experimental School which was the first and only school in the Caribbean to integrate disabled and normally able children. He also opened the Hospice Home Care and the Hospice Pain Care Centre where he took care of the terminally ill free of charge. Despite his many commitments, Sir John made frequent trips throughout the Caribbean, particularly to Haiti and Belize to offer free medical care.

For his outstanding work in polio rehabilitation and tropical orthopaedics, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1959. He was also awarded the Order of Jamaica in 1974 and the L.L.D. Honoris Causa in 1984 from the University of Toronto. In 1986 he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.

Sir John has written extensively and has had over 70 articles published in international medical journals on bone and joint diseases in the tropics, bones and sickle cell disease, spinal tuberculosis and tibia vara to name a few.

Sir John contributed to the disabled community of Jamaica with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. He started the 1966 Polio Games to provide an avenue for physical exercise as part of his rehabilitation plan. This led to the establishment of the Special Olympics.

He loved to read and usually had a book that he pulled out between surgery, lecturing and patient visits. He was known for his kindness, selflessness, great knowledge, his wit and ability to influence people. He lived his life according to his favourite maxim - “The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because we can do so little” - and so he did everything.

He died on 23rd March 1996. He spent his last day with terminally ill patients, his wife and grandchildren.

This Icon is also featured in the Video Documentary and Kids’ Booklet :

Sources:

Interview with Lady Patricia Golding

Year of Volunteers 2001

The Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre

Sir John Golding Memorial Bursaries

Selected Publications:

Golding, J.S.R. (1954) The natural history of osteoid osteoma with a report of twenty cases. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 36:218–29.

Golding, J.S.R. and McNeil-Smith, J.D.G. (1963) Observations on the aetiology of tibia vara. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 45B, 320-325.

Golding, J.S.R. (1990) A new look at tibia vara. In: The epiphyseal growth plate, eds H. Uthoff & R Whylie, pp. 295-298. New York: Raven Press.

Golding, J.S.R. (1991) Observations on idiopathic scoliosis. Aetiology and natural history in Jamaica. Cajanus 24, 31-38.

Golding, JSR. (1994) Mechanical factors which influence bone growth. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48 (Suppl): S178-S185

John Simon Rawson Golding - Orthopaedic Surgeon

Sources:

John Simon Rawson Golding
- Orthopaedic Surgeon