Ivor Hughes was born at Tredegar on 23 December 1901, to Morgan Howell Hughes, a provision merchant and Harriet Hughes (née Reynolds). He attended Llandovery College and qualified from Bristol in 1927 with the Conjoint Diploma. After a resident appointment at Bristol he came to London and was RMO at Queen Charlotte's and the Hospital for Women, Soho Square (1930), and he later became registrar and pathologist to the Hospital. At this time his work and thought was influenced by Will Nixon, Lane Roberts, T G Stevens and Rodney Maingot. Through the war he worked with the Emergency Medical Service and in 1946 was appointed to the consulting staff of the Hospital for Women and joined the Middlesex in 1948, when this hospital was assimilated into the Middlesex Hospital Group. He was also on the staff of the Teddington Memorial Hospital and the Willesden General Hospital. He retired from his hospital appointments in 1967. "Tish", as he was known, had no outstanding academic achievements, but he was a first class obstetrician and gynaecologist with perception and neatness and great attention to detail. He was a true Welshman, had great charm with a sense of humour and he greatly enjoyed entertaining. His passion was golf and he retired to Southern Spain and built a house on the golf course. He married Phyllis Marr in 1940 and there is one daughter, Fiona. He died in London on 25 December 1971 at the age of 70 from virus pneumonia and pericarditis.