Eric Anson, anaesthetist

Dr Eric Anson was New Zealand's first specialist anaesthetist. Following his father's footsteps, his basic and advanced medical training were done in England. He served in the Royal Navy in World War I and in the New Zealand Army Medical Corps in World War II, both in Egypt and on the hospital ship Oranje. Between the wars he was a key figure in the New Zealand Branch of the British Medical Association. Dr Anson was Director of Anaesthesia to the Auckland Hospitals from late 1945 until 1957. He played major roles in the development of anaesthesia in New Zealand, being the first President of the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA) and a member of the NZ Committee of the Faculty of Anaesthetists in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (now the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists). He is remembered by the Anson Memorial Foundation in the NZSA.