John Pogmore, who passed away on the 10th March 2020, attended Barts Medical School qualifying in 1966, and commenced his medical work as a cadet in the RAF. He was a junior medical doctor on the evacuation of RAF Tobruk, when Libya was annexed by Colonel Gadaffi.
He specialised in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and on returning to the UK, was appointed a Lecturer in Nottingham. There he co-authored with Filshie the long term outcomes of 540 women who were sterilised with the Titanium/Silver rubber clip for sterilisation, published in BJOG in 1981. Only about 5000 women had used this new form of sterilisation throughout the world at that time. John was then appointed a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Selly Oak and Sorrento Hospitals in Birmingham and with the transfer of services, moved to the Birmingham Womens Hospital in 1995 where he remained until his retirement.
John was a well-organised person – I suspect reflecting his times in the RAF – but also very approachable, a keen teacher and excellent Consultant. He was dedicated to his profession and patients, and always interested in any ongoing research.
His organisational skills were noted within the hospitals he worked , and also in his role at BMOGS (the Birmingham and Midland Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society), which is one of the oldest and largest such Societies in the UK. With John as Secretary, everything ran very smoothly. Indeed, when John was the organiser of a BMOGS Trip to France, we lost nobody, as John counted and rechecked that everyone was on the bus after each sojourn.
John was also active within the College, serving on Council from 1989–1992, on the Hospitals Committee, and continued to maintain his association – more recently as a member of the Retired Fellows and Members Society. He also supported charities, particularly via Trina his wife, who was on the Board of Wellbeing for Women for some years.
John was very much a family man and also enjoyed his golf. Indeed in retirement he worked on improving his handicap, seeing his sons (one of whom moved to Australia) and his friends, and continuing to attend College events.
On a personal note, in the early 1990s when I was undertaking my MD, which required patients to enrol, John ensured that any ovarian cancer patients under his care became involved and contacted me when surgery was planned on his list so I could obtain some tumour specimens. I will always be grateful for the support John gave to me and indeed the entertaining times spent with him and his family at their home in Edgbaston.
Our condolences to Trina, his sons and all family members. May he rest in peace,
Prof Sean Kehoe
West Midlands Fellows Representative
10th July 2020