Son of John Donald of Aberdeen, he was born on 14 February 1896 and was educated at Robert Gordon's College and Aberdeen University. In the 1914-18 war he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Gordon Highlanders, but transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force in which he became a Flight Commander, and was mentioned in dispatches. In 1922 Donald graduated MB ChB, and after resident posts at the Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen he was appointed house surgeon to the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. Having decided on a surgical career he took the FRCS in 1925 and ChM with commendation in 1930. In 1926 he became surgical registrar at the London Hospital, where he worked under Sir Hugh Lett, W S Perrin, and Sir Hugh Cairns. Donald was appointed assistant surgeon to the London in 1933 and was in charge of the Septic Block. In 1935 he joined the staff of Great Ormond Street and during this period he studied developmental errors of the neck and sacrococcygeal region. He also developed a special interest in thyroid surgery, which led to his appointment as surgeon to the LCC's thyroid clinic at New End Hospital. In course of time he became one of the leading authorities on the subject. During the second world war Donald served in the RAMC as a Lieutenant-Colonel from 1940 to 1942, when he was promoted Brigadier. He took part in the evacuation of Crete and afterwards was made consulting surgeon to the Mediterranean area and the Middle East, where he was an inspiring and helpful figure to the surgeons working with the Eighth Army. From 1944 to 1945 he served with Southern Command and was mentioned in dispatches and appointed OBE in 1944. On demobilisation Donald retired with the honorary rank of Colonel, but he relinquished this commission in 1946 owing to ill health. In 1945 he was appointed to the staff of the Royal Masonic Hospital. Donald, known affectionately as "The Banger", was a popular teacher at the London Hospital; he was always ready to advise the newly qualified and to support the student activities. He was extremely widely read and loved to quote from innumerable poets. Donald had a handsome face, great charm and wit and was an entertaining after-dinner speaker. Golf was his favourite recreation, and he played most at Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset. In 1927 he married Amy Stewart Walker and they had a son and a daughter. The two wars had taken a toll of his health and in 1953 he was forced to retire. Donald died on 8 July 1955 at the age of 59. Publications: With the Eighth Army in the field. *Brit med J* 1944, 1, 709 & 743. Surgery in thyrotoxicosis. *Postgrad med J* 1945, 21, 41.