Jamil Soomro was an orthopaedic surgeon at Orpington. He was born in Shikarpur, Sind, Pakistan, on 28 March 1948. His father, Haji Moula Bux Soomro, was a farmer. His mother was Fazlaan Soomro, a housewife. Jamil was educated at the Government High School, Shikarpur, where he gained a distinction in Islamic studies, and went on to the C&S College, Shikarpur, where he gained a first in intermediate science. He studied medicine at Liaquat Medical College, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, passing with the highest marks of his year. After house posts in the Navy in Pakiston, he came to England in 1975. He was a senior house officer at Lewisham Hospital and then at Stoke-on-Trent. He then held a post in the accident and emergency department at Stockport for six months, before moving to Birmingham, where he carried out paediatric surgery for a year in the Children’s Hospital. He then worked in Hull, at the Royal Infirmary, as a paediatric surgeon. He then moved to Crawley, as a senior house officer, and embarked on his career in orthopaedics. He worked as an orthopaedic surgeon at Chelmsford, then Portsmouth, before joining Orpington Hospital, Bromley Hospital NHS Trust, in 1980. He became an associate specialist in 1990, and developed a special interest in knee surgery. He retired in 2003. He was an excellent surgeon and an active and enthusiastic teacher, teaching staff at all levels and regularly helping junior doctors prepare for their MRCS examinations. He had a warm bedside manner and is remembered not only for his surgical skills, but also for his politeness, kindness, sincerity and dedication to his work. In July 2006 a plaque was unveiled at Orpington Hospital to commemorate his service to the trust. He was married to Nigar. They had a daughter, Hibba, who is an ophthalmologist, and two sons, Omer, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, and Mohammed, a pharmacist. Jamil Soomro died on 12 September 2004.