Stuart Mucklow was a consultant haematologist at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading from 2005 until his death. The eldest of four children of Lynn and Ted Mucklow, who were both paediatricians, Stuart grew up on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Ryde School, where he quietly excelled at most things, gaining an entrance scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford, to study medicine, in 1987. The island nurtured a deep interest in the natural world that was to last all of his life, overlapping with his love of outdoor travel and adventure. He continued a high academic trajectory gaining one of the top firsts in his year and embarking on an intercalated PhD in Oxford with Siamon Gordon and Paris with Paul Crocker, which culminated in the sequence of sialoadhesin (CD169), the first and index member of the SIGLEC family of cell surface proteins. Time in the laboratory was lightened by the meeting of his future wife, Lisa Walker, and stretched a little thin at times by university rowing, where he achieved a place in the blue boat trial eights, narrowly missing the final cut.
With such an important insight into leukocyte physiology under his belt, it was natural to gravitate towards haematology, and Stuart moved to the North London Deanery to train.
However, in the immediate post-Calman era, there was no academic pathway for clinician scientists; we were all funnelled rapidly towards completing the certificate of specialist training. This left many talented MD PhDs without a career foundation, Stuart among them. He was never the go-getting type, honest industry and ability having furnished so many opportunities in his early career. Academic aspirations faded, but he developed new interests, enjoying the London concert scene with Lisa, a budding clinical geneticist and talented musician. They were married in 2006 and have a son, Alistair.
Stuart rarely angered, except with himself, although he became increasingly frustrated as the modern consultant life of red tape, form filling, and lack of independence interfered with what he perceived to be the best course for patients, based on decades of education and experience. He settled for a beautiful spot to live with Lisa and Al, taking great pride in their achievements; an attentive husband and loving father. However, something would not be at peace within him, and after wrestling for several years with a darkness that few suspected, he ended his own life.
Stuart was a magnet of kindness. Young and old alike were attracted by his quiet reflective manner, his interest in others, and his appreciation of beauty in the world. At his memorial service, family members, old school buddies, college friends, his rowing crew, and half of Dorchester-on-Thames found that he had touched them all with the same unforgettable gentleness and generosity. For a man who had radiated such humanity to so many, it is a great sadness that he could not find contentment in his own unique nature.
Consultant haematologist (b 1968; q Oxford 1987), took his own life on 12 October 2022