Mr Ogg last year. 3.3.5RETIRED eye surgeon John Ogg, who was known professionally for his pioneering work and personally as a man who delighted in magic, miniatures and corkscrews, has died, aged 83, at Ashley Grange Nursing Home, near Downton.

Tributes have poured in from doctors and surgeons who worked with him during the three decades he was consultant ophthalmologist in Salisbury.

He had been in hospital for some weeks but was moved to the nursing home, where his wife Doreen was already resident, just before he died.

His daughter, Diana McDonnell, said: "It was lovely that they were together for the last 12 days and they were very happy."

Mr Ogg had lived with Doreen in Woodgreen for more than 40 years before moving to Woodfalls in June last year to be closer to Diana and his son Stephen, as his health failed him.

Born Archibald John Ogg, he qualified in 1946 after training at Oxford and the London Hospital.

He served for a short time as a surgeon-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and then specialised in ophthalmology, holding posts in London and Oxford.

He met Doreen in London, at Moorfields eye hospital where Mr Ogg was senior registrar and Mrs Ogg a nursing sister, who had assisted Sir Harold Ridley in his pioneering cataract operation.

The couple married in 1953 and moved to Salisbury, living in The Close, before moving to Woodgreen in 1962.

Mr Ogg was a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Salisbury Infirmary and Odstock Hospital until his retirement in 1985.

In the 1980s, Mr Ogg spearheaded a campaign to raise £30,000 to buy an eye laser and ancillary equipment for treatment of diabetics with eye disease for Salisbury Infirmary.

He published a cook book to raise money for the appeal, attracting recipes from the Bishop of Salisbury and British Embassy wives in Washington, among others.

Mr Ogg contributed a recipe called Edible Fungi - he had a passion for foraging for mushrooms.

He was a popular figure in Woodgreen, participating in many local events.

He and his family also spent much of their spare time on the island of Coll, in the Hebrides, where the Oggs in the 1960s had bought a derelict croft that they gradually renovated.

Last year, he published a book, House In The Hebrides, about his love for the croft at Port Na Luing.

Miniature dolls' houses were another hobby to occupy his retirement years, and in 1987, he worked alongside harpsichord-maker Jim Mogford, constructing an accurate scale model of Salisbury Cathedral, to raise money for the Spire Appeal.

He was a member of the Magic Circle, although he rarely performed in public, reserving his magic for family and friends.

To raise money for the Magic Circle and other charities, he put some of his dolls' houses up for auction - TV magician Paul Daniels' wife, Debbie, was an eager customer.

Mr Ogg was a member of the exclusive International Correspondence of Corkscrew Addicts, an enthusiastic radio ham and a painter.

He is survived by his wife, his four children and six grandchildren.

The funeral service took place on Tuesday, at Salisbury crematorium.

The family has requested that any donations be made to Guide Dogs for the Blind. They hope to pay for the training of a guide dog to be named Oggin, in Mr Ogg's memory.