A decorated army medic and scholar has been recognised by Edinburgh Napier University for his remarkable career.
Major General Professor Tim Hodgetts was presented with an honorary degree during a graduation ceremony at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall today.
Professor Hodgetts was commissioned in the British Army for 41 years, becoming a specialist in emergency medicine and serving in operations in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has drawn praise for his pioneering approach to combat casualty care, and is behind emergency medical innovations such as the Tourni-Key and Burns Calculator. As Surgeon General of the UK Armed Forces and Chair of NATO’s medical leadership, Tim is also credited with reorganising defence medicine, developing trauma and suicide registries, and introducing of life-saving public education tools such as the charity citizenAID.
The honorary doctorate is the latest in in a long line of accolades awarded to Professor Hodgetts. He was appointed Commander of the British Empire in 2009 – which was elevated to Companion of the Order of the Bath in 2023. He was named Honorary Physician to Her Majesty the Queen in 2004 and Honorary Surgeon to His Majesty the King in 2022. He has also been recognised as a Hospital Doctor of the Year by the NHS and named by the British Medical Association as one of the most innovative doctors in the country.
Tim retired from armed service in December 2024 but continues his academic work. His most recent book of original war poetry was launched at ENU, during Scotland’s first conference focused entirely on the role of the armed forces in society.
Responding to his honorary graduation, Major General Professor Tim Hodgetts said: "I am delighted and humbled to receive an honorary doctorate from the University, in recognition of a career of constructive challenge to continuously improve standards of patient care, particularly in the fields of emergency care, serious injury and disaster medicine.
“I very much look forward to building on my association with the University to pass on learning and to help inspire the next generation of clinical providers and clinical leaders."
Tim’s graduation builds on Edinburgh Napier University’s strong links with the armed forces. ENU’s Craiglockhart campus was used as a hospital during the First World War, and became famousas the place where poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen first met. Today it houses the War Poets Collection to pay homage to their work.
ENU continues to lead trailblazing research into life for military personnel and veterans, through its pioneering Centre of Military Research, Education & Public Engagement (CMREPE).
Presenting his honorary degree, CMREPE Director, Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith said: “Over the course of more than three decades, Major General Professor Tim Hodgetts has embodied the very essence of leadership amid complexity.
“As a distinguished emergency physician, visionary strategist, and transformational figure across both military and civilian healthcare systems, he has shaped clinical practice on the frontlines and influenced policy at the highest echelons of governance.
“Tim imparts an enduring lesson that, in a world fraught with complexity, the true leader is one who brings clarity, who leads with empathy, and who acts with unwavering courage.”