Aleck William Bourne was born on 4 June 1886 at Wilstone, Herts., and educated at Rydal School, Colwyn Bay, and at Downing College, Cambridge. In 1908 he was placed first class in the Natural Sciences Tripos and the same year became senior university scholar at St Mary's Hospital, London. He qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1910 and took the FRCS the following year. Until the outbreak of the first world war in 1914 he held resident and other appointments at St Mary's, Queen Charlotte's, and the Samaritan Hospitals. He then served as a surgical specialist in Egypt and France until 1917. After the war he was appointed to the staffs of those three hospitals. He also commenced consulting practice in London and quickly gained recognition in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. His *Synopsis of obstetrics and gynaecology*, first published in 1913 as *Synopsis of midwifery*, reached its 13th edition in 1965. *Recent advances in obstetrics and gynaecology* was first written by Bourne and Leslie Williams in 1926. The 10th edition of the book, still revised and rewritten by the same authors, except for a chapter by Dr L Steingold, appeared in 1962. That year also was published *A Doctor's Creed: the memoirs of a gynaecologist*, in which Bourne recalled his early days and more than thirty years of practice at St Mary's. At one time he was examiner in obstetrics and gynaecology for Cambridge University, and from the beginning of the National Health Service he was a member of the Central Health Services Council. He was a former member of the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. In 1956 he was presented with a Sydney Body Gold Medal for merit in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. Aleck Bourne made a great many outstanding contributions to medicine in the wider sphere and to obstetrics and gynaecology in particular. He was a man of great compassion and understanding, and in his recognition of the importance of psychological factors in relation to many disorders so frequently encountered in the daily practice of gynaecology he was much ahead of his generation. Further, he never lacked the courage to express in public views which he held with great conviction and sincerity. His action in the famous Rex v Bourne case was typical of the man. In 1938 a girl of 14 was referred to his outpatient clinic at St Mary's Hospital, having been criminally assaulted and raped by several soldiers from a London barracks. She became pregnant as a result. The girl and her parents were in great distress and the evidence of rape was indisputable. Ever since the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 the only justification for terminating pregnancy was if its continuance was thought seriously to threaten the life of the pregnant woman. Bourne, though fully aware that a plea of danger to life could not be substantiated, came to the conclusion that termination of the pregnancy was amply justified because of risk to the physical and mental health of the patient. Having operated, he then quite deliberately informed the police because he felt the urgent need for a test case in the courts of law. The trial took place at the Central Criminal Court in July 1938 before Mr Justice MacNaghten. There is no doubt that Bourne's original intention was to let the case stand or fall on his own evidence concerning the risks of permanent psychological trauma to the patient had the pregnancy continued. However, his legal advisers made it plain that under the existing state of the law he would in all probability be convicted unless further evidence of physical risks as well as mental were forthcoming. A number of leading gynaecologists were in consequence called as expert witnesses in his defence. The physical risks of pregnancy and labour in a girl of 14 were then thought to be far greater than would be accepted today in the light of greater experience of the problems of pregnancy in the very young. Bourne was acquitted, and the judge in his summing up made a pronouncement of the greatest possible significance: 'If the doctor is of opinion on reasonable grounds and with adequate knowledge, that the probable consequences of the pregnancy will be to make the woman a physical and mental wreck, the jury are quite entitled to take the view that the doctor, who under these circumstances and in that honest belief, operates, is operating for the purpose or preserving the life of the mother.' This judgement was of great importance to the gynaecologist, because it freed him from the fear of legal action against him if he terminated a pregnancy if there was clear evidence of serious risk to health - a genuine medical indication. Nearly 30 years later the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in its report on medical termination of pregnancy before the 1967 Act was able to state that since the Bourne case no gynaecologist had been deterred from terminating pregnancy for a medical indication because of the fear of legal action. Bourne rightly deserves great credit for his determined and courageous action in 1938, based as it was on a deep sense of responsibility and compassionate understanding. It is nevertheless of considerable interest to record that he was strongly opposed to abortion for purely social and trivial indications. During the debates which took place on a great many platforms before the 1967 Act he spoke on many occasions against the proposed legislation, foreseeing the inevitable consequences of total liberalization of the law. Aleck Bourne always impressed with his warm personality, kindliness, and friendliness. He was a great sportsman and obtained much pleasure in having his housemen and registrars sailing with him at Burnham. Even at a late age he took part in the annual soccer match between the staff and porters at Mary's. He spent many walking, climbing, rowing, and swimming holidays in North Wales, which he loved so much. He died on 27 December 1974, at the age of 88.