Monty Barker was born in Glasgow on 12 March 1934. After studying classics he turned to a career in medicine, training at St Andrews and Dundee.
In 1954 he was diagnosed with TB meningitis and for one month was expected to die. He recovered and a career in psychiatry followed, partly though the advice of a senior college who told him ‘You don’t have to be bonkers to become a psychiatrist’. He was appointed as a consultant in Bristol, where junior staff and medical students found him an excellent teacher, although at times quite intimidating.
A formidable partnership
While chairman of the Christian Unions committee in Scotland he met Rosemary Clarke, the Scottish IVF travelling secretary, and they were married in 1962. In later life Monty said: ‘I could not have done what I have done without Rosemary.’ For 52 years their marriage has been a formidable partnership with Rosemary always at his side but never in his shadow.
Perceptive and penetrating in his discussions and conversations, with the disconcerting ability to raise one eyebrow in a questioning mode, his ability to converse on a wide range of subjects came in part from his inquiring mind and in part from his extensive library, which he had collected over many years.
He was in demand as a lecturer to theological students in the UK, Paris and India. He served as lay reader at Christchurch Clifton and on a number of boards, including the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies where he endowed the Montagu Barker Lectures in 2008. In 2014 he fulfilled a lifetime ambition with a three-week pilgrimage to China, where he once thought he would be a medical missionary.
Investing in young people
He was psychiatrist, advisor, counsellor and friend to many, investing much of his time in young people. One of his key questions was ‘What makes life tick for you?’ His own answer to that question would have been that of the great Scottish divine, Samuel Rutherford: ‘I seek no other thing but that my Lord may be honoured.’
He leaves his influence on a generation of medical students and psychiatric trainees, many of whom now have senior posts in the UK and abroad, and a lasting legacy to the Christian community in many parts of the world for his wise counsel and Christ-like example.
He is survived by his wife Rosemary, Nicola and Jonathan, their partners and two grandchildren.
