Anaesthesia in the UK has been fortunate because of the talented people who have contributed to the progress of the specialty. In the last 25 years of the 20th century, Mal Morgan was one of those talented people. However, it was the wide range of expertise that marked him out as exceptional, including education and training; research; editorship; authorship; and membership of national committees. All achieved apparently without effort, his work permeated so many aspects of anaesthetic life.

Mal, son of a miner, was born in Resolven, Wales. He excelled academically at Neath Grammar School and was awarded a state scholarship to study medicine at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London. After qualification in 1961, he undertook house office jobs in Essex. His first anaesthetic post was as a senior house officer at Tilbury Hospital, Essex, and this was followed by a registrar job at the Prince of Wales General Hospital, Tottenham. In later life, Mal remarked that not only were some hospitals closed shortly after he left, but they were also demolished. In 1966 he obtained a registrar post at Hammersmith Hospital, London, and this was the turning point of his career. He was influenced greatly by Professor Gordon Robson and Dr Keith Sykes and showed considerable ability in clinical research in addition to his anaesthetic expertise. At the age of 30, he left Hammersmith Hospital for a consultant post at the Prince of Wales General Hospital. However, he was not allowed to hide his talents in north London and was persuaded to return to Hammersmith Hospital initially as a part-time Lecturer, and then in 1971, as a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant.

Mal flourished in the challenging environment of the department and was promoted to Reader in 1983. When he retired in 2000 the academic department ceased to exist. He was unselfish to a fault. Although he had ample research for a higher degree – over 150 publications – he was busy supporting research by trainees and senior colleagues.

Mal began his work with the journal, Anaesthesia, as Assistant Editor in 1980. He was then appointed Associate Editor and finally Editor-in-Chief in 1991. He remained in this position until 1998 when he became President of the Association of Anaesthetists. During his 18 years with the journal, he never missed a deadline, despite sickness, holidays, strikes etc. He was dedicated to the welfare of Anaesthesia and was always grateful for the support received from many Presidents and officials of the Association. He was an Association man to his very core, and he was delighted to receive the award of Honorary Membership and the John Snow Silver Medal.

Education and training of young anaesthetists were a major part of his life. He held appointments as Faculty Tutor, Regional Education Advisor for Northwest Thames, and was a member of the Joint Committee for Higher Training of Anaesthetists. He examined pharmacology for the Fellowship examination and later was Chairman of the core group of examiners. He was in demand to examine overseas. This list of achievements fails to acknowledge the enormous influence he had on trainees at Hammersmith over 30 years.

I first met Mal as a trainee and was warned that high standards were expected. He demanded punctuality, hard work and openness about what I knew and, more importantly, did not know. He had a wicked sense of humour, and his one-liners directed at arrogance and pomposity were like rapier thrusts. These were frequently borrowed by colleagues. His particular skill was to persuade trainees to think about what they were doing and why. He was certain that the speciality would progress if training produced questioning anaesthetists, who do not accept the status quo, but were always trying to improve care of the patients. Critical thinking was encouraged and expected. Many former trainees can still recall operating theatre lists with Mal which were undertaken 30–40 years ago; he was firm, fair and fun.

It was not just in clinical anaesthesia that Mal helped trainees. He sorted out problems with research proposals, helped trainees to write papers and coached them in preparing presentations. He had endless patience, and perfection was the only acceptable standard.

Mal was a brilliant speaker. It did not matter whether it was a lecture, seminar or tutorial, presented either locally, nationally or internationally; all were delivered superbly. Even after 20 years of close observation, I was unable to pin down exactly what made his presentations so memorable. Perhaps Mal had that innate gift of Welsh storytelling. When asked, his answer was pragmatic: practice, practice and then more practice.

This was the theme throughout his career – hard work. On non-clinical days he never wasted a minute; he was organised, thorough and meticulous. When I asked how he could write a research paper in a morning, he replied that you must have written it in your head before putting pen to paper. As a colleague, his industry set an outstanding example and he was particularly valued for his clarity of thought, high intelligence, wit and loyalty. Mal had great support, help and guidance from his wife, Monica. They met when she was undertaking a midwifery secondment in Southampton and Mal arrived for his obstetric module. While Mal was in total control at work, Monica ran their domestic life – a perfect partnership which lasted 60 years.

On retirement Mal continued his interest in sport; he was an accomplished cricketer and rugby player at school. A keen golfer, he twice achieved a hole in one. He also enjoyed watching cricket as a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. In recent years with their health failing, they both moved into a care home. Monica died in 2022. In the last year of his life when we talked about all his contributions to anaesthesia, Mal said simply that he was just doing his job. Truly a modest man, who had so much to be immodest about. Mal died on 8 December 2023 after a life dedicated to anaesthesia and those who practised the speciality.

