Anthony Dave Walton was a Newquay-born and Plymouth-trained Diagnostic Radiographer who is sadly missed by his family and his extensive radiographic family.
Always known as Dave, he exemplified all that is good in our profession.
Since qualifying in 1986, Dave dedicated his working life to making patients feel safe. Intelligent, kind, genial, willing, friendly, hilarious, loyal and thoughtful are all words used in the past few weeks to remember Dave.
He was described as their ‘go-to guy’ by a CT superintendent who worked with Dave for many years. Dave really was the most reliable colleague.
You not only knew he would turn up to cover every shift, but he was always early, to have a chat or simply to send the poor, exhausted night person home. He cared about people. He loved his job, and he was utterly dependable.
'He loved sharing his knowledge and expertise'
Dave absorbed the technical and scientific detail everywhere he worked. Throughout his career, at Greenbank, Freedom Fields and Derriford hospitals, he became an expert in interventional radiography, CT and MRI.
Dave was encouraged by radiologist colleagues to extend his scope, long before it was recognised as accepted practice for radiographers to do so. Dave was content refining his core skills, he was proud to be a Diagnostic Radiographer, and he set himself and others the highest standards.
He loved sharing his knowledge and expertise with learners and colleagues and so many radiographers have benefited from his teaching over almost 40 years until he retired in October 2025.
It is so sad to us all that he was only retired a few weeks and was denied the leisure and freedom to pursue his hobbies of being out in nature and catching up with old friends.
'Datix Dave'
Dave’s attention to detail led to him championing the local incident reporting system, where he endeavoured to maximise learning and prevent patient harm. He earned the name ‘Datix Dave’ and was undoubtedly an advocate for minimising future system and human failures.
Dave was a cannulation superhero, often bailing out colleagues who had tried and failed to cannulate challenging veins. He could site a venflon from 100 paces and patients returning for follow-up CT scans were known to ask for Dave.
Dave was a keen sportsman and was passionate about cricket. He was a skilled bowler in his youth. An article in the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser dated Monday, 13 July 1987, refers to him as ‘chief destroyer with five for thirty-four’. Dave also played hockey and joined the X-ray team, playing in a couple of mixed teams in the summer leagues.
In 1991, the males of the department, alongside a few accomplished rugby player friends, decided to challenge Plymouth ambulance service to a game. The score was an unforgettable 0 – 0, never heard of in a game of rugby. They all got very muddy nonetheless and laughed about it for many years.
'We knew the extent to which he was loved'
Dave’s enthusiasm for football began when his nephew, Christian, enrolled in the Plymouth Argyle Academy as a youth. He took considerable pride in his nephew’s ongoing career, bracing the cold wet Devon weather at training sessions and then at professional level games.
He spoke with huge pride of his nephew Mark’s success as a chef, and once when a friend delivered a home-cooked chilli to his door because he was unwell, he later told them rather too honestly how bland he thought it was!
But that same friend was there at Dave’s funeral in Truro on Monday, 22nd December, Dave’s birthday, to celebrate his life alongside over 30 colleagues who stood shoulder to shoulder to honour his life.
The service was broadcast to a full Derriford hospital chapel and to 30 more friends around the country who couldn’t make it to Truro. Never one to put himself in the limelight, Dave would have been stunned at the outpouring of love and the turnout of radiographers. But none of us were surprised. We knew the extent to which he was loved. Rest well dear friend. You will always be in our hearts.
From Dave’s longstanding radiography family.
(Image: Dave Walton)