Professor Ian AD Bouchier

Ian Bouchier was born in Cape Town, South Africa, the son of a civil servant, E A Bouchier and his wife May née Simons. He was educated at Rondebosch Boys’ High School and the University of Cape Town where he graduated MB ChB in 1954.  In 1960 he was awarded the degree of MD for his thesis   ‘The fat tolerance test with particular reference to ischaemic heart disease’. He married Patricia Henshilwood in Cape Town in 1959.  While working on this thesis he developed an interest in gastroenterology and after registrar posts at Groote Schuur, was awarded a Cecil John Adams Travelling Fellowship in 1961. 

As liberals and members of anti-apartheid families, this grant enabled them to move from South Africa, initially to spend six months with Sir Francis Avery Jones at the Central Middlesex Hospital, London, followed by posts as registrar, research assistant and honorary assistant lecturer with Dame Sheila Sherlock at the Royal Free Hospital.  Between 1963 and 1965 he was a research fellow and subsequently instructor in medicine with Dr Franz Ingelfinger in Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1965 Ian was appointed senior lecturer in medicine and honorary consultant physician at the Royal Free Hospital, promoted to reader in 1970. He delivered the Goulstonian lecture at the Royal College of Physicians, London in 1971. In 1973 he was appointed Professor of Medicine at the University of Dundee, acting as Dean of the Medical School between 1982 and 1985.  In 1985 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. From 1986 until his retiral in 1996 he held the chair of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.  In 1990 he was appointed CBE for services to education and in 1992 he became Chief Scientist at the Scottish Office Home and Health Department.  Post-retiral, Ian enjoyed new challenges as chairman of a Department of the Environment committee on ensuring the purity of drinking water.

Ian Bouchier’s research interests were primarily on bile acid metabolism, gall stone disease and metabolism of the gall bladder mucosa. In Edinburgh he encouraged research in liver disease, notably led by his colleague  Peter Hayes. He was a clear communicator and his interest in gastroenterology took him round the world as a lecturer.  He was elected President of the British Society of Gastroenterology  in 1994 and was closely involved with the World Organisation of Gastroenterology, which works to improve standards of education and training in the specialty, serving as its Secretary General for many years and President in 1990 and 1994. 

Ian had immense ability, drive, and energy, yet was approachable, charming and good humoured. He wrote clearly and published or co-edited numerous reviews and chapters and text books on gastroenterology, based on his extensive clinical experience. His motivation to study medicine had been firmly founded on the care of patients and he enjoyed teaching and interacting with students and younger doctors, many of whom remember this with gratitude, valuing his encouragement and support. 

Beyond medicine, Ian Bouchier enjoyed sport both as an active participant in cricket, hockey and tennis, and as a supporter of Scottish rugby. He read widely from his extensive library, with early interests in palaeontology and the physiology of whales. Poetry and listening to music provided hours of relaxation together with regular visits to the theatre, opera, music festivals and art galleries.  Nature conservation was of importance to him and  birdwatching a favourite pastime.

Late in 2025, Ian was diagnosed with prostatic cancer, dying peacefully after a sudden deterioration. He leaves his wife, Patricia, two sons, Anthony and David and three grandchildren, Alexander, Guy and the youngest, Maia who plays cricket for England. 

Patricia Bouchier

Anthony Seaton and Ian’s colleagues