Dr John van Bavel has kindly notified us of the sad news of the passing of his fellow OB and friend Des Martin;
Des attended Carlekemp and Fort Augustus leaving in 1960. He was more academic than sporting. He continued a line of school captains who went on to study Medicine at Glasgow University (Des Martin, Ian Mc Laughlin, Paddy Mulligan and John van Bavel – all three related to each other) and garduated in 1966. He had married Lindsay as a student adn went on to join the Royal Navy. He volunteered for submarine service and was the medical officer onboard on HMS Churchill, the first of three Churchill-class nuclear-powered fleet submarines launched launched in 1968. Des joined shortly after it was commissioned in Barrow in Furness, and he also took on the job of editor of the onboard newspaper. On return to civilian life, he became a GP in rural Kent where he subsequently retired.
RIP Des