Born on 3 November 1922 only son of David Crombie, an engineer, who died in March 1955, and Mary King his wife; he was educated at Colston School, Bristol, and Edinburgh University, where he won the Mouat scholarship in the practice of physic in 1944. He held resident posts at Walsall General Hospital and the country branch at Stanmore of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. From 1945 to 1947 he served in the RAMC. In 1952 he was appointed surgical registrar at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, under R T Campbell FRCS, later transferring to the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, where he died on 29 June 1956 aged 33. He married in 1951 Mary Jenkins and was survived by his wife and their young son. He played in the University Rugby XV in his first year at Edinburgh.