Hamilton-Deane, Dr. Kenneth

Dr. Kenneth Hamilton Deane practised from a surgery at 225 High Street, Gorleston until he was 87 years old and thus was probably one of the longest serving general practitioners in the country.  He practised in Gorleston for 65 years, from 1920 to 1985, treating thousands of patients and delivering several generations of babies.  He also had a branch surgery in Belton.  Kenneth Hamilton Deane was inspired to enter medicine when, at the age of 15 years, his father died in his arms.  He trained at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.  In his early days he performed operations at the Gorleston Cottage Hospital in nearby Trafalgar Road East.  He would collect patients requiring operations in his car, take them to the hospital, and then return them home again.  He died in 1993, at the age of 94 years, and is buried in Gorleston Cemetery.  He was known for his debonair appearance and gentlemanly bedside manner and was referred to as 'Father' (or 'Daddy') Deane. He was also an enthusiastic Freemason.  The surgery in Gorleston High Street, complete with its stables and harness room, was demolished in the late 1990s and a small housing complex (Hamilton Place) built on the site.