THE exceptional career of one of Norfolk's longest-serving doctors is to be remembered for decades to come thanks to a memorial plaque erected in his name.

The life of Dr Kenneth Hamilton-Deane is to be commemorated by a special blue plaque at the site of his old surgery in the High Street, Gorleston. He looked after thousands of patients for more than 60 years.

The memorial will see Dr Hamilton-Deane senior join the long list of illustrious figures whose achievements in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston have been captured by upwards of 30 plaques installed by the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society.

Speaking about his father, Dr William Hamilton-Deane said he only came to understand the true value of his profession when he joined his father's practice.

'I was in London thinking of which area of medicine I wanted to specialise in when suddenly I got this call from my father saying my brother, a doctor who worked alongside him, had got stuck abroad and left him in the lurch.

'He had 7,000 patients to look after and he could not do it alone, so I very quickly came back from London to help him.

'It was then I realised the extent of his regime and how hard he worked. The patient always came first with my father. He never went on holiday and he was on call all his working life.

'And because of this the patients absolutely adored him. When I went up to Norfolk I thought I was so important, but people started to say 'I don't want you William, I want daddy Deane.' I got this all the time, but I didn't mind because it made me realise just how respected he was as a doctor.'

Dr Hamilton-Deane senior practised from his home in Gorleston for 62 years, which is believed to be one of the longest periods of continuous service from any one practice in the country.

During his career, he held three daily surgeries which patients could attend without appointments, as well as a twice weekly surgery in Belton and Hopton.

His wife, Elsie Hamilton-Deane, accompanied him everywhere he went and was equally popular with his patients.

The couple even installed a special speaking tube which connected the front door of their house to the bedroom so his patients could continue to reach him at night.

'He was a very direct person,' Dr Hamilton-Deane junior continued. 'I remember a friend told me that he went to my father late one night when he was a boy, because he felt unwell.

'He said my father took him inside and said 'If you are not well I will treat you, but if you are lying to me then you will get my foot up your backside as quick as you know'.

'I guess you could say my father was to the point, but he was immensely kind.'

Dr Hamilton-Deane senior's dedication led him to remain in the surgery during the mass war-evacuation in 1939, where he visited bombed out homes to treat victims of the air raids.

He had two sons, William and Kenneth junior, and a daughter Gilda. He retired as a doctor at 85 and lived until the age of 95.

The blue plaque commemorating his life will be unveiled on September 27 on the block of flats erected on the former site of Dr Hamilton-Deane's house on the corner of High Street and Trafalgar Road East, Gorleston.