DR CHARLIE MARTIN-BATES, a much loved and respected GP in Emmer Green, who devoted himself to looking after his patients, died on 19 August 2022.
‘Charlie’, as he was known to his patients, was a GP at the Emmer Green Surgery for over 30 years. Born in Whitney, Oxfordshire, he went to Haileybury Junior School and then to Glenalmond College in Scotland. After Kent University, where he graduated with a degree in sociology, Charlie decided to study medicine, and attended St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School. After medical school he did his postgraduate training at The Royal Berkshire Hospital, and finally settled at the Emmer Green Surgery.
Charlie was a remarkable man, a talented sportsman, linguist, musician and amazing doctor.
He was always modest, self-effacing, and generous, invariably trying to see the best in people, avoiding confrontation. He had this amazing knack, if situations were getting heated, of calming things down, always looking for compromise.
Charlie’s patients adored him. He always made himself available to them, working incredibly long hours. His encyclopaedic knowledge of medicine, his empathy, patience, and wisdom attracted many patients who struggled to cope with the complexities of life. Charlie provided a safe haven for them, offering social care and guidance, as well as meeting their medical needs.
On retirement in 2012, he continued to study. He did a post graduate diploma in Tropical medicine at the same time as his son Alexi – a great father son achievement! Following this, along with his wife Jane, he had several spells working in resource-poor hospitals in Uganda. His love of Scotland persisted throughout his life, and he had many visits there in retirement.
Charlie was a traditional family doctor who looked after the whole person and their family – he will be sorely missed.
Donations in memory of Charlie can be made to Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice via www.justgiving.com/fundraising/CharlieMartin-Bates.
by Dr Ian Kemp
