Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

Colin Royden Cockcroft ,

MBChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(4 October 19175 December 1987)In Memoriam C.R. Cockroft
/ref> was a South African military commander. A medical doctor, he served as Surgeon General of the

South African Medical Service The South African Medical Service (SAMS) was a branch of the South African Defence Force (SADF). In 1994 when the SADF was merged with various other military and armed resistance forces as part of the post-apartheid reforms the SAMS became the Sou ...

from 1969 to 1977.

Early career

He obtained a

degree from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

in 1946 and later obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in pediatrics from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

Military career

He joined the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

's medical corps in 1947 but later resigned in 1948. He served in 5 & 7 Field Ambulance in the Citizen Force until he joined the

Permanent Force The Permanent Force was an integral part of both the South African Defence Force and the South West Africa Territorial Force which consisted of all the full-time volunteers, volunteers of Auxiliaries and national servicemen. South Africa The Defe ...

in 1960. He commanded

1 Military Hospital 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

(Pretoria), served as Deputy Surgeon General and later commanded the centralised

, as Surgeon-General, from 1969 to 1977, before he retired

Awards and decorations

* * * * * He also served on the

South African Medical and Dental Council The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is a statutory regulator of healthcare professions in South Africa. The council promotes healthcare, determines standards of education and training, and sets and maintains standards of ethic ...

and was a member of the South African Academy of Art and Science. on 1 December 1973 he was appointed the first Honorary Professor of Medicine at the

Passing events
/ref>

References

1917 births 1987 deaths 20th-century South African physicians South African military personnel of the Border War South African people of British descent University of the Witwatersrand alumni University of Pretoria alumni {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub