Robert Brockie Hunter, Baron Hunter of Newington LLD MBE DL

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(14 July 1915 – 24 March 1994) was a British

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

administrator. He was the personal physician to Field Marshal Montgomery, during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in North west Europe from 1944 to 1945.

Life

He was born on 14 July 1915 the son of Margaret Thorburn (née Brockie) and Robert Marshall Hunter. He was educated at George Watson's College in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

then studied Medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

graduating MB ChB in 1938. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

and was later appointed as personal physician to Field Marshal Montgomery. He was demobilised with the rank of Major and returned to Edinburgh to work under

Derrick Dunlop Sir Derrick Melville Dunlop (3 April 1902 – 9 June 1980) was a Scottish physician and pharmacologist in British medical administration and policy-making in the late 20th century. He established the Dunlop Committee which investigates the si ...

. From 1947 to 1948, he was lecturer in Therapeutics, at the

, and in 1948 was lecturer in Clinical Medicine at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. In 1948, he was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh. He was appointed Professor of Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics from 1948 to 1967 and was also Dean of the Faculty of Medicine from 1958 to 1962. In 1963, he became a member of the Ministry of Health Committee on Safety of Drugs and served on this committee until 1968. In academia he moved to the University of Dundee in 1967 becoming Professor of Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, from 1967 to 1968. He was then appointed Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1968, a post he held until 1981. From 1973 to 1980, he was a member of the

DHSS The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Social Services. History In 1 ...

Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health. Following the revelations in 1962 of the

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is an oral administered medication used to treat a number of cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and many skin disorders (e.g., complication ...

disaster of the three previous years Hunter was appointed to the Committee on the Safety of Drugs and was Chairman of the Clinical Trials Sub-Committee. In 1964, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Anthony Elliot Ritchie, George Howard Bell, Ernest Geoffrey Cullwick and James Macdonald. Following his peerage in 1978 he was an active participant in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and was a vocal supporter of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

. He died of a heart attack while in his garden in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 24 March 1994, aged 78.

Honours and Arms

*11 October 1945 – appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) *1 November 1977 –

Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

*17 July 1978 – created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Hunter of Newington, ''of Newington in the District of the City of

Family

He was married in 1940 to Kathleen Margaret Douglas with whom he had three sons and one daughter. Obituary Royal Society
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Robert Academics of the University of Dundee 1915 births 1994 deaths Vice-chancellors of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews Crossbench life peers Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the British Empire Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at George Watson's College