Professor Ken Evans
Professor Ken Evans
Kenneth Theodore Evans (Ken) was appointed as the first Professor of Radiology in Wales in 1966, based in Cardiff. He was instrumental in enhancing the status and reputation of the department as well as working closely with architects in the design of what is now the University Hospital of Wales. He was both Vice President and Warden of the Royal College of Radiologists and Vice Provost of the Welsh National School of Medicine.
Born in 1925 in Llanidloes, Powys, a son of a farmer and teacher, Ken grew up on a farm in Llandinam. He went to the local village primary school in Llandinam and was proud to be awarded the David Davis scholarship for academic excellence, which meant he could attend the secondary school in Llanidloes.
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4th May 1925 - 9th October 2021
After a year of pre-med (necessitated because his school did not offer A-level physics) he studied medicine at University of Birmingham, graduating in 1948. After house jobs in the West Midlands, he took up a senior resident’s post in Ipswich, where he met his future wife, Dr Susanne MacGregor. They were married in 1953.
Always ambitious, his career in radiology began in Sheffield in 1954 and continued in Leeds and the Hammersmith Hospital, where he passed the Radiology Fellowship exam first time. This enabled him to secure a consultants post in Bristol in 1959.
The opportunity arose for Ken to live and work in Ibadan, Nigeria for a year in 1963, accompanied by his wife and young daughters, an experience he never regretted. On returning to the UK, Ken continued working in Bristol and then accepted his professorship in Cardiff in 1966, where he stayed until his retirement in 1988.
Ken was an enthusiastic teacher and examiner. As the Sir Howard Middlemiss Visiting Professor, he taught and examined in Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Nepal. He authored numerous publications, reports and books, including Forensic Radiology with Professor Bernard Knight and Professor David Whittaker, Mammography, Thermography and Ultrasonography in Breast Disease with Dr Huw Gravelle, Clinical Radiology for Medical Students, and Studies into Dosage Reduction with the National Radiological Protection Board. He was even quoted in Cosmopolitan for his research on the effects of taking oral medication without drinking a sufficient amount of fluids.
He led an active retirement, spending time at his villa in Spain and his caravan in Horton, Gower, in addition to playing golf well into his eighties. He remained a social member of his golf club until his death, he enjoyed the monthly PROBUS meetings and was involved in several art appreciation societies, as well as taking a keen interest in local community issues. Predeceased by his wife of 68 years Susanne, Ken leaves four daughters, two of whom are doctors, nine grandchildren, one of whom is also a doctor, and four great-grandchildren.
Memoir authors: S Haslam, V Stephens, P Curtis, G Haworth and J Haslam
