Dr Frank Leonard Robertshaw
23/03/1918 to 01/09/1991
Place of birth: London, England
Nationality: British
CRN; 515760
Education and qualifications
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General education |
St Christopher’s, Letchworth St Andrew’s University |
|---|---|
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MB ChB, St Andrew’s, 1944 |
|
Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Election |
|
Year of Fellowship |
1953 |
|
Other qualification(s) |
DA (RCP&S), 1948 DOBSTRCOG, 1948 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
After graduation and house jobs, Robertshaw entered national service in 1945 (after the end of WW2) in the RAF, initially in Oxfordshire. Next Air Commodore (Professor) Robert Macintosh arranged an anaesthetic post for him in Cheshire. After his national service he was appointed Anaesthetic Registrar at Chelsea Hospital for Women and Queen Charlotte’s Maternity Hospital, London, and Royal Hospital, Sheffield. In 1950 he was appointed to a Consultant post covering hospitals in Hartlepool and Sedgefield. Finally in 1954 he moved to be Consultant Anaesthetist in Trafford Health Authority, anaesthetising for cardiothoracic surgery at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, Greater Manchester.
Professional interests and activities
When halothane (Fluothane) was introduced by ICI in 1956, Robertshaw was selected along with Michael Johnstone for its clinical evaluation. However he most distinguished himself by his inventions: the Robertshaw double-lumen tube (left-sided and right-sided versions) and the Robertshaw paediatric laryngoscope blade, both produced in 1962. Groups of anaesthetists frequently visited Park Hospital to see Robertshaw’s techniques. Moreover he was supported by ICI and by Penlon Ltd. (who manufactured his laryngoscope blade) to teach and demonstrate internationally.
Other biographical information
A cheerful, but quiet and unassuming man, he enjoyed fell walking and rock climbing in the Lake District from the age of twenty. Apparently he had two marriages and two sons. Sadly in 1978 he suffered a stroke, which caused him to retire early. He moved to the Lake District, but his enjoyment of life there was diminished by further strokes
Author and sources
Author:
Alistair McKenzie
Sources and comments:
[1] Dark J. Obituary. BMJ 1991; 303: 1329. [2] Chapter on Robertshaw double lumen tube in McKenzie AG. More Notable Names in Anaesthesia. Gloucester: Choir Press, 2021: 196-8. The photograph is courtesy of Dr K. George Lee.