Ralph Brooke did his medical training at Guy's where he was house surgeon and out-patients' officer. He became general surgeon to the Worthing Hospital and orthopaedic surgeon to the Royal County Hospital. During the second world war he was appointed surgical specialist for the 21st General Hospital and went with the hospital to France in February 1940. He was based at Dannes-Camiers near Boulogne and at Rennes before leaving the Army with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Resuming his Worthing and Brighton appointments, he claimed to be the first person to be designated an orthopaedic surgeon in Brighton and pioneered the removal of the patella for fractures. A colleague remembers him as a flamboyant character who would appear every morning with a huge dog who would immediately be taken to the kitchen for a bone. He was happy to get involved in litigation remarking that 'all publicity is good publicity' and he became a barrister-at-law. He was an able surgeon with a very active and keen mind. After retirement he moved away from Brighton, initially to the Bournemouth area and he died on 16 August 1982.