John Mounsten Pemberton Clark was born in Leicester on 28 November 1906, the son of Edwin George Clark, a bank clerk, and Hilda Mary, née Pemberton. He was educated at North Manchester Grammar School (Preparatory) and Wellingborough School, Northants. He entered the medical school at Leeds, qualified in 1931 and soon began his orthopaedic training. Family circumstances interfered with his career and he entered general practice in Dewsbury. However, he returned to surgery in 1938 becoming orthopaedic registrar at the General Infirmary in Leeds, obtaining his FRCS in 1939. Clark joined the RAMC in 1939 becoming a Major and an orthopaedic specialist. He was evacuated from Dunkirk and later served in Malta throughout the third siege. Apart from his care of service personnel he helped with the treatment of the child victims of a poliomyelitis epidemic on the island. He subsequently served in North Africa, Italy and Austria. During his war service he was encouraged by Sir Herbert Seddon to develop his pioneering work in muscular transplantation. After the war he was appointed orthopaedic surgeon in Leeds in 1946 and established a regional poliomyelitis unit at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield. He was closely associated with the development of units for tuberculosis and cerebral palsy and encouraged the development of the College of Remedial Gymnasts, and the integration of the orthopaedic nursing schools in Wakefield and Thorpe Arch. In 1947 the British Government sent him to Israel to advise on the poliomyelitis services and in 1961 the Israeli Minister of Health invited him to start a poliomyelitis unit at Zrifin. 'Pasco' Clark as he was affectionately known was a popular teacher at the General Infirmary and at St James's Hospital. He received a personal Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery and was a strong supporter of Sir Frank Holdsworth in the new concept of rotational training of registrars and encouraged his own trainees to visit other national and international centres. He wrote a classic paper during the war on pectoralis-major transplantation for brachial plexus lesions. He continued to be interested in this problem and he published a book, *Tether contractions and deformity*, four years after his retirement. In 1966 Clark married Sue Hartley who had been theatre superintendent at the orthopaedic unit at Pinderfield's Hospital. He was a shy man with great physical and mental courage. His other life interests were fell walking and classical music and his dislike of dance music did not prevent him conducting a dance band during the Malta siege. John M P Clark died at the age of 75 on February 17 1982, leaving his wife Sue. They had no children.