FJ retired from his Chair at UCH in 1946, having reached the age of 67. It is a great shock, both physical and mental, for one who has been so active in his profession, which he had made his life, to be faced suddenly with compulsory idleness.

But he had other causes for a deep depression.

Both he and Minnie were grieving at Henry's death, full details of which did not reach them until the end of the war. The loss of a dearly loved son is hard to bear. In addition Minnie's health was deteriorating and she became weaker and eventually died at home on August 22nd 1948, at the age of 64 years. The death certificate gives (a) carcinomatosis, (b) carcinoma of the lung as causes of death.

But idleness and depression were concepts foreign to FJ. Instead of giving way, he responded to these tragic circumstances in the way one would have expected him to: he immersed himself in work.

He started work as an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, based in the Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital in London. His main contributions here were the weekly ward rounds he held for teaching.