John C MacKillop 1905 - 1999

John C MacKillop 1905? - 1999? MD Glasgow was an orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy. MacKillop began his homeopathic practice in London, and he was a Consulting Physician at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, before he became an acting Major and Adviser in Malaria to British Forces in North Africa in WWII.

John MacKillop was an acting Major and Adviser in Malaria to British Forces in North Africa in WWII, and an Anti Malarial School was set up in January 1943 at the HQ of No. 8 Field Hygeine Section offering intensive seven day courses for medical personnel.

Such Medical Control Units set the pace of anti malarial work in the British Army. Every Combatant Unit was required to form an anti mosquito squad, assisted and directed by John MacKillop’s Malaria Advisory Board.

John MacKillop was mentioned several times in Military Dispatches for acts of bravery.

In 1945 John MacKillop converted to homeopath and began a course of study in the bombed out buildings. Despite the state of its infrastructure, the London Homeopathic Hospital admitted and treated many hundreds of patients.

The Missionary School of Medicine at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital teaching staff included doctors experienced in tropical medicine and other specialities.

The Annual Reports list the teaching staff, many of whom are recognised for their contributions to the development of homeopathy. Donald MacDonald Foubister lectured on Children’s Diseases, as did Kathleen Priestman (who was President of the Missionary School of Medicine between 1981 and 1991); Alva Benjamin taught on skin diseases, Charles Edwin Wheeler, John MacKillop and Muriel Francis Adams on general medicine; William Eldon Tucker and Philip Norman Cutner on surgery and H Dodd, who was the vascular surgeon and later became President of the Missionary School of Medicine in 1952. N E Gillham taught dentistry and J N LeRossignol chiropody. Three doctors on the teaching staff were later appointed Royal physicians: John Weir, Marjorie Blackie and R W Davey. Llewelyn Ralph Twentyman remains the doyen of them all, surviving to tell the tale of the lectures often given in the Hospital Board Room, which were much enjoyed by everyone.

John C MacKillop wrote a paper on Verbascum thapsus for the Journal of the New Zealand Homeopathic Society Vol. 17 No. 4 December 1997.