Martin Brett was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Salisbury, based at Odstock Hospital and Salisbury General Infirmary. He was born on 1 January 1923 in Sheerness to Joseph and Margaret Brett. Joseph Brett was born in 1893 and educated at Faversham Grammar School and then Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied medicine. He spent a year at the Middlesex Hospital before going to France as a machine gun officer with the 11th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. Martin's mother Margaret was born in Kensington in 1895 and educated at the progressive Lingholt Boarding School, Hindhead. After leaving school she trained as a nurse at a military hospital in London and worked in France as an ambulance driver. Margaret and Joseph were married in 1917. After the war, Martin's father made his career with Vauxhall Motors and became manager of their export office. Martin gained a place at Christ's Hospital School. He thrived at sports, including rugby and cricket, and was also interested in music and natural history. The latter were to remain his lifelong passions. He played the flute in performances of the 'St Matthew passion' under the baton of Ralph Vaughan Williams. He also played in several performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the St Mary's Hospital Musical Society. He qualified in 1945, and took and passed his FRCS in 1948, all by the age of 25. His interest in surgery was kindled when working under Arthur Dickson-Wright, and he went on to specialise in orthopaedic surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Great Portland Street, and then at Stanmore. Martin met Joan Diana Wace whilst on the island of Barra about this time, and they were married in 1949. Martin undertook a research fellowship in Boston in 1951, taking his family with him, before returning to London, where he became first a registrar and then a senior registrar at Stanmore. He was appointed as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Salisbury in 1957, where he joined RB Jim Shield. He was joined by Bevis Brock in 1961 and the duo of 'Brett and Brock' continued to provide a comprehensive orthopaedic service until Bevis' retirement in 1983. A spell in Salisbury was part of the Wessex surgical rotation and many aspiring orthopaedic surgeons owe their interest in the specialty to the teachings of Brett and Brock. During this time they introduced replacement of the hip and knee joint, arthroscopic surgery of the knee and the modern concepts of trauma care. Odstock Hospital, the home of the famous burns unit and department of plastic and maxillofacial surgery, provided a considerable challenge to Martin and his colleague, not least in managing young children with spina bifida. Martin helped to revive the Salisbury Medical Society and founded the postgraduate medical centre. He also wrote the definitive chapter on the surgical treatment of ganglion of the wrist in the prestigious publications of Charles Robb and Rodney Smith. Music remained a passion throughout his life. This he passed on to his family, and all five of his children have made music a major part of their lives. He played, at different times, the cornet, recorder, flute, double bass, viols and hurdy-gurdy. During the war years he developed an interest in wildlife photography and kept bees all his life. He revelled in wildlife and the ways of country life, in the farming villages of Wessex, and was always keen to learn from his patients in Salisbury and Shaftesbury. He painted in his spare time, and captured the architecture of places in Africa, where he worked in the early seventies, particularly the old city of Kano, Nigeria. Martin was concerned about the effects of exposure to nuclear radiation and became involved with the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons. In 1982 he was asked by John Baker, the Bishop of Salisbury, to be the medical adviser on the Church of England's working party *The church and the bomb* (London, Hodder & Stoughton, CIO Pub). He was a keen defender of human rights, and became a member of Amnesty International and a supporter of Freedom from Torture. He also became a donation governor of Christ's Hospital, supporting the education of a boy from a family of modest means. Martin was forced to retire early with a serious illness in 1984. Happily, he survived to enjoy a long retirement with his wife, Joan Diana, in the village of Stratford Tony, Wiltshire, where they nurtured a wonderful garden and kept and bred Dexter cattle and geese. The fruits, berries and flowers of the countryside allowed him to make wine, although not always to everyone's taste! The family had a long and deep attachment to the island of Barra, where they spent time every year in their cottage. Martin was so keen on fresh air and the outdoor life that he preferred to spend the 12 hours of the sea crossing to Barra on deck, rather than in the stuffy saloon below. He was an outstanding surgeon and a true countryman, and will be remembered for his energy, vitality and the warmth of his personality. He died on 17 April 2012 following a fall, which had resulted in a hip fracture. He survived the surgery, only to succumb to a post-operative complication. He was survived by his wife, Joan Diana, their five children (Crinan, Clare, Richard, Maggie and Rob), 16 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.