Bill Hanwell

In typical pose

I did my pre-registration jobs at Southend, along with JOHN BARKER, CHRIS BIRD, MALCOLM BLACKLEIGH and WALLY LANDERS.
Next I married Guy’s nurse Mieke van den Berg.
UK general practise did not appeal and I looked into GP in Australia. I was advised to become proficient at Obstetrics, Paediatrics and Anaesthetics. I did all these jobs, obtaining the Diploma in each. We were about to depart for Australia when I saw a job advertised for the Oil Company Hospital in Bahrain which looked as if it had been written for me, so I applied and was offered it.
Bahrain was where the first oil was discovered in the Gulf. As it was a small field, this produced relatively little wealth but over a long period. The result was an enlightened country with free medical care and education for all. There was religious tolerance, alcohol was legal and women were allowed to drive. English was widely spoken and even as I arrived, the Company was employing Bahraini girls (with faces uncovered) as secretaries. It was a pleasant place in which to work and to bring up our five children. It bore no resemblance to the place I see written about in the papers these days.
CHRIS BIRD worked with me briefly in the late 60s, before joining Stoke Mandeville Hospital as Consultant Anaesthetist and was pivotal in founding and running the Intensive Care Unit there. He kindly gave me Anaesthetic refresher courses on my leaves.
It was interesting work and one dealt with the highest and the lowest in the land. I met many world class Specialists (including Prof Butterfield) who had been asked to Bahrain to see VIP patients. I also had some interesting VIP medical escort trips abroad.
On the flip side, Bahrain is a small island and I was always on call, doing so out of hours work virtually every day. Iworked at the Bahrain Hospital for 29 years, being Cheif Medical Officer for the last 9 years.
MIKE SIMPSON joined our staff in the late 80s.
I retired to Lincolnshire in 1991 and have dabbled in Property Development.



With Chris Bird in Bahrain, again in typical pose