Norman Rothnie was a greatly respected consultant general surgeon with a major interest in peripheral vascular and also in thyroid surgery. He worked for over 30 years at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and made many contributions in peripheral vascular surgery. A tall man who 'never looked down' on anyone, he was known by his friends for his infectious good humour, and by his patients for his level-headed advice, laced with transparent kindness and sympathy. Imperturbable in the operating theatre, he never spared himself in the pursuit of excellence, and his large hands belied a gentle operative surgical technique, which he passed on to his many trainees. He was born on 21 January 1927, in Watford, Hertfordshire, the eldest child of Andrew Abercromby Rothnie, a bank manager, and his wife Melissa Furey née McConnach. The family was completed by two younger sisters. After a brief foray south of the border, the family left Watford and returned to Pitlochry, where Andrew Rothnie became the local bank manager. It was here that Norman received his early education. A permanent move to England occurred when Norman's father was appointed manager of the Regent Street branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The family took up residence in Moor Park in northwest London, and Norman continued his secondary education at Watford Grammar School. Even at this early stage his natural leadership qualities were apparent, and he was elected head boy in his final year. Early thespian tendencies were also evident at school, where he acted in school plays, usually in lead roles, as physically he stood head and shoulders above his peers. In 1945 he entered St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, which had been evacuated to Cambridge during the war. Undergraduate students coming straight from school formed a quarter of the intake, the remainder had served in the Armed Forces during the Second World War or had worked in industries allied to the war effort. For the first two terms students shared the facilities of the Cambridge University pre-clinical medical school. Some students were housed in Queens', and enjoyed the collegiate atmosphere, although wartime rationing of food was a problem. At Easter 1946, all Bart's preclinical students left Cambridge and returned to Charterhouse Square, West Smithfield, London, to continue their studies. Most of the medical school buildings had survived the war-time bomb damage inflicted on the City, except for the refectory, which was reduced to one storey. Norman was able to live with his parents in Moor Park and was often to be seen in the dissecting room on a Saturday morning, wearing his kilt, perhaps before or after a game of golf. He was a relaxed but diligent student, who obtained the Kirkes scholarship in medicine and the coveted Brackenbury prize in surgery before sitting the qualifying examinations. With this surgical prize he was guaranteed to obtain the house surgeon post on the professorial surgical unit in 1950 with Sir James Paterson Ross. John Kinmonth was the assistant director at the time and later Norman was to gain a lecturer post at St Thomas' under Kinmonth's guidance. The Christmas shows produced by students and staff were an essential part of the festivities at Bart's. Norman was in his element as the shows toured each ward, and he both wrote and acted in comedy sketches, usually incorporating wry comments on consultants of the day. A 'pot pourri' of the best of the shows was staged at the Cripplegate theatre after Christmas, where Norman proved a superb compere, particularly when joined by a colleague of much smaller stature. Norman then proceeded to a senior house surgeon post at Hill End Hospital, in cardiothoracic surgery, with Oswald Tubbs and Ian Hill for a further year. This mental hospital in St Albans had served as a war-time sector hospital for Bart's, and specialties such as orthopaedics, neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery remained at Hill End for many years before returning to West Smithfield. Having decided on a surgical career, Norman obtained a post as a demonstrator of anatomy at the London Hospital for a year in 1952, during which time he passed the primary FRCS examination. In February 1953 he began his National Service. He served as a junior specialist in surgery, firstly at the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital, London, in association with Westminster Hospital, and then at the Army Chest Centre, Connaught Hospital, Hindhead, Surrey. Some of his earlier publications were produced during this period, including 'The management of serious primary pleural effusion in young adults' (*Tubercle*. 