Sir John Simon Rawson Golding OJ

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRCS (15 April 1921 – 23 March 1996) was a British orthopaedic surgeon known for his work in Jamaica. He moved to the country in 1953 and was a long-serving professor at the University of West Indies in Mona. He specialised in

rehabilitation medicine Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions su ...

and was a pioneer of that field in Jamaica.

Early life

Golding was born in London on 15 April 1921. His parents were Lithuanian Jews who arrived in the United Kingdom in the 1890s. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

before going on to Caius College, Cambridge. He graduated

MBBS 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 ...

in 1944.

Medical career

Golding completed his medical residency at Middlesex Hospital and subsequently undertook his national service in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. In 1946 he was posted to Tobruk under the British Military Administration of Libya. After returning to England he trained in orthopaedics at Middlesex Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

Jamaica

In 1953, Golding accepted the position of senior lecturer in orthopaedic surgery at the University College Hospital of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica. He was promoted to chair of orthopaedic surgery in 1965 and lectured in a number of North American countries, making 16 visits to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. He was regarded as an expert in tropical orthopaedic medicine. Golding was a founding member of World Orthopaedic Concern, an organisation devoted to furthering orthopaedic education in developing countries, and was elected as the organisation's inaugural secretary-general at its first meeting in Nigeria in 1977. In 1994 he was elected chairman of the Commonwealth Caribbean Medical Research Council. Following a

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

epidemic which affected around 1,500 people, Golding established the Mona Rehabilitation Centre as a rehabilitation facility for the English-speaking Caribbean. The organisation was later renamed the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre (SJGRC) in his honour. He also established the Hope Valley Experimental School to provide education and training for disabled individuals and Monex, a disability enterprise employing handicapped people. He helped organise the

1966 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games The second Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica from 14 to 20 August 1966. There were 133 athletes from 10 countries. The Games were opened by Prince Philip. Participating nations The following nations participated at ...

in Jamaica. Golding was also an advocate for road safety in Jamaica, advocating for seatbelt and crash helmet regulations and helping establish the National Road Safety Council of Jamaica.

Personal life

In 1961, Golding married Patricia Levy, the daughter of a Jamaican doctor. The couple had two children, including Mark Golding who entered politics. Elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1949, Golding was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in 1959 and received the

Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...

in 1974. He was knighted in 1986 on the recommendation of the Jamaican government.

References

{{reflist 1921 births 1996 deaths British emigrants to Jamaica Jamaican people of Jewish descent People of Lithuanian-Jewish descent British orthopaedic surgeons Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Rehabilitation physicians Members of the Order of Jamaica 20th-century Jamaican physicians People educated at Marlborough College Jamaican Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Officers of the Order of the British Empire