For a change I thought I’d interview a non police character from the DI Lyle Series.
Dr Robert Bradley has been the Home Office pathologist in Ashbeck since the retirement of his predecessor Dr John Martin in 1985. He is due to retire soon.
This interview takes place in late January 1993.
JULIET: Dr Bradley thanks for taking time out to talk to me.
DR BRADLEY: (Smiles) Not a problem Juliet, it’s a bit quiet on the homicide front at present although in Ashbeck you can never speak too soon.
JULIET: So out of all the medical disciplines you could have chosen why specialise in pathology?
DR BRADLEY: When I was a child a young friend died in suspicious circumstances. I supported his brother as best I could and was very impressed with the support that the family got from the police and the coroner (It was not Dr Barry Fox in those days, although his predecessor, Dr Liam Kierney, was thoroughly professional). I realised, young as I was, that it is important for those left behind to have the answers they need to enable them to move on. There is a tradition of medicine in my family and I found I had a natural aptitude for pathology at medical school. My sister, Fiona, is a GP and jokes that I just prefer patients who can’t give me any lip.
JULIET: I’ve heard a rumour that you studied medicine with Barry Fox. Is that true?
DR BRADLEY: Yes, although Barry is four years younger than me, I took time out before going to study medicine in Edinburgh. I went travelling at eighteen after my A-Levels and contracted malaria. I was quite ill, which delayed my entry to university.
We got on well and swapped notes. He was having problems with pathology and I couldn’t get to grips with paediatrics so we helped each other prepare for the first year exams and practical assignments, both passed and remained friends ever since.
JULIET: What has been the most challenging case you’ve tackled to date?
DR BRADLEY: In the summer of 1990 I investigated a case where a young animal welfare volunteer was poisoned. I have limited experience of poisoning as a cause of death and it vexed both me and the police, but in the end we were able to identify the poison. I believe you wrote that case up, Juliet?
JULIET: I certainly did. You can read about this poisoning case in the novella Call of the Wild in DI Frank Lyle's Casebook Vol 2
JULIET: So which case has been the most difficult for you to deal with?
DR BRADLEY: All cases are tragic and difficult to deal with in some way, but I found the post mortems on Former Mayor George Driscoll and DS Mike Tavernier rather difficult.
JULIET: Have you ever had a kind of perverse sense of enjoyment about dissecting someone?
DR BRADLEY: I have to admit that doing the post-mortem on Bob Kenyon last winter did give me a sense of pleasure as well as relief, knowing that the man could no longer violate young girls or murder anyone who opposed him. I did post mortems on the men he killed back in 1990 after all.
JULIET: I understand that you’re due to retire soon? What do you intend to do to fill your time?
DR BRADLEY: I have been offered consultancy work with both the Home Office and St Thomas’ hospital in London, so I may do that, plus I have a couple of trips abroad planned and I can finally catch up on some books I’ve not had time to read.
JULIET: Has your successor been appointed yet?
DR BRADLEY: They have drawn up an interview shortlist of six, two of whom are women. The interviews have not been held yet.
JULIET: How will you feel if you are succeeded by a female pathologist?
DR BRADLEY: I’m old school, but I know that woman are able to function equally well with men in all fields of medicine. I have known my fair share of squeamish coppers as well after all, DI Ward and DS Slade to name but two, and Barry Fox fainted the first time he was asked to dissect a cadaver at medical school. Whoever takes my place I wish them well and they will have my indispensable assistant Kieran to help them.
JULIET: Well, thank you for taking the time to talk to me and I wish you the very best for your impending retirement.
DR BRADLEY: Thank you Juliet. I wish you the very best too.
Dr Robert Bradley has been the Home Office pathologist in Ashbeck since the retirement of his predecessor Dr John Martin in 1985. He is due to retire soon.
This interview takes place in late January 1993.
JULIET: Dr Bradley thanks for taking time out to talk to me.
DR BRADLEY: (Smiles) Not a problem Juliet, it’s a bit quiet on the homicide front at present although in Ashbeck you can never speak too soon.
JULIET: So out of all the medical disciplines you could have chosen why specialise in pathology?
DR BRADLEY: When I was a child a young friend died in suspicious circumstances. I supported his brother as best I could and was very impressed with the support that the family got from the police and the coroner (It was not Dr Barry Fox in those days, although his predecessor, Dr Liam Kierney, was thoroughly professional). I realised, young as I was, that it is important for those left behind to have the answers they need to enable them to move on. There is a tradition of medicine in my family and I found I had a natural aptitude for pathology at medical school. My sister, Fiona, is a GP and jokes that I just prefer patients who can’t give me any lip.
JULIET: I’ve heard a rumour that you studied medicine with Barry Fox. Is that true?
DR BRADLEY: Yes, although Barry is four years younger than me, I took time out before going to study medicine in Edinburgh. I went travelling at eighteen after my A-Levels and contracted malaria. I was quite ill, which delayed my entry to university.
We got on well and swapped notes. He was having problems with pathology and I couldn’t get to grips with paediatrics so we helped each other prepare for the first year exams and practical assignments, both passed and remained friends ever since.
JULIET: What has been the most challenging case you’ve tackled to date?
DR BRADLEY: In the summer of 1990 I investigated a case where a young animal welfare volunteer was poisoned. I have limited experience of poisoning as a cause of death and it vexed both me and the police, but in the end we were able to identify the poison. I believe you wrote that case up, Juliet?
JULIET: I certainly did. You can read about this poisoning case in the novella Call of the Wild in DI Frank Lyle's Casebook Vol 2
JULIET: So which case has been the most difficult for you to deal with?
DR BRADLEY: All cases are tragic and difficult to deal with in some way, but I found the post mortems on Former Mayor George Driscoll and DS Mike Tavernier rather difficult.
JULIET: Have you ever had a kind of perverse sense of enjoyment about dissecting someone?
DR BRADLEY: I have to admit that doing the post-mortem on Bob Kenyon last winter did give me a sense of pleasure as well as relief, knowing that the man could no longer violate young girls or murder anyone who opposed him. I did post mortems on the men he killed back in 1990 after all.
JULIET: I understand that you’re due to retire soon? What do you intend to do to fill your time?
DR BRADLEY: I have been offered consultancy work with both the Home Office and St Thomas’ hospital in London, so I may do that, plus I have a couple of trips abroad planned and I can finally catch up on some books I’ve not had time to read.
JULIET: Has your successor been appointed yet?
DR BRADLEY: They have drawn up an interview shortlist of six, two of whom are women. The interviews have not been held yet.
JULIET: How will you feel if you are succeeded by a female pathologist?
DR BRADLEY: I’m old school, but I know that woman are able to function equally well with men in all fields of medicine. I have known my fair share of squeamish coppers as well after all, DI Ward and DS Slade to name but two, and Barry Fox fainted the first time he was asked to dissect a cadaver at medical school. Whoever takes my place I wish them well and they will have my indispensable assistant Kieran to help them.
JULIET: Well, thank you for taking the time to talk to me and I wish you the very best for your impending retirement.
DR BRADLEY: Thank you Juliet. I wish you the very best too.