John Bauvallet Berry was a well-respected chest physician who worked in the Carshalton area for most of his life. He was brought up in London and attended Dulwich College, after obtaining an exhibition in classics. He did his tripos at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and at that stage thought of becoming an artist. Art was always an important part of his life.

With the onset of the Second World War, John became a conscientious objecter. This was a very difficult time for him. For a man whose vocation was to help the sick, the idea of taking life was irreconcilable with his principles. He was able to take up the study of medicine at this stage and obtained his medical degree from St Thomas's Hospital in 1946.

For the rest of his medical career he was associated with St Helier Hospital, Carshalton. Following house jobs and house officer jobs at St Helier Hospital, he was senior registrar to the chest unit in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1956 he was appointed assistant chest physician to the Purley and Carshalton Chest Clinic. He stayed in this post until 1973, when he became consultant chest physician at St Helier Hospital.

At this time he introduced allergy clinics and skin testing to the Cumberland Chest Clinic and to St Helier Hospital. He had a great understanding of allergic diseases and played a great part in the development of the allergy service in the local area. John was a totally committed physician and was respected by both his colleagues and patients alike. He retired in 1984.

Retirement allowed him to continue his artistic interests, including painting and woodcarving. John's other love was his home. For the last 40 years of his life he lived on the Island at Thames Ditton, where he enjoyed the simple pleasures of the ever-chaning scenery of river life, which he recorded in his writings and poems. John was happily married to Lise for 48 years and brought up two sons on his island home.

Nigel T Cooke