Our patriarch passes away

Dr. Henry Bernard
1920 - 2016

Born Henryk Bierzynski in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland, Dr Henry was attracted to medicine at an early age, spending his school holidays assisting an uncle who was a doctor. Henry began his formal medical education in 1938 at the University of Montpellier in France. After completing his first year, he returned to his family in Poland and soon found himself caught up in the outbreak of WWII. He would survive as an inmate in three concentration camps - Blizyn, Auschwitz and Dachau - before continuing his medical studies for two years in Wroclaw, Poland. In 1947, Henry emigrated to Australia where he finished his medical degree at Sydney University, placing sixth in his year. So strong was his devotion to medicine, he inspired all three of his children to become doctors, a combined accomplishment that gave him immense satisfaction. Dr. Henry died peacefully in his sleep of old age.

Henry at his desk at Narrabeen Family Medical