Sir John Frew, universally known as Jock, collapsed and died at Tullamarine Airport at 7am on 8 May 1985 while on his way to attend a meeting of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in Sydney. He had worked in his rooms the day before. Retirement was not for him. He worked up to the last moment.
Jock was born in Melbourne, the son of Captain JD Frew, a master mariner, and Mrs Letwas Frew, an accomplished golfer. He was educated first at Camberwell Grammar School and then at Scotch College. He was active in school affairs, taking part in the school play, participating in sport, and acting as monitor of the physics laboratory. With a Senior Scholarship, he commenced a medical course at Melbourne University. In his second year, he entered Ormond College and maintained a connection with it for the rest of his life. A private funeral service was held at the Ormond College Chapel, conducted by Dr Davis McCaughey, a previous master of Ormond.
At university, Jock started playing rugby and achieved Melbourne and Australian university blues. He remained involved with the University Rugby Club throughout his life.
On graduation in 1935, he was appointed as a resident medical officer to the Melbourne Hospital, beginning a lifelong association. After a year as a senior medical officer, he became medical superintendent in 1938. He also worked actively in the medical out-patient department during the early war years. He obtained his MD in 1938.
Jock left Australia with the 13th AGH in 1941 for Malaysia and became a prisoner of war after the fall of Singapore. He spent time in Changi gaol and later at the Thailand end of the Burma-Thailand Railway Project, caring for the Asian Coolie Labouring Force under extremely harsh conditions. He endured brutality, malaria, and dysentery while working partly as a doctor and partly as a labourer.
After the war, Jock was appointed honorary physician to outpatients at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and started a consultant practice, quickly gaining a reputation as a physician and teacher.
In 1947, he received a Red Cross Fellowship and worked in England with Professor Max Rosenheim at University College Hospital on hypertension. Their lasting friendship made subsequent visits to England special. Upon his return to Melbourne, Jock resumed his career at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, serving in multiple leadership roles including president for six years. He was deeply engaged with all aspects of hospital operations.
He became involved with College affairs, appointed censor in 1954 and later censor-in-chief from 1966 to 1970. Known as a fair and insightful assessor, he also served on numerous College committees and became College president from 1972 to 1974.
Jock was also active with the Repatriation Committee at Heidelberg Hospital, the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (which he chaired), the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee, and the NHMRC medical research ethics committee. He served as a councillor of the Victorian branch of the AMA and became a fellow in 1986. He was also chief medical officer to the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Company for over 20 years.
After retiring from RMH, Jock joined the board of the Freemasons Hospital, becoming chairman and chair of its medical advisory committee. He remained involved in teaching, including RACP courses in Singapore and Malaysia. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore in 1971.
Jock maintained a busy consulting practice thanks to his devoted secretary, Audrey Lee. He practised general medicine with special interest in hypertension, renal disease, and thyrotoxicosis, and conducted many medical-legal examinations for workplace injury compensation. He was trusted by his patients, often visited them in hospital, and never charged fellow doctors or their families for his services.
He rarely took holidays, preferring cricket matches with his wife Joy or brief trips to Malaysia. Known for his impish sense of humour and fondness for teasing friends, Jock cultivated a wide circle of friendships.
In 1940, he married Joy Bell, who became a doctor and was heavily involved with the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service and the Royal District Nursing Service. Their partnership was mutually supportive, and their home was known for hospitality. Their son John became a successful chemical engineer.
Jock Frew was one of the last of the honorary physicians of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He called himself a "relic" of that system. He was a highly successful general physician, a dedicated teacher, and a committed contributor to the many institutions he served.