George Frederic Burnell was born on 8 March 1891 at Weybridge, Surrey, and inherited the traditional musical talent of his family. At an early age he was destined to make music his career and he became an accomplished pianist. On the outbreak of the first world war he was studying at Oxford for the doctorate of music. He immediately joined the Army and served in a field ambulance in Flanders. At the beginning of the second battle of Ypres he was wounded and buried alive, and after many months in hospital was discharged on a pension. He then studied medicine at Charing Cross Hospital, qualified with the Conjoint diploma in 1920, and entered practice at Truro. He gave much of his spare time to assisting in all departments of the Royal Cornwall Infirmary and in due course was appointed a full surgeon with 20 beds. He did much original research on the autonomic nervous system and on the repair of recurring hernias with tantalum. In 1957 his work was recognized by his election to the FRCS. Burnell took an active interest in medical politics. From 1931 to 1951 he was honorary secretary of the Cornwall Division of the British Medical Association and its Chairman in 1929 and 1953. In 1935 he was President of the South-Western Branch. In 1960 he was admitted a Fellow of the BMA. He had also served on the Cornwall Executive Council and been secretary to the emergency medical committee. He was a founding member of the Postgraduate Medical Council of Bristol University. In all these spheres he gave his best, and in spite of physical handicap always found time to help his colleagues. Humane and easily approachable, he was sincerely interested in the welfare of his patients. Burnell died on 3 November 1972 aged 81, survived by his wife and two daughters.