A RETIRED doctor, once responsible for the health services used by a million Africans, has died at the age of 84.

In the Sixties, Dr Keith Fenwick, from Croft, near Darlington, ran a large part of Kenya’s health care system as the country prepared for independence.

He later took charge of health services on the Caribbean Islands of Jamaica and St Vincent.

He was born in 1929 in Zetland Street, Darlington. His father was a letterpress printer at The Northern Echo.

Dr Fenwick attended Darlington Grammar School and Durham University, where he studied medicine in Newcastle.

After qualifying, he was called up for National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Korea, Japan and Malaya.

In 1955, he was posted to Kenya with his wife, Helen, who he met at a school cricket match, and took charge of the health service in the Mount Kenya area.

His duties ranged from managing hospitals, performing surgery, inspecting Mau Mau prisoners and responding to emergencies in the bush.

He once found himself on the film set of Born Free attending to star Virginia McKenna’s broken leg.

Dr Fenwick was involved in the country’s transition from colonial administration and met President Jomo Kenyatta several times.

He later spent four years in the Caribbean where, in 1971, he organised the evacuation of communities threatened by the erupting La Soufriere volcano. The last 20 years of his career were spent as civilian medical practitioner for the British Army in Detmold, Germany, and as regimental doctor for the 1st Royal Horse Artillery in Rheindahlen.

He retired to Croft in 1995, and continued to indulge his passions of cricket, books, theatre and freemasonry.

He was a Freeman of London, chairman of Croft Parish Council and served as a council member of the British Medical Association. He and his wife were both members of the North Yorkshire Wine Society.

Dr Fenwick was also one of the founders of the Northallerton electronics firm, Mowden Controls Ltd.

He died on May 12, in Darlington Memorial Hospital, and leaves Helen, their three children and three grandchildren.

His funeral is at 1.45pm on Friday, at Darlington Crematorium.

Bob Johnson, the former Tyne Tees weatherman, will give a eulogy.