THE family of a leading North-East pathologist have described the time he spent in the jungle during one of Asia’s largely “forgotten wars”.

Dr Hugh Williams found himself caught up in the infamous war between Commonwealth forces and Communist guerillas that eventually led to Malaya becoming an independent country.

He described it to his family as “one of the most awful and traumatic times in his life”.

Dr Williams, who spent his retirement at Westgate, in Weardale, County Durham, died in hospital last week following a heart attack. He was 85 and he leaves a wife, Stephanie, son, Nigel and daughter, Sarah.

Nigel Williams, a London journalist, said his father rarely talked about the Malayan war, which ended in 1960 after 12 years of fierce fighting between Commonwealth troops and the military arm of the Malayan Communist party.

Dr Williams spent eight years in Malaya with the then Colonial Service, eventually becoming director of its medical research institute in Penang.

Born at Penarth, in South Wales, Dr Williams was educated at Cheltenham College, then Cambridge University, emerging with a doctorate in medicine. He finished his training at the Middlesex Hospital.

Before starting his career as a pathologist, Dr Williams did National Service with the South Wales Borders, rising to the rank of captain.

In 1963 he was appointed consultant pathologist at Middlesbrough General Hospital – a post he held until retirement in 1988. It was on Teesside that he met Stephanie, a nursing sister, and they made their home in Yarm, near Stockton.

In 1986, while they were searching the dales for a home to retire to, they came on Westgate House, Weardale.

Nigel Williams said: “Medicine was the most important thing in my father’s life. He loved his job.”

Following a private cremation, a thanksgiving service for Dr Williams will be held at St Andrew’s Church, Westgate, at 3pm, on Friday.