* * * We regret to record the death of
Dr. Axham on Thurs- day, April 8th. His life ended tragically under the shadow of a professional disgrace which should have been lifted from him by the General Medical Council. This year the Council had an easy and obvious opportunity of satisfying public opinion and also, we believe, the opinion of most doctors ; but it let the occasion go by and it is now too late. The Times of Friday, April 9th, reproduced extracts from the dignified letter in which Dr. Axham long ago made public his reasons for acting as anaesthetist to Mr. Barker. He took that course deliberately and as an act of duty. In the end Mr. Barker 'received an honour and much public praise, all with the approval of many of the most distinguished members of the medical profession, but Dr. Axham was allowed to die without honour. Dr. Axham, however, has his great reward. His sacrifice helped to call atten- tion to the value of a certain technique in which qualified doctors were, and to a lesser extent still are, wanting. •
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