Dr Keith D. Thomson MBBS DRCOG FRCA, known as Dr Keith, was the eldest son of Derek Ballance Thomson, deputy chairman of DC Thomson & Co Ltd, grandson of W. Harold Thomson, chairman of DC Thomson, and great-grandson of Sir Charles Ballance KCMG CB MVO FRCS, who was a legendary and eminent surgeon specialising in neurology.
He was educated at Glenalmond College between 1961 and 1965 and graduated from Edinburgh University in 1969 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Rather than considering entering the family business, he chose instead to devote his life to the other family interest, medicine.
He trained at the University College Hospital (UCH), Royal Free, and St Bartholomew’s, qualifying in 1975.
In 1980 he married his wife Fiona and had two children. In 1985 he became an anaesthetist, working both in the United Kingdom and undertaking selfless work in Africa.
He contributed to making life-changing differences for many, both at his last posts in hospital work in Basingstoke and Wexham Park in Slough but also his work with the Mercy Ships charity where he went many times on outreach to Africa.
He became in due course a trustee of Mercy Ships UK and a director on the international board and was involved in many activities from fundraising to using his infectious enthusiasm to recruit anaesthesiologists and operating department practitioners from all over the world to work on the ship.
His love of Africa began as a medical student elective in the Transkei in 1975 followed by a year (1983) as a senior registrar in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.
From 1991 until 2011 he worked on board the Mercy Ships on 24 different occasions for two to three weeks at a time and in Hoima hospital in Uganda annually with a medical team from Basingstoke Hospital between 2008 and 2015.
Belief in education
And over a long period until very recently he helped organise more than 60 courses and conferences covering 15 countries in Africa aimed at training medics there in the latest techniques and educating them in best practices. He once said: “Education is key. It is the best way to make a real difference.”
Some of the work involved Liberian doctors going to Nigeria to train and also bringing patients with, for example, jaw tumours from Kinshasa to Kampala for surgery.
He was passionate about encouraging young doctors to go to Africa and see for themselves how medical care is provided for most of the population, creating the next generation of British medics as well, who are interested in the ongoing challenges facing doctors, surgeons, anaesthetists or midwives in Africa.
He was shortlisted in 2020 for the Bond’s International Development Volunteer Award that celebrates exceptional individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the organisation and the sector.
He was involved in many charitable activities relating to medicine, ran the London Marathon three times, including once in his 60s, and, on a number of occasions, organised and took part on the Mercy Ships floats in the Lords Mayor’s Parade in London, raising thousands of pounds in the process.
Dr Keith said of his approach to his life and work: “I’m always on the go and that’s how I like it. Retirement does not mean you have to stop!”
“There are two schools of thought about medicine and Africa. Some people say the problem is just too large, that you are not going to be able to make a real difference. But I know that you can make a difference to many individuals and that difference for them can be the difference between life and death.”
Leisure pursuits
Throughout his life, he was a keen fly fisherman, (a member of the Piscatorial Society), accomplished marksmen (Bisley), and his competitive nature made him difficult to beat at cribbage or backgammon.
As his friends will testify, he had a love of the outdoors and whether he was walking in the Scottish hills, running a marathon or skiing down the slopes of Saas-Fee he will be remembered for the energy, laughter and enthusiasm he passed on to everyone around him.
He leaves his beloved family, his wife Fiona, son, Duncan; daughter-in-law, Victoria; daughter, Rebecca; son-in-law, Iain; and grandchildren, Hamish and Isla. He was also sad not to see his third grandchild, due in August.
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