 Occupational health doctor who studied the transition of young people from school to industry |
Former appointed factory doctor Slough (b Geneva 13 August 1909; q Bristol 1937; DSO, MBE, MC, MD, DPH), d 14 July 2002.
Martin Herford was one of a generation of young men deeply affected by the political unrest growing in Europe. He volunteered to go with the Friends Service Organisation (Quakers) to work primarily with children suffering from starvation as a result of the Spanish civil war. Later he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was posted to Greece, where, as a result of his work in liaison and evacuating British troops, he was awarded the MBE. After two years in the western desert in north Africa he rose to command a motor ambulance convoy until the victory at Alamein, when he was posted to Sicily and took part in the Italian Campaign. There his work earned him the Military Cross and Bar.
In the final year of the war Martin was commanding the 163 Field Ambulance in France, which followed the Market Garden advance through Holland. The airborne troops were flown behind enemy lines before ground support arrived. As the wounded he needed to attend to were now behind enemy lines, using a Red Cross flag he was able to cross the Rhine, where he was taken prisoner. He negotiated to establish a British military hospital in an old barracks near Arnhem, which made an enormous difference to the treatment of the wounded. After a number of weeks when the serious cases had been evacuated, he decided his task was done and escaped by swimming the Rhine to bring the names of all the wounded British to the allies. For this work he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He then went on to organise medical services in the infamous camp at Belsen and was shortly afterwards promoted to colonel assistant director medical services 5th British Infantry Division. Of his service during the war he said, "I did not mind being in the front line as long as I did not have to shoot."
After the war he was awarded a Rockefeller fellowship to study occupational medicine in the United States. On his return he worked as an appointed factory doctor in Slough. He studied both the physical and psychological aspects of school leavers starting work in a factory environment and realised how little effort was made to enable them to choose work appropriate to their intelligence and talents. He interviewed more than 1000 young people and meticulously documented his observations and inferences. On the basis of this research he was awarded his MD. His report informed the work of the King George’s Jubilee Trust, which wrote in its 1955 report Citizens of Tomorrow: "We examined a treatise describing a scheme already in operation in one locality, under which the facilities we envisage are provided by the Appointed Factory Doctor for a group of firms, and it seemed to us that national development might well be based on a pilot scheme of this nature."
His pioneering approach to the transition of young people from school to industry was published in his book Youth at Work in 1957.
Throughout Martin’s career his courage in fighting injustice and determination to get help for the underdog were apparent in everything he did. He was a born leader but was not afraid to fight alone if need be. He had a lifelong belief in the importance of education and continued this interest in young people through his work with the Boys’ Clubs, as a school governor at the local comprehensive school in Farnham Royal, and supporting educational opportunities for children overseas. He also had a deep commitment to the environment and played a leading part in the fight against a major road being constructed through Burnham Beeches, an irreplaceable national heritage.
In his later years he worked with his wife, Mary, in general practice until her death in 1985. He retired alone to their beloved home in Cornwall, where he lived until five years before his death after a long illness in Weston-Super-Mare.
His life was informed by his Quaker upbringing and beliefs, which fostered a passion for social justice and the equal worth of all people.
He is survived by three of his four daughters and nine grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service on 28 September 2002 at Sidcot Friends’
Meeting House. [Claire Herford]