Anthony Radcliffe was a consultant ENT surgeon in London. He was born in South Africa and grew up in the same small village as his long-term friend Aaron Klug, the Nobel laureate, who influenced him greatly. Radcliffe qualified in Ireland and completed junior posts at the West London Hospital, Hemel Hempstead, and was encouraged by John H Young, the influential house governor of the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, to go there. He subsequently obtained ENT consultant posts at Willesden General Hospital, the London Jewish Hospital and the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital. He was a renowned operator and teacher, and acquired a larger private practice in Harley Street, London. His reputation ensured that he had a stream of medical visitors. When the Royal Society of Medicine no longer offered a venue for the presentation of difficult and puzzling ENT problems, he formed a club to do so. His wife, Lillian, was his practice manager. His son is a consultant ENT surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital.