A law unto himself and a legend in his own lifetime – that was the late Dr George Penn.

The Whitland GP was respected throughout west Wales and beyond for his old-fashioned values, devotion to duty and his campaigning for community causes.

Described as ‘a gem of a man’, this doctor of the old school retired the day before his 70th birthday after 42 years at the town’s Dolycwrt surgery.

And after Dr Penn’s death in 2002, his son Roger vowed to document the life and times – with the help of the mountain of papers, cuttings, event programmes and correspondence which occupied an entire room of his late father’s home.

“He was a compulsive writer – letters, notes, postcards – and kept an intermittent diary, and there was just so much information,”

said 54-year-old Mr Penn, who is still known in Whitland as ‘Dr Penn’s son’.

“I first of all wrote the history of the surgery, but there just had to be another book about my father’s extraordinary life.”

‘Beyond the Call of Duty’, which portrays that life, paints an affectionate picture of the unique and lovable Dr Penn, who believed that being a doctor meant taking his place at the heart of the community.

“His patient care was second to none, and there will never be a more caring doctor,” said Mr Penn. “But he was also passionate about so many causes – he would take his annual leave to organise Whitland Week and was a vociferous campaigner for rural railways.

It was his greatest regret that he failed to save the Whitland and Cardigan ‘Cardi Bach’ line.”

More than 50 personal reminiscences from relatives, friends and former patients add to the stories and anecdotes of ‘Beyond the Call of Duty’, which is also a tribute to Dr Penn’s dear wife Peggy, and her unwavering support of his projects and patients.

The book was recently launched at a packed gathering at Whitland Town Hall, and Mr Penn will be signing copies at the Victoria Bookshop, Haverfordwest, this Saturday (December 15th) between 11am and 1pm.

● Beyond the Call of Duty: A Biography of Whitland’s Dr Penn is published by Gomer Press, price £14.99