Macgregor, James D.

James D. Macgregor was born in Invergowrie, near Dundee, on 21 August 1927. He was the son of Margaret (Robertson) and Alexander Macgregor. His father was Headmaster of the local school, Invergowrie Public School, the school attended by Macgregor until the age of ten. His secondary schooling was at Perth Academy. Between 1945 and 1950 he studied at St. Andrews University where he graduated with the degree of MBChB.

After graduation, Macgregor worked in general practice in Perth and Bridge of Earn before becoming House Physician at Perth Royal Infirmary. In 1951, he was appointed as House Surgeon at the Royal Northern Infirmary in Inverness. Prior to his 'call up' to National Service he was serving at Scartho Infirmary (Grimsby District General Hospital) in Grimsby, north-east Lincolnshire, England. At this point, he joined the Colonial Medical Service and towards the end of 1951 he began a first tour of duty in Freetown, Sierra Leone (know then as the Sierra Leone Protectorate), at the Connaught Hospital there. By the age of 25 Macgregor had become Assistant Surgeon at the hospital. He also ran the Mental Hospital at Kissy which, even in 2006, is the only psychiatric facility in Sierra Leone. This first tour of duty lasted until March 1953.

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