Philip Ganner was born on 24 November 1904 the son of a general practitioner in Birmingham. He attended the Hallfield preparatory school, Edgbaston and Bradfield College proceeding in due course to study medicine at the Birmingham Medical School graduating in London in 1928. Two years later he obtained his Fellowship and in 1936 became a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. From the commencement of his career Ganner was determined to become a gynaecologist, getting his early training at the Birmingham Maternity and Women's Hospitals, and later at the Wolverhampton Womens' Hospital. Within five years of qualification he was appointed consultant obstetrician at the Birmingham Maternity Hospital and soon after was appointed to the staff of the Birmingham and Midland Hospital for Women. Later he accepted appointments at the Stratford-upon-Avon Hospital and the Redditch Smallwood Hospital. Ganner quickly made a reputation with medical students by his skill as an obstetrician and by his ability as a teacher it was largely due to his influence that Loveday Street became such a popular hospital with Birmingham students. The greatest beneficiaries from contact with Ganner were the junior staff who worked with him, for he seemed to be able to convey confidence and some of his skill to the young beginner. During the war years his practice grew enormously and by the time the NHS started his capacity for work was outstripped and he gave up his appointment at the Maternity Hospital. He now concentrated on his gynaecological work and was one of the first surgeons in Birmingham to introduce the lower segment operation for Caesarian section and vaginal hysterectomy. Ganner's main interest outside his work was shooting and dry fly fishing and for 20 years he lived in the country at Rowington, in Warwickshire, where he also developed his hobby of fruit growing. He died suddenly and unexpectedly on 30 March 1970, and was survived by his second wife and two sons and a daughter by his first wife.