英国的麻醉学很幸运，因为有才华横溢的人才为该专业的进步做出了贡献。 20世纪最后25年，马尔·摩根就是其中一位才华横溢的人。然而，正是广泛的专业知识使他脱颖而出，包括教育和培训；研究;编辑工作；作者身份；以及国家委员会的成员资格。所有这些显然都是毫不费力地实现的，他的工作渗透到麻醉生活的许多方面。

马尔是一名矿工的儿子，出生于威尔士雷索尔芬。他在尼思文法学校 (Neath Grammar School) 学习成绩优异，并获得国家奖学金到伦敦米德尔塞克斯医院医学院学习医学。 1961 年获得资格后，他在埃塞克斯从事内部办公室工作。他的第一份麻醉工作是在埃塞克斯郡蒂尔伯里医院担任高级住院医师，随后在托特纳姆威尔士亲王总医院担任登记员。马尔在后来的生活中表示，一些医院在他离开后不久不仅关闭，而且还被拆除。 1966 年，他获得了伦敦哈默史密斯医院的注册员职位，这是他职业生涯的转折点。他深受Gordon Robson教授和Keith Sykes博士的影响，除了麻醉专业知识外，还表现出相当的临床研究能力。 30岁时，他离开哈默史密斯医院，到威尔士亲王综合医院担任顾问。然而，他在伦敦北部并没有被允许隐藏自己的才华，并被说服回到哈默史密斯医院，最初担任兼职讲师，然后在 1971 年担任高级讲师和荣誉顾问。

Mal 在该系充满挑战的环境中蓬勃发展，并于 1983 年晋升为 Reader。2000 年他退休时，学术系已不复存在。他太无私了。尽管他为获得更高学位进行了大量研究——发表了 150 多篇出版物——但他仍忙于支持实习生和资深同事的研究。

Mal 于 1980 年开始在《麻醉》杂志上工作，担任助理编辑。随后，他被任命为副主编，最后于 1991 年担任主编。他一直担任这一职位，直到 1998 年成为麻醉师协会主席。在他为该杂志工作的 18 年里，尽管有疾病、假期、罢工等情况，他从未错过最后期限。他致力于麻醉界的福利，并始终感谢协会许多主席和官员的支持。他是一名彻头彻尾的协会会员，他很高兴获得荣誉会员奖和约翰·斯诺银奖。

年轻麻醉师的教育和培训是他生活的重要组成部分。他被任命为西北泰晤士河学院的导师、地区教育顾问，并且是麻醉师高等教育联合委员会的成员。他为研究员考试进行药理学考试，后来担任核心考试组的主席。他被要求去海外考察。这份成就清单并没有反映出他在 30 多年来对哈默史密斯学员的巨大影响。

我第一次见到 Mal 还是一名实习生，并被警告说我们需要高标准。他要求准时、努力工作，并对我所知道的、更重要的是不知道的事情持开放态度。他有一种邪恶的幽默感，他那些针对傲慢和浮夸的俏皮话就像剑刺一样。这些都是同事经常借用的。他的特殊技能是说服学员思考他们在做什么以及为什么这样做。他确信，如果培训培养出敢于质疑、不接受现状、但始终致力于改善患者护理的麻醉师，那么该专业将会取得进步。批判性思维受到鼓励和期待。许多以前的学员仍然可以回忆起30-40年前与Mal一起进行的手术室名单；他坚定、公平、风趣。

Mal 不仅在临床麻醉方面为学员提供帮助。他解决了研究计划中的问题，帮助学员撰写论文并指导他们准备演示文稿。他有无尽的耐心，完美是唯一可以接受的标准。

马尔是一位出色的演讲家。无论是讲座、研讨会还是辅导课，无论是在本地、国内还是国际上举办，都无关紧要；一切都交付得很好。即使经过 20 年的密切观察，我仍然无法确定到底是什么让他的演讲如此令人难忘。也许马尔有威尔士讲故事的天赋。当被问到时，他的回答很务实：练习、练习，然后再练习。

这是他整个职业生涯的主题——努力工作。在非临床工作的日子里，他从不浪费一分钟。他做事有条理、彻底、细致。当我问他如何能在一个早上写出一篇研究论文时，他回答说，你一定是在动笔之前在脑子里写下来的。作为一名同事，他的行业树立了杰出的榜样，他因其清晰的思路、高智商、机智和忠诚而受到特别重视。马尔得到了妻子莫妮卡的大力支持、帮助和指导。他们是在她在南安普敦进行助产士借调时认识的，马尔到达他的产科模块。马尔在工作中完全掌控一切，而莫妮卡则负责他们的家庭生活——这段完美的合作关系持续了 60 年。

退休后，马尔继续对体育运动感兴趣。他在学校时是一位出色的板球运动员和橄榄球运动员。他热衷于打高尔夫球，曾两次取得一杆进洞的成绩。作为马里波恩板球俱乐部的成员，他还喜欢观看板球比赛。近年来，由于健康状况不佳，他们都搬进了疗养院。莫妮卡于 2022 年去世。在他生命的最后一年，当我们谈论他对麻醉的所有贡献时，马尔简单地说他只是在做他的工作。真是一个谦虚的人，有很多不谦虚的地方。 Mal 于 2023 年 12 月 8 日去世，此前他一生致力于麻醉和从事该专业的工作。