1954 Aug;35[8]:182-7) and 'Lipothymoma; a report of a case and a review of the literature' (*J R Army Med Corps* 1956 Jan;102[1]:39-43). Back in civilian life, he became a junior surgical registrar to the surgical professorial unit at Bart's under Sir James Paterson Ross and with Gerard Taylor. After a year, during which he passed the final FRCS, it was time to get more 'cutting' experience in a peripheral hospital. He spent two years in general surgery with Reginald S Murley at St Albans, combining this with some orthopaedic experience under A F Rushforth. In October 1957 he joined the surgical unit at St Thomas' Hospital under John Kinmonth as a lecturer in surgery, a post he held for two years. He benefitted from working with Frank B Cockett, who had an established expertise in the management of varicose veins, and George Kent Harrison, a Canadian by birth, who joined Norman R Barrett as St Thomas' Hospital was taking its first steps in cardiac surgery. His research work blossomed, and included the investigation of 'deficiencies of haemostasis following total body perfusion', the subject of his MS thesis, and animal experimental work on the use of patch grafts in the heart. He published and delivered many papers on both of these subjects, and gave an Arris and Gale lecture at the RCS in 1961 on 'Abnormal bleeding after total body perfusion' (*Ann R Coll Surg Engl*. 1961 Aug;29:102-12). In October 1960, Norman moved back to St Bartholomew's Hospital as a lecturer in surgery with senior registrar status under Gerard Taylor and assistant director of the surgical unit, B N Catchpole. He was able to gain wider experience by working on other general units at Bart's. This period was highly productive, and he wrote many papers, mainly on vascular surgery, including some work on autologous vein grafts and the revascularisation process. In 1963 he undertook a four-month sabbatical visit to the main surgical centres in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, to learn about their clinical and research work on gastroenterology, thyroid and peripheral vascular surgery. He was appointed as a consultant general surgeon to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in July 1965. Within a year he became a RCS tutor, with responsibility for postgraduate educational and training programmes. For the following eight years, up until 1982 he was the Oxford regional adviser to the RCS. Other commitments during this period were to local and regional ethics committees, but the ultimate local accolade came when he was elected president of the Reading Pathological Society. At a national level, Norman played a major role on the education advisory committee of the Association of Surgeons, and as a member and then chairman of the specialist advisory committee on general surgery. He was particularly interested in manpower issues and was on the manpower advisory panel of the RCS. He was an active member of the Grey Turner Club from 1973 and was the driving force behind the foundation of the Peripheral Vascular Club in 1968, and became its secretary and then president. It was felt that there was little opportunity in the UK for general surgeons with an interest in peripheral vascular surgery and working outside the teaching centres to discuss informally the problems of their specialty. Membership was limited to 15-20 members, and although they joined the new Vascular Surgical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, composed of those from teaching centres, they maintained an independent forum, as a travelling club, which met in the spring. The format of the meetings was to have formal papers on a Friday afternoon, followed by an evening dinner, and on Saturday morning there was a 'confessional', a sympathetic, but nevertheless keenly critical, forum for discussion and debate. Norman was very much a family man. He married Margaret (Peggy) V Deane on 30 July 1952 and they had four sons: Iain and Neil, and the twins, Bruce and Stuart. Only Neil followed his father's footsteps. He trained at St Bartholomew's and became a general surgeon. At the family home in Sonning, Berkshire, and the holiday villa in Spain, visitors were always very welcome. On social occasions, and when entertaining staff and colleagues at home, Norman always wore a kilt. In hospital, he always expected high standards and his juniors had to be smart on duty. On one occasion, after a reprimand for substandard attire, all three members of his firm appeared in morning dress the next day. This was one of the few occasions when their chief was lost for words! Sadly Peggy died of metastatic breast cancer on 1 November 1985. After a year Norman married his secretary of many years standing, Mary Ellen Dredge, much to the delight of his family. They were able to enjoy some 25 years together and in his autumn years of retirement their move to Budleigh Salterton in Devon proved a great success. Norman was able to indulge in his passion for golf and together Norman and Mary enjoyed travel. Even in retirement, Norman was always one to stand up and lead. Wherever he went, he was the life and soul of the party, whether taking charge as the self-appointed head of a Saga tour group, or arranging for *The Royal Scotsman* train to make an unscheduled stop at his home town of Pitlochry simply to get fresh supplies of his favourite whisky from a nearby distillery. Norman died of a ruptured thoracic aneurysm outside his home in Budleigh Salterton on 29 January 2011 at the age of 84. He was survived by Mary, his four sons and their families. His grandson Alexander qualified as a doctor from Imperial College just a few months after his death.