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We have learned, with great sadness, of the death of Professor Hamish Simpson, former Professor of Paediatrics, who passed away on 4 March 2025, aged 91.

Hamish Simpson was born on 23 December 1933 in Glasgow. He was brought up in Mallaig by his family who ran a business supplying oil to the fishing boats and lorries as well as supplying the local houses with coal. He attended school in Mallaig and then Fort William. Hamish proved to be an extremely able student, but was extensively self-taught, passing his Higher Maths with no proper maths teacher for the last two years. He was one of only two boys from Mallaig to go to Lochaber High School. Outside academic work he was a great athlete and competed in the Highland Games and offered a football trial for Queen of the South. 

Hamish went to study medicine at Edinburgh University. It was whilst he was studying in Edinburgh that he met Anne who would later become his wife. They married in 1959 and were together until Anne’s death in December 2020.  Hamish and Anne had four sons: David and Kenneth (twins) 1961, John (1963) and Hamish (1965). 

Following graduation, Hamish did one year of national service and further time in the Navy. He remained in the Naval reserve throughout his career and attained the rank of Surgeon Commander and was awarded the Reserve Decoration. 

Hamish pursued a career in paediatrics where he excelled. He trained in paediatrics in Edinburgh and at the University of California San Francisco before becoming a consultant at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. His MD thesis was on arterial blood gas tensions in acute asthma. He established one of the units for support of critically ill children in Edinburgh. Hamish was subsequently appointed Professor of Paediatrics at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ in 1981.

He was recognised as a world authority on the treatment of reactive airways disease in children and was a leading researcher into the causes of cot death, and was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the British Paediatric Respiratory Society in 2008. He was held in great respect by his peers, who enjoyed his company at conferences as well as his thoughtful and grounded contributions to medical and scientific discourse.

Hamish was committed to teaching, and taught medical students and doctors every Sunday in his own time. He wrote the section on examination of the sick child in Macleod Clinical Examination, which was considered the 'Bible' on that topic, and was the inspiration for several of the current leaders in respiratory paediatrics to pursue this particular specialism.

Following his retirement, Hamish worked in the Middle East and subsequently in Malaysia before returning to Edinburgh in the late 1990s. He maintained his connections with former colleagues and indeed patients, some of whom continued to write to him into his retirement.

Hamish was an amazing father who enjoyed spending time with his family when he could. He loved discussing and debating anything and everything at the dinner table. He could take either side of an argument and frequently both at the same time.  Between them, Anne and Hamish were an unstoppable team who were adored by their children and grandchildren. 

His sons Hamish and John followed in their father’s footsteps into medicine, while Kenneth went into veterinary medicine. David collected antiques and sadly died suddenly in March 2017. 

Hamish and Anne were beautifully cared for at Malin Court care home in Ayrshire in their latter years where both suffered from dementia. Hamish died on 4 March 2025, leaving three sons and seven grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by those fortunate enough to know him.