Oliver Rackham

Messages of Condolence

• His kindness, English wit and genuine interest in the people he engaged with left my life richer. Fiona, I cannot even begin to know your and the kids’ pain. Please know the value he added and left all those he knew with. One takes that with you. Wishing you comfort in the love he shared.

  Bool Smuts – 1st August 2026

• Heartfelt condolences to Fiona and the children at this incredibly difficult time.
  The loss is unimaginable.
  You are a beautiful family through and through and we are thinking of you all at this difficult time.
  Sending much love.
  
  Zillah, Reya and Sienna Xx

  Zillah Edwards – 1st August 2026

• Shocked and saddened to read this.
  Sending sincerest condolences to you, Fiona and to your lovely family xxx

  Wendy Edwards – 1st August 2026

• So very sorry to hear the news. Sending my love and prayers to you all

  Christine Dukes – 1st August 2026

• So sad to hear of Oliver’s passing. He was such immense help when my twins were 7 weeks premature in APH. Sending our condolences to all of Oliver’s family. X

  Jacqueline Foster – 1st August 2026

• Our daughter Penny was cared for by Oliver as her neonatologist, and we will always be grateful for the way he guided us through those early, frightening days. He was the one who recognised her condition and set her on the path she’s on now. Beyond being an exceptional doctor, he was a genuinely good man. We were lucky enough to complete the Three Peaks with him, and his encouragement and kindness stayed with us long after. We are deeply saddened to hear of his passing, and we are holding his family in our thoughts.

  Becky Mylchreest – 1st August 2026

• My wishes are with you all dr rackman was a incredible man who helped the hearts of many including mine and my sons he saved my sons life 2014 without a shadow of doubt hes going to be missed so much by so many rest easy dr rackman biggest loves and cuddles to his wife and children

  Katie mills – 1st August 2026

• Will be forever grateful that you saved all four of my children Oliver. Sleep peacefully x

  Kirsty Foley – 1st August 2026

• Thank you for everything you did for me and my family during our time in Arrowe park nicu we will always be grateful to you rest in peace

  Jade – 1st August 2026

• Thank you so much for all your work and dedication to prem & sick babies dr rackham may you rest in peace. Thinking of your wife & children. Thank you for the gift of my boy in 2016, without you my life could be so so different.

  Amie lynch – 1st August 2026

• It was a privilege to know you, work alongside you and to learn so much from you. You were a passionate champion for patient safety, digital innovation, and families…never afraid to challenge convention in the pursuit of better care. As you often reminded us, quoting Voltaire, ‘The best is the enemy of the good.’ Yet, in many ways, you believed that being content with “good enough” should never stop us striving for better. Your wisdom, conviction, and legacy will continue to inspire me. You will be greatly missed. Rest in peace…
  

  Anand Kamalanathan – 1st August 2026

• Dear Fiona and Family
  I am so sorry for your loss of an amazing human that was Oliver. I met Oliver on the neonatal unit at Arrowe Park and he made those dark days more bearable and we will forever be grateful to him for not only being there for our baby boy Sebastian (who turns 11 on wednesday!) but also for us as a family.
  
  Sending love and strength to you all at this time.
  
  The Stievenard Family (Sophie, Alex and Sebastian – aka blue eyes as Oliver called him)
  Arrowe Park Neonatal residents Aug 2015
  
  

  Sophie Stievenard – 1st August 2026

• I had the absolute pleasure of working with Oliver in Wirral, supporting the NICU with media relations and marketing. I have never worked with someone so inspiring, which led me to nominating him for The One Show awards alongside some grateful parents whose baby he had saved. He was so dedicated to making a difference and the impact he had on the families he supported will last forever. Working with him is what inspired me to work for Claire House and he was a great support when I told him I had applied for a job there. That was less than three months ago. He wrote me a lovely recommendation and was genuinely pleased when I got the job. I will always remember him as intelligent, kind, good company and full of integrity. So sorry for your loss – I hope that you find strength in the amazing legacy that he leaves behind. Sending you all lots of love at this difficult time. X

  Kathryn Green – 1st August 2026

• It is with a sad heart to hear about Oliver’s passing. I have worked with him throughout his time at Arrowe Park and enjoyed many cakes, but most of all I always appreciated working with a colleague who gave everything to the family’s he looked after. My thought go to his family x

  Michaela Halfhead – 1st August 2026

• I was absolutely heartbroken hearing of Oliver’s passing I know you know what a wonderful man he was but I want to reiterate what he did for other peoples families my daughter was born in 2015 at 22+6 weeks there was very Little hope for her Oliver was our shining light who never gave up on her she is now a beautiful 11year old starting high school in September and our family owe our beautiful miracle to Oliver and his amazing knowledge and drive to do everything he could to help her and thankyou to your family for supporting him to help others my thoughts and prayers are with you all at this difficult and devastating time xx

  Carly Proudfoot – 1st August 2026

• Oliver was such an amazing help to our family when my son Ethan was in Arrowe Park after his birth. He talked to us kindly amd with compassion, and was seemingly ever present when we went to visit, regardless of the time of day or night. We were so sad to hear of his passing, but will celebrate his life and amazing care. Thank you Oliver Rackham, you will be remembered fondly.

