Anthony Hugh Cyril Ratliff (known as 'Tony' or 'Ratty') was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Bristol Royal Infirmary. He was born in London on 18 August 1921, the first child of Sidney Ratliff, a leather manufacturer, and Mary Ratliff née Plaskett. He was educated at William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester and then went on to Manchester University to study medicine. He qualified in 1945 with a distinction in surgery. From 1947 to 1949 he carried out his National Service as a captain in the RAMC. In 1951 he passed his FRCS and gained further experience in Manchester, where he was particularly influenced by Sir Henry Platt. From 1952 to 1953 he was an orthopaedic registrar at Biddulph Grange Orthopaedic Hospital. He then spent a year at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital in Oswestry. He subsequently became a senior registrar in Edinburgh. From 1956 to 1958 he was a lecturer in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Manchester. In 1959 he was appointed as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Southend. Four years later, he moved to Bristol Royal Infirmary and Winford Orthopaedic Hospital. He was director of the accident service at Bristol Royal Infirmary from 1969 to 1971, where he was instrumental in developing plans for a new department, and from 1982 to 1991 chairman of the Bristol Bone Tumour Registry. At Bristol he organised a popular, yearly postgraduate course in orthopaedic and trauma surgery for 15 years from 1965. He was an examiner in surgery for the universities of Bristol, London and Liverpool. He was a prolific writer, particularly on problems of the hip in childhood, Perthes' disease, fractures of the neck of the femur in children and problems of hand surgery. At the British Orthopaedic Association he was a member of the editorial board of the *Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery* (from 1973 to 1977), editorial secretary (from 1978 to 1979) and then president in 1984. At the Royal College of Surgeons he was a Hunterian professor in 1959 and a Robert Jones lecturer in 1981. In 1983 he was elected to the council, having been orthopaedic and surgical adviser for the south west region from 1974. He retired from Bristol Royal Infirmary in 1986 and became involved with Bristol Rotary Club, becoming president in 1991. He also enjoyed long country walks, travel and photography. In 1948 he married Jean Harrison. They had two sons, David, who became a vascular surgeon in Northampton, and John, a barrister. Predeceased by his wife, Anthony Hugh Cyril Ratliff died on 21 June 2014 in Bristol Royal Infirmary. He was 92.