Walter Ganado

Walter Ganado (Avatar)

1907-1987

Vol VIII

Pg 175

Walter Ganado

1907-1987

Vol VIII

Pg 175

b.21 April 1907 d.[?] 1987

BSc Malta(1927) MD(1931) MRCP(1945) BSc Lond(l947) FRCP(1964)

Walter Ganado was born in Malta. His father, William Ganado, was a captain in the Royal Malta Artillery and his mother, Bianca, was the daughter of Sir Filippo Sciberras, one of the foremost political leaders of Malta at that time. In 1935, Walter married Carmelina, née Pace, whose father had been Treasurer to the government of Malta, and they had two daughters, Maria and Anna.

Walter was educated at the Lyceum and the Royal University of Malta, where he obtained his BSc in 1927, followed by his MD in 1931. Soon after qualifying he spent a year in London as a postgraduate student at the London Hospital and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in Queen Square. On returning to Malta he undertook his clinical duties at the Central Hospital, where he was assistant to the professor of medicine. During the war years, 1939-45, he was assistant physician to the Emergency Medical Services and later acting professor of physiology; receiving honourable mention for war service to the Crown.

In 1945 he spent another two years in London, obtaining his membership of the College at his first attempt, and undergoing postgraduate training at University College London where he obtained a BSc in physiology. In 1947 he was appointed professor of physiology and biochemistry at the Royal University of Malta and physician to St Luke’s Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Island. In 1963 he became professor or medicine and the senior physician in Malta. A year later he was elected to the fellowship of the College.

Walter Ganado was a stimulating teacher and physician. He was remarkably good company and very popular with students and postgraduates. He was an irrepressible conversationalist, which on occasions was exhausting. He established the specialty of neurology in Malta, and it was in this area that he had his main research interest. He was a man of wide culture, with a profound knowledge of the history of Malta, the arts and classical music. He was also very much involved in medical politics, holding leading positions in the Medical Officers Union, which later became the Medical Association of Malta. Walter had a complex and controversial personality. He played an important role in both the medical and academic fields in Malta for over 30 years, and remained active throughout his retirement until a few years before he died.

FF Fenech