Tributes
Aschkenasy In a tribute to the late Basile Hipolyt
Aschkenasy,
MARTIN GUHA (Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London) on
behalf of former colleagues of Mr Aschkenasy, writes:
Basil Aschkenasy,
the former pharmacist of the Maudsley Hospital, died of a heart attack
following kidney failure on 19 December 2005.
Basil was born in Romania. His family fled west in the late 1940s, settling
first in Rome, where Basil studied at the University of Rome for a year.
The rest of
his family then emigrated to South America, while he came to England to study
at the then Chelsea College School of Pharmacy (now incorporated in King’s
College London). After a stint of research work at Beechams he went to Dorking
Hospital as pharmacist and then to the Maudsley where he ran the pharmacy for
quarter of a century, up to his (slightly early) retirement. Basil was not only
a technical expert but was also a very social pharmacist. He initiated the practice
of pharmacists attending ward rounds, and is remembered by all who knew him as
a single-handed source of accurate pharmaceutical information in absolutely any
situation.
Even after his retirement Basil was a fixture in the Maudsley and Institute of
Psychiatry canteens where, it was fondly said, he was trying single-handedly
to recreate the café society of pre-war Bucharest, in the face of an increasingly
stressful "grab a sandwich and run" culture.
Basil married in 1958, and though formally divorced 20 years ago remained close
to his ex-wife, two daughters and two grandchildren, who survive him.
Da Silva In a
tribute to the late Adalberto
Alacoque Gomes Da Silva (PJ, 21 January, p91),
JOHN BARFIELD writes:
Bert Da Silva was born in Macão and was
interned with his mother in a Red Cross home following the Japanese
occupation of Hong Kong in 1941. We met in the second year
of a pharmaceutical chemist (PhC) course at Chester Polytechnic in 1948.
Since I had been in Hong Kong in 1947, while serving in the Royal Army
Medical Corps, our backgrounds had a little in common, which helped us
to form a lasting friendship.
I remember Bert as a hard working student with an impressively neat notebook
and an ability to apply first principles to solving difficult problems.
After registration Bert had a period at the Allen & Hanburys retail pharmacy
at Vere Street, London W1. It was here that he first met his wife-to-be, Betty.
From then on Bert became an industrial pharmacist, first with Savory & Moore
at Tottenham, then with Merck Sharp & Dohme at Hoddesdon and finally with
International at Sunbury. In the meantime I had decided on a career in hospital
pharmacy. From time to time we met and discussed the differences between our
chosen branches of the profession. I learnt a lot from those exchanges and
I hope Bert did too.
Bert might well have been the author of the saying: “If a job is worth
doing at all it is worth doing well”. Bert was proud of his calling and,
although we never worked together, I am sure he did a first class job and that
he was respected by those around him.
I last saw Bert at his home in Woking in December 2005. He was a shadow of
his former self, suffering from multiple sclerosis. As a lapsed Anglican I
always admired his staunch Roman Catholic faith, which stood him in good stead
to the end. He was a devoted family man and said to me: “As you get older
you re-live your life through your family”.
Unfortunately he was bitter about the Pharmaceutical Society. He said that
he had come to the UK with nothing, had devoted his life to the practice of
pharmacy, had brought up a family here, and what did the Society do at the
point of his retirement? “They threw me on to the scrap heap”.
I did not agree with that view, but it is a timely reminder of how many members
felt about the way the revision of regulations was handled.
Our sympathy is extended to Bert’s wife, Betty, their sons Peter, Michael
and Philip and their four granddaughters and two grandsons, as they adjust
to their tragic loss. I am sorry for them and I too have lost a valued friend.
Richards In a
tribute to the late William
Anthony Richards (PJ, 25 February,
p250), WENDY BURGE writes:
I was shocked to hear of the sudden and unexpected
death of Tony Richards at the age of 58. He was a person it was my
privilege to call friend. We met during the early years of my career
while we were
both working for Boots at the Neath branch in South Wales. It was also
there that he met his wife Gillian. He left Boots not long after his
marriage to run his own business in Ammanford, before later hitting
the road as a locum and finally as a permanent relief pharmacist for
a local
pharmacy chain.
He was a memorable character. His lack of dress sense was legendary
and latterly he had added a growth of facial hair of which David Bellamy
could be proud.
But beneath this external persona there lay a genuinely kind and caring soul
and above all a depth and breadth of knowledge that was astounding. You could
rely on Tony to provide a unique insight into any given situation, usually
tempered by his dry sense of humour.
The world is all the poorer for his passing. He will be greatly missed, most
of all by Gill and their young daughter Nia, who were his life. My thoughts
and sympathy are with them at this difficult time.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal