John Alexander Chamberlin was a consultant chest physician in Ashford. He was born in London, the son of Alexander Donald Chamberlin, a cutler, and Damaris Annie Chamberlin (née Beer), the daughter of a farmer. He was educated at Tollington and then Merchant Taylors’ School. He went on to St Thomas’s Hospital to study medicine.

After graduation, he was an obstetric house physician at St Thomas’s before serving in the 5th Field Ambulance in France during the second world war. From 1940 to 1945 he served as an RMO with the 2nd Dorsets and was awarded an MC.

Following demobilization, he was a house physician at St Peter’s, Chertsey, and then a junior registrar at Preston Hall Chest Hospital from 1947 to 1949. From 1949 to 1951 he was a resident assistant physician at the London Chest Hospital, Arlesey.

In 1951 he was appointed as a consultant chest physician at Ashford, Kent, where he stayed until his retirement. In 1972 he became a consultant chest physician at Preston Hall Hospital. He was also a consultant in general medicine at Linton and an honorary consultant at Royal British Legion Industries.

He was chairman of the group medical committee for central Kent from 1968 to 1970 and of the South East Metropolitan Regional Thoracic Society from 1969 to 1971.

He married in 1950, to Kathleen Mary née Fraser, the daughter of a jeweller and silversmith. They had two sons, Richard and Andrew, and a daughter, Jane.

RCP editor