The College community has paid tribute to Professor William H. Reid, a former College Vice President (Surgical) and Chief of the Burns Unit at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Professor Reid, who died age 94, was a well-respected surgeon who served as Vice President of the College with then-President Norman Mackay (1994-97). He retained his close connection to the College throughout his life and was a member of the Senior Fellows Club.
Born in the south side of Glasgow, Scotland, William attended Shawlands Academy and Glasgow High School, where he was a keen rugby player. It proved to be a dangerous pastime: at a game in Hawick, he tackled another player whose gran promptly took out her umbrella and bashed him with it!
William went on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow. He qualified in 1955 before specialising in plastic surgery.
A keen sportsman, he met his much-loved wife, Catherine Hazel Reid, at Whitecraigs tennis club in East Renfrewshire. They had two children, their daughter Mhairi (born in 1960) and two years later, their son, Gregor.
Gregor has fond memories of family holidays. “Dad loved driving. When we finished school, we’d pack the car and drive to Dover then over to Calais. We also drove to Spain and Portugal and went on various cruises over the years. He was a good dad – very hardworking, and always very funny.”
Pictured right: Professor William Reid with his wife, Catherine Hazel Reid
At work, it was a time of innovation in plastic surgery and in 1967, a new purpose-built plastic surgery unit was built at Canniesburn Hospital in Bearsden, Glasgow, with Professor Reid being among those setting it up. It would go on to gain an international reputation for excellence and was the centre for the West of Scotland Regional Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery Service.
As a consultant, Professor Reid supported doctors from all over the world who came to Canniesburn to train – an aspect of his job that he greatly enjoyed. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde’s Bioengineering Unit.
In the early 1980s, Professor Reid discussed the use of lasers in the treatment of port wine stains in children with Strathclyde’s Professor John Evans. They quickly decided that more research was required first, and so they began research into how to remove tattoos without scarring with very short laser pulses. Their work was successful and laid the foundations for later research into paediatric port wine stains.
In the early 1990s, to centralise trauma services in plastic surgery, a new Burns and Trauma Unit was opened in Wards 23 and 24 in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, replacing the old Burns Unit. Professor Reid was in charge. He retired in November 1995.
Dorothy, his former secretary, remembers Professor Reid as “a kind and caring professional.” She said: “He had a good sense of humour and always treated everyone with kindness.
“He was also a gifted painter who would send hand-painted Christmas cards every year. He was a gentleman and it was a privilege to have worked with him.”
With thanks to the Reid family.