Lieutenant General Dr. Colin Royden Cockcroft SSA SSA SM SD SM MMM, MBChB (4 October 1917 – 5 December 1987)[1] was a South African military commander.

He obtained a MBChB degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1946 and later obtained a master's degree in pediatrics from the University of Pretoria[1] He joined the South African Army's medical corps in 1947 but later resigned in 1948.

[2][3] He commanded 1 Military Hospital (Pretoria), served as Deputy Surgeon General and later commanded the centralised South African Medical Service, as Surgeon-General, from 1969 to 1977, before he retired[3] He also served on the South African Medical and Dental Council and was a member of the South African Academy of Art and Science.

on 1 December 1973 he was appointed the first Honorary Professor of Medicine at the University of Pretoria[4]

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