John Sarginson

John Sarginson was a community physician who believed in the principles of evidence based medicine, the greatest good for the greatest number, realism, and speaking his mind when he needed to.

John was born in 1930 in Middlesbrough where he grew up in a terraced house, with his father’s barber shop in the front room. In September 1939 he was evacuated for 18 months to Cold Kirby, a hilltop farming village in North Yorkshire. Here he had a happy time learning the ways of farm life and exploring the wildflower strewn valleys. Vivid memories include the night a German bomber jettisoned its load near the village and the day of the pig slaughter.

He attended Middlesbrough Grammar School and was the …