Yes, there most certainly is !!!! Well, there is a Doctor who is a member of the Swale Chapter 657 that meets at the Sittingbourne Masonic Centre.
If you haven’t guessed from the photograph, it is Dr David Penman 18° who hides his light under a bushel, and all will be revealed later in this article.
I was able to catch up with a very busy David at his home in the beautiful village of Harrietsham and again at the Therapy Centre where I was able to share some of his memories of his career.
David was born on 20th August 1960 to a very proud mum “Audrey” and father “Hugh” in Portsmouth, into an England that was about to see the of birth of what is often referred to as the “British Invasion.” This was a transformative period that saw British bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who rise to international fame. The number 1 record on his birth was Elvis Presley, with his song “Its now or Never”. This knocked “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” by Brian Hyland off its former perch. How many of you can remember these classics without humming a tune or try to recall the lyrics? The top grossing movie of 1960 was the “Swiss Family Robinson”. Other notable films were the chilling ‘Psycho” and the epic “Spartacus”. Hitting the news, we heard that the Russian mongrels “Belka” and “Strelka” become the first dogs to be recovered alive after having been shot into space. I say heard deliberately because not all houses had television sets in 1960. A lot of people still got their news from the Radio.
In 1960, the average house price was £2,530, which would be approximately £60,000 in today’s money. A season ticket to see Manchester United cost £8.50. A loaf of bread cost 6p, a pint of milk was 16p, a pint of beer was 8p and a pack of 20 cigarettes was just under 25p. Seems another world nowadays!
At the age of 7 his father decided to take a sabbatical and the family emigrated to New Zealand. David went to school at Opoho, Dunedin and at the age of 10 he spent his birthday returning to England. In 1974 David attended the Oratory School in Woodcote near Reading Berkshire, and it was here he attained 8 O levels and 3 A Levels in Chemistry, Physics and Biology. David’s parents had always assumed that he would follow his family tradition to become a doctor. David had different ideas and wanted to make his own decisions and so he decided he was left with two options, agriculture or medicine. He tells me that the decision was made by the “toss of a coin” and concluded that he then felt the choice was his and not that of the family. How fortunate that the coin landed on the side of “medicine”. From the Oratory School he went on to study at St Thomas’s Hospital in London to become a doctor in the areas of trauma and orthopedics which is what at the time he felt he wanted to do. However, circumstances led him towards maternity and gynaecology. After he graduated, he worked around the country which took him to Leeds, Bristol and London, specialising in Fetal medicine.
In 1987 David got married to Helen in Bradford and they now have 4 children, Bethany, Giles, Eloise and Charles. Giles Penman is the current Worshipful Master of Douglas Lodge 1725 which meets in Maidstone. David also joined the Territorial Army as a Doctor with the rank of Captain. This took him all over the world and in 2006 he retired his commission with the rank of Major.
David has been involved with medical legal work for many years and has prepared expert reports and appeared in Court as an expert witness in several cases, for both claimants and defence. Perhaps the most famous of these cases is the “Corby Birth Defects” case which has recently been aired on Netflix. If you do not remember this case, I will outline it for you to give you a picture of why I believe David is an unsung hero.
Corby became a steel making centre through the establishment of the Stewarts and Lloyds production site in the 1930s and by 1960 had grown to become one of the most heavily industrialised areas in the Midlands. In 1981 the plant had become unprofitable and the owners British Steel Corporation closed the site. By then it was one of the largest steelmaking operations in Europe during its operation a huge quantity of industrial waste including toxic waste had been deposited there.
Between 1984 and 1999, Corby Borough Council undertook the demolition, excavation and redevelopment of the site as part of a program of urban regeneration. This involved transporting the waste through populated areas to a quarry north of the site. Up to 200 daily vehicle movements carried the toxic waste in open lorries which spilt sludge over the roads and also released huge amounts of contaminated dust into the air.
Subsequently, in the late 1980s and 1990s, the rates of limb deformities in babies born in Corby were found to be almost three times higher than those of children born in the surrounding area and ten times higher than a town with a population of 60,000 should expect. In all cases initially referred to the court there were no previous family histories of limb defect.
The case heard at the High Court in 2009 represented 18 young people who alleged that toxic waste dumped by Corby Borough Council between 1984 and 1999 was the cause of their deformities. All had serious disabilities, including missing or underdeveloped fingers and deformities of their feet. They alleged that their mothers ingested or inhaled the toxic substances that affected the development of their limbs while they were still in the womb. All their mothers either lived in or regularly visited Corby between 1984 and 1999 when the work was carried out across the town.
David Penman was called in by the claimants to act as an Expert Witness and his crucial evidence proved to be decisive which ultimately led to the Corby Borough Council agreeing to a financial settlement to the families involved. The Netflix film ‘Toxic Town” explains further and should be on your must watch list.
David can currently be found working as a private Consultant Gynecologist and specialist in Fetal Medicine at the Spire Alexandra Hospital in Walderslade and at The Hempstead Therapy Centre.
So, what about David’s masonic career I hear you ask. One of the questions I asked him was “What made you join Freemasonry?”. He answered that it was while attending the Kent Show at Detling. There was a stand promoting Freemasonry in East Kent which was being manned at the time by non-other than a certain Roger Waltham. While David was enquiring, he mentioned to Roger the fact that his father-in-law was a Freemason and I believe the rest is history. David was initiated into the Agricola Lodge in 2006 and was the Master in 2014 and 2024. He is also a member of Douglas Lodge 1725 being the Master in 2016 and is also a member of East Kent Masters Lodge 3931. He was exalted into the Agricola Chapter 4501 in 2007 and became Most Excellent Zerubbabel in 2023. He was Perfected into the Ancient Accepted Rite, commonly known as Rose Croix, in the Swale Chapter 657 in November 2023. I asked him what made him join our Order and he replied, “It ticked all the boxes”. Good Ritual, Good Fellowship, and Good Food. He is enjoying the Chapter and Order where he hopes to progress and knowing his background and abilities, I am sure he will.
A truly remarkable man and unsung hero of many who will forever feel grateful for all the work he has done and continues to do.