John Stoke (doctor)

John Charles Jamieson Stoke FFOM, FAFOM, FAFPHM, MCCM MBBS, DIH (1928–2000) was a pioneer in Occupational Medicine in New Zealand, with influence in the Asia/Pacific region. He was Director of Public Health in New Zealand from 1986 to 1987. Some of the details in this article are drawn from notes that he had made in preparation for an autobiography.

John was born on 14 August 1928, in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, on the north side of the Thames Estuary. John's father was the son of Polish immigrants who came to England under a church sponsorship scheme in the 1880s. His mother was the daughter of a Scots marine engineer, whose clan (the Jamiesons) came from the area south of Glasgow. His parents met (in London) through church activities and married in 1918. His parents settled in Leigh-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the Thames Estuary.
His upbringing was heavily influenced by three main factors. These were a very strong Presbyterian set of values, his father's work ethic, and the great depression. He remembered going to church and Sunday school and being forced to read books when he wanted to go out and to play. He also clearly remembered the day his father came home from work and told the family that his salary had been cut by 20% as a result of the depression.
When WW2 broke out, the family had to move from Essex for safety reasons, and went to live in Surrey. John had gained a scholarship and went to school at the King Edward 6th Grammar School in Guildford. In 1943, the family returned to Leigh-on-Sea, and John attended the local grammar school – Westcliff.
He sat his matriculation exam in 1944 and repeatedly the exams were interrupted by air raid warnings and trips to the air raid shelters at the school. He passed with distinction in history, Latin, and maths.
In 1946, John was accepted for medical training at St Bartholomew's Hospital in the heart of London. He travelled each day by train from the family home – and recalls walking from the London station to the College past heaps of rubble as high as four-storey buildings, and big holes where bombs and land mines had fallen.

After graduating John did "house appointments" in hospitals (1952–53), and then became a Surgeon Lieutenant in the Royal Navy (1953–57). During this time John met Bernice and they were married in 1954.
In 1958, they moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). John initially worked as a general practitioner in rural areas. During this time that he became involved in leprosy work. He trained locals in leprosy treatment, with the result that the leper colonies became unnecessary.
After a period as a GP in Salisbury (Harare), John became Senior Medical Officer in the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, and the family moved to Gwelo (Gweru). It was during this time that he developed his interest in Occupational and Preventive Medicine.
In 1969 the family returned to Salisbury, and John became a lecturer in Preventive Medicine at the University of Rhodesia, where he worked until 1976. In 1975 he returned to England on sabbatical, and did post-graduate work in Occupational Medicine.
During this time the political situation in Rhodesia was deteriorating. Faced with the prospect that his elder sons would soon be drafted into the army, he decided to migrate. After applying for several positions around the world, he was offered a position in New Zealand.

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