A DOCTOR described as one of the finest of his generation has died aged 87.

Dr Peter Chapman worked at Colchester’s 19 Creffield Road practice from 1967 until he retired aged 62.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, the family came to live in Essex when he was aged three.

Dr Chapman subsequently attended Felsted School and qualified as a doctor at the London Hospital in 1950.

National Service in the Parachute Regiment took him to Malaya. He was seconded to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles, as medical officer in charge of a small military hospital in Nepal.

After this experience, he returned to London but was soon invited back to general practice in Malaya.

In 1958, he married Janice Meikle and the couple remained in Malaya until 1967 when they returned to England.

It was then that Dr Chapman joined the Creffield Road practice. He was an active and respected GP and a former colleague said: “He could be a tough, hard chap, but he had a heart of gold and was helpful to a wide selection of people in all sorts of places.”

Dr Chapman was a cornerstone of the Essex University Health Centre and was a popular GP trainer.

He loved the stimulus of training the many young doctors who passed through the practice and was a past president of the Colchester Medical Society.

A skilled squash player and skier, his great interests were classical history and classical and Asian art.

He had a love of travel and was a great family man.

He is survived by Janice, his children Victoria, Adam and Ben and seven grandchildren.