Born on 28 September 1913 only son of Sir Hugh Devine FRCS, the distinguished Melbourne surgeon, and Mary O'Donnell his wife. He was educated at Beaumont College, Old Windsor, and at Xavier College, Melbourne. He graduated in 1937 from the University of Melbourne with first-class honours, and was awarded the Jamieson prize in medicine. He was resident medical officer and registrar at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and in 1940 proceeded to the MS degree. He joined the Australian Army Medical Service early in the war of 1939-45 and was sent on active service to the Middle East. He served through the siege of Tobruk and in Syria, with permanent damage to his health. His book on his experiences, *The Rats of Tobruk*, illustrated with his own sketches and photographs, had a distinct success. He was mentioned in dispatches and was promoted to the rank of Major. Coming to England immediately after the war he worked at Guy's Hospital and took the Fellowship in 1946. He then went into surgical practice in Melbourne, and was appointed to the staffs of the Alfred and later the Royal Melbourne Hospitals. He was making a distinguished place for himself as a surgeon in practice, research, and writing, when he was taken seriously ill at the age of 39. After more than two years he recovered sufficiently to undertake part-time work again in the physiological laboratories, but died suddenly from coronary occlusion on 31 October 1955 aged 42. John Devine was enterprising, thoughtful, and versatile. As a boy he was interested in gadgets and experiments, and in later life had many interests outside his profession. Anything that required technical ingenuity attracted him and he became a skilled photographer and cabinet-maker. He was also interested in painting and literature, and painted and wrote himself. He married Mary Agatha O'Loughlin, who survived him with their three children. He was survived also by his father, mother, and two sisters. (See the memoir of Sir Hugh Devine, preceding.) Selected Publications: *The Surgery of the Rectum and Colon*, jointly with his father, Sir Hugh Devine. Bristol, John Wright, 1948. *The Rats of Tobruk*. Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1943. Prevention of leakage of intestinal anastomosis. *Surg Gynec Obstet* 1946, 82, 475. The surgeon and postoperative colitis. *Postgrad med J* 1950, 26, 308.