He was then educated at Stourbridge Grammar School until the age of 14 and then Kings School in Macclesfield until the age of 18
Went to St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School
He qualified in 1963
He did a house job at the Acci working on Team 1 for John Hicks and Henry Proctor.
He remembers the thrill of this appointment and the on-site presence of the MRC Unit
He remembers also the early days of the MIU
He did registrar rotation in Wolverhampton
He gained his FRCS(Ed) and FRCS (Eng) both in 1971
He did a middle grade job at the Lambeth Hospital, London
He did a short term locum at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton
Got into plastic surgery and stayed there for 3½ years
He did senior registrar training at St Thomas’s and Great Ormond Street, London
He spent some time working in Leeds as an SpR in A&E
He became a consultant at the Accident Hospital in September 1979
Douglas Jackson had just retired, and Tony Groves worked with Jack Cason, John’s appointment was a third consultant to ease the on-call rota
Whilst over time he worked with Paul Levick, Ruth Lester, and Colin Rayner
Soon after his appointment he visited the USA travelling to 7 burns units and an international meeting in San Francisco
He was impressed by the multidisciplinary team meetings, Bruce McMillan’s unit and Shriner Hospital a concept which he introduced when he returned to the Accident Hospital
John introduced tissue expanders for use in reconstructive surgery at the Acci
He introduced negative pressure therapy for managing burns wounds and pioneered this with Lesley Street
With Lesley Street he set up an outreach service for burns patients in relation to wound dressings at home
He moved with the Accident Hospital staff when it closed in 1993 to the General Hospital and subsequently Selly Oak Hospital from where he retired in March 2000
In 2001 he delivered the AB Wallace Memorial Lecture
He is well respected and has held a number of high positions in the world of beekeeping