Memorial service for popular GP

11:20am Saturday 19th July 2008

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THE life of a former Kidderminster GP and magistrate will be commemorated next week.

Dr Sam Wadsworth, who died last month aged 93, was formerly senior partner at the Church Street Surgery, came to Kidderminster in 1946 having served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Germany.

He joined the practice at 24 Church Street at a time when there were five other medical practices in the street and for seven years he lived at number 25, before building a house in Trimpley.

When he retired in 1980, the Church Street Surgery had expanded to twice its size and was the largest practice in Kidderminster, with six partners, including his son, Tim.

Dr Wadsworth supported the introduction of the NHS in 1948, unlike the great majority of the medical profession.

He took a leading role at the Croft Maternity Home soon after he came to Kidderminster and built up a large obstetric and midwifery practice.

In the early 1970s, he was appointed a magistrate and sat on the bench until 1985.

Tim Wadsworth said his father’s service on the bench meant a lot to him and he often took “a liberal view”.

As a young man, Dr Wadsworth was an accomplished alpine climber and he continued to walk in the mountains until he reached his eighties.

He married Lilian on May 10, 1940 and they had two daughters and one son, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, aged seven and five.

Tim Wadsworth said that 25 years after his father’s retirement some patients were still asking after him, mostly women whose children he had delivered 40 or 50 years earlier.

He added: “My father was someone with the common touch. He always did his best for people and was very hospitable.”

The memorial service will be held at Trimpley Village Hall, at Friday, July 25, at noon. Dr Wadsworth died on June 13.