Shipwrecked and sporting ‘Dr Fred’ was one of many notable doctors in Morecambe

The lamp carries the name of Dr FW Hogarth, marking the surgery of one of three medical brothers.

Dr Fred, as he was generally known, lived to become one of the oldest practising GPs in the country, working until just a few years before his death at the age of 98 in 1976.

He was born on Queen Street, educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School and trained at Guy’s Hospital in London. He worked as a medical officer for the Blue Star Line in 1910 but was shipwrecked on a pilgrim ship on its way to Mecca. He returned to Morecambe in 1913 joining the practice of his brother Bertram and Dr John Watterson.

Dr Fred was involved in many sporting organisations, including as a director of Morecambe Football Club for over 20 years, president of Heysham Golf Club, president of the Cross-Bay Swimming Association and first president of the Yacht Club. Dr Fred was also a knowledgeable local historian of whom it was said ‘what he did not know about Morecambe and Heysham past and present was not worth knowing.’ Dr Fred Hogarth was just one of Morecambe’s notable medical doctors.

Dr John Clegg practised from West View Terrace for over 50 years. On his rounds he cut a dash in his top hat and frock coat, driving a brougham (a one-horse enclosed carriage). He was a stickler for tradition and was said to have no time for ‘some of the modern stuff’.

Dr Herbert Abenethy moved to Morecambe in 1929, practising from Kensington Road and then Heysham Road. He was a Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), serving in Mesopotamia during the Great War.

Dr James Hodge was a Lieutenant Colonel in the RAMC during World War II.

He practised on Marine Road, moving to Morecambe in 1937. Dr John Fielder practised locally for over 30 years, serving in the Royal Navy during World War II.

He was secretary of the Lancaster Branch of the British Medical Association and a founder member of the Royal College of General.

By Peter Wade