Trevor Tiplady was born in 1931 in Sidcup, Kent – the only child of Albert & Gladys Tiplady. His early schooling was characterised by frequent moves due to the war – with class sizes varying from six to 81.
In 1942 he passed the entrance exam to the City of London School and then another move, this time to Marlborough College where the two schools operated in tandem during the war.
Being an alumnus of the City of London School and the descendant of a Lord Mayor enabled Trevor to become a Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Barber Surgeons’ Livery Company – two associations he much enjoyed.
In 1944 the family were able to move back to Sidcup – only to find that a bomb had demolished the other half of their semi-detached house, which at least gave the family a bigger garden.
Frequent bombing and the V1 and V2 raids meant many nights in the air-raid shelter. Despite all the disruption he did well at school leaving as house captain and prefect. Trevor was confirmed in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral and remained a committed Christian.
In the autumn of 1950 Trevor began his medical training, first at King’s College in the Strand and then at King’s College Hospital in Camberwell. It was here he met his wife Anne Dudley-Smith a member of the nursing staff.
They were married in 1955 shortly before Trevor’s qualification. He was awarded the Todd prize for Clinical Medicine and was appointed Casualty Officer and Dermatology House Physician at King’s.
National Service saw him promoted to Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Having served his two years Trevor returned to civilian medical practice and was appointed to the department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Mayday Hospital (Thornton Heath).
He then moved to be a trainee in general practice first in Camberley and then in Crawley. Trevor and Anne had two children, Sara, Nicholas during this training. Their youngest child Catherine was born at Savernake after their move to Wiltshire.
In 1961 Trevor joined Dr W T Mills as an assistant with a view to partnership in the practice in Ramsbury. He became a full partner and he and Dr Mills joined forces with the Drs Morrison in Lambourn.
The building of the M4 made running a large rural practice difficult so an amicable separation followed. The population of Ramsbury and environs was increasing and Dr Colin James joined the team.
At this time general practice was being recognised as a specialism within medicine and Trevor enthusiastically took on the role of trainer as well as assisting Dr Tim Maurice (Dr Nick Maurice’s father) running the obstetric department at Savernake Hospital.
In 1974 Dr Mills retired and Trevor became senior partner with Dr James and Dr Michael Handford. By this time Trevor had helped 12 trainees discover the delights and pitfalls of general practice.
Beyond medicine Trevor enjoyed life in the country helping to re-establish the tradition of “Beating the Bounds” of the parish – 26 miles in the case of Ramsbury!
He and Anne spent many holidays exploring the lesser British Isles, which led to a number of talks to local social groups.
He was an early member of the Rotary Club in Marlborough and on retirement joined the Marlborough Probus Club.
He retired in 1991, much missed by his patients, devoting more time to his garden and his holiday home in Cornwall where he enjoyed walking the south coast path.
After his wife died in 2005, he enjoyed the companionship of an old family friend Mrs Libby Webb, who had been widowed some years. Together they travelled the globe on land and sea.
In 2012 they bought a house together in Aldbourne finally moving into Libby’s home at the other end of the village last autumn. It was here he died surrounded by his family on May 1.
A memorial service for Dr Trevor Tiplady is to be held at 2pm on Monday, May 15 in Holy Cross Church, Ramsbury.