(Based on an obituary in the BMJ)
Stephen John Hadfield was born in Clapton, London, the son of an anaesthetist. He attended Epsom College and Trinity College, Cambridge before doing his clinical studies at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London winning the Bentley Prize. House jobs in surgery, anaesthesia and obstetrics equipped him to sail to the USA as assistant surgeon aboard the Aquitaria
In 1936 he entered general practice in Wiltshire then in Devon before seeing war service in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and being mentioned in dispatches. In 1948 he became assistant secretary of the British Medical Association, focusing on general practice. In 1953 the secretary of the BMA, Dr Charles Hill commissioned him to undertake a major study of British GPs. It showed that many worked in very poor working conditions and still managed to provide good care but, overall, there was much scope for improvement in working conditions, attitudes and standards.In 1958 his book on law and ethics for doctors was publisheDied: Two years later he became under secretary of the BMA, and Scottish Secretary from 1964 until his retirement in 1974.
When he and his wife moved to Oban in 1977 he remained as busy as ever - treasurer of ASH Scotland and the Oban Red Cross, a leading actor and singer in the Oban Operatic Society, and ever-faithful member of St John's Episcopal Cathedral in Oban, deeply involved in its music well into his 80s.
He will be remembered as an ever-courteous man with a generous personality, much admired and liked by all who met him.