Emeritus Professor Rainer Goldsmith

Emeritus Professor Rainer Goldsmith, 96, was a doctor, physiologist and academic whose life was changed forever through expeditions to Antarctica.

In 1955 he was appointed as doctor, dentist and veterinarian in the 8-man Advance Party of Sir Vivian Fuchs's 1955-57 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) that completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica as attempted by Shackleton in 1914-17.

Their ship, the Theron, arrived in Antarctica in January 1956 but six weeks later a storm broke up the sea ice onto which 350 tons of stores had been unloaded. Among the losses was a prefabricated hut, meaning they had to live during the day in a Ferguson tractor crate (9 x 9 x 8 feet) and at night in tents in temperatures as low as -52°C. Fuchs said that “apart from Scott’s marooned northern party, theirs was the most severe ordeal in the history of Antarctic exploration”. Despite life-threatening conditions, the hut for the crossing party was completed, the first part of the crossing route was reconnoitered and many of the scheduled scientific measurements were completed. Additionally, with Surveyor Kenneth Blaiklock, he was the first to survey what became the Theron Mountains, subsequently having a glacier there named after him. He was awarded the Polar Medal by Queen Elizabeth on 13^th May 1958.

Rainer was born in Leipzig, Germany on Christmas Day 1927 to German Jewish parents and his father perspicaciously moved the family to England in 1933. Here he was educated at Charterhouse School and Cambridge University before qualifying as a doctor at St Bartholomew’s Medical School and completing National Service. Uncertain as to what to do next he travelled to Australia as a ship’s doctor and then answered an advertisement in The Times for a doctor for the TAE.

On returning from Antarctica in 1957, Rainer married Sally Macdonald and they remained happily married until her death in 2019. “Needing to pay the bills” he entered the world of academia, initially with the Medical Research Council investigating the challenges of heat and cold stress to human physiology, research which underpins much of today’s understanding in this area.

However, his fascination for the Antarctic continued and he took part in two further expeditions; in 1960-61 with Operation Deep Freeze V which sought to isolate the virus of the common cold; and then with the 1980 International Biomedical Expedition.

As one of the founding fathers, he helped establish Nottingham University Medical School, the first purpose-built teaching hospital in the UK. Later as Professor of Physiology at Chelsea College he reveled in supervising research students, leading seminars described as ‘challenging’ and ‘exhilarating’. He focused on promoting a deep understanding of physiological concepts and of science.

Rainer was described as a man with strong opinions with a  great readiness to share them! He was always ready to challenge perceived wisdom but also inquisitive, informative, and encouraging. Warm, with a talent for friendship, he was loyal, compassionate, and wonderfully enthusiastic.

Rainer passed away peacefully surrounded by his children in Derby on 28-10-2024

- The Independent

Professor Goldsmith's career at Loughborough University:

He was Professor of Human Biology in the Department of Human Sciences from 1986 until his retirement. With Professor Stuart Kirk, he was instrumental in setting up an innovative MSc programme in Remedial and Caring Practices to teach research methods to nurses and other health professionals. Taking a problem-solving and project approach, it was well attended with a wonderful atmosphere among the mainly mature students and enhanced the careers of many health workers. Rainer also had an important and influential role, also alongside Stuart Kirk (Pro-Vice Chancellor for teaching at the time), in designing and implementing the modular system of teaching used by Loughborough University to the present day.

- Professor Ken Parsons