  Paul Wyatt – 1st August 2026

• I and sonsad to here the news about Dr Rackham. I will will forever be in debt to him, he was one of if not the main reason my Daughter Evie and son Aidan are here now. Thank you so much Dr Rackham, my thoughts go out to your friends and family and they all will be so proud of you.

  Dennis Barlow – 1st August 2026

• To the most beautiful family, my heart aches for the loss of a husband and father. I’m trusting that this pain and grief will be surrounded by a growing peace and will be showered by beautiful and treasured memories. Sending you all love and prayers xxx

  Sheila Lister – 1st August 2026

• My Daughter Honor was born at 31 weeks in 2013, Dr Rackham helped Honor and us in so many ways, He seemed a lovely man, Kind and caring in every way.. We are thinking of him and all of his family at this sad time. Sending so much love xxxx

  Nicola Mazier – 2nd August 2026

• Ollie was a great University friend – we met at Cambridge and I shared a house in Hackney with Ollie and Fiona and other friends when we trained at St Bartholomew’s. Fun times were had – especially in France. Ollie was a fantastic, witty, generous man who also happened to be a brilliant doctor. A life so very well lived – but tragically, far too short. He will be greatly missed by all. Much Love to Fiona and all the family Xx

  Gary Nicholls – 2nd August 2026

• I was shocked and saddened to hear of Oliver’s untimely death, and send sincere condolences to Fiona and family. We were colleagues on the children’s and neonatal units at Arrowe Park for many years. He was a fine clinician and a loyal and supportive colleague, and he was loved by the families he cared for. Oliver’s understated and quiet demeanour hid a fierce commitment to developing and maintaining high standards of care. One of his more quirky innovations was to introduce a slot at the weekly unit meeting for jokes or odd newspaper articles. My favourites were an article claiming that pigeons cooed in regional accents, and one stating that spiders wove more squiggly webs when fed caffeine (or was it cannabis?). To borrow his catchphrase, I was gunna say ‘Farewell Oliver, you will be greatly missed’.

  Donal Manning – 2nd August 2026

• Dear Fiona and family, the Cowdy family are all so sorry for your loss. Our memories of Ollie are forever linked to many happy holidays. One of my personal favourites was watching you and Ollie laughing uncontrollably as you played with some air drumsticks. Sending you all our love.

  Mary-Lou Cowdy – 3rd August 2026

• Dear Fiona and family, i am so sorry for your loss. I had the privilege or working with Oliver at APH. He was always so wise and sharp minded in his observations. He was committed to good patient care, and teaching and developing juniors. He taught me so much.
  He really cared. – that was the main thing. It wasn’t just a job for him – he really cared
  And along with that he was a friend. He had such a dry humour and a kind heart.. He was genuinely one of the good ones and he will be so missed, but not forgotten

  Liz Thompson – 3rd August 2026

• I have been so sad to hear of this news and have been thinking all the time about Oliver in the past weeks. I knew Oliver as a fellow paediatrician in Wirral and his sharp intelligence and commitment to continuous improvement of patient care and our health care records were a hugely inspiring example to me.
  Oliver supported me personally through an extremely difficult time with great compassion and friendliness.
  
  Whenever I came to ask Oliver for a heart scan on a patient he’d laconically say as I came through his door “it’s not the heart” and then do the scan straight away dropping whatever else he was doing. I will always remember him as a great colleague.
  
  My sincere condolences to all his family
  and friends

  Jim Pauling – 3rd August 2026

• Dear Fiona and Family,
  I am deeply sorry for your loss.
  Dr Rackham/Oliver helped and guided me a lot during my paediatric training. He was kind, witty, genuine and above all else wanted the best care for his patients and their families.
  
  He was a great clinical leader, who taught me so much, feedback was always offered kindly with a smile and a great sense of humour. He created a friendly, high achieving and positive neonatal and paediatric department at Arrowe Park, which is why so many of the Mersey paediatric trainee’s myself included were driven to become Consultants at Arrowe.
  
  Rest in peace Dr Rackham gone too soon but not to be forgotten, a privilege to have worked with you.
  

  Jen Heaps – 3rd August 2026

• Dr Rackham gave great care to our daughter Harriet when she was born 8 weeks prematurely at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd. He was so lovely and we are terribly sorry to hear the sad news of his passing. Sending thoughts and condolences to his family and friends. He touched so many lives and saved so many tiny babies.

  Sophie u005cu0026amp; Connor Shortall – 4th August 2026

• I first met Ollie on day one of medical training at St Catharines College Cambridge. There were only 6 medics in our college in that year and Ollie and I hit it off immediately. He was so kind, genuine and such good fun! He was also very modest as he was brilliant. We both studied in London for our clinical years and then spent time together in New Zealand where we both worked after our house jobs. Such good times. Ollie was the instigator of inviting the entire England cricket team to the doctor’s beach house in Whanganui! He will be so so missed but what is in no doubt he will have had such a positive influence on every life he has touched.

  Claire Bate( Walsh) – 4th August 2026

• Profoundly knowledgeable man with a strong and clear sense of purpose, tactful, nuanced, fair, respectful. I found interacting with Oliver intellectually highly rewarding. A legend! I will miss him very much. My thoughts are with his family.

  Artur Abelian – 4th August 2026