'Bill' Irvine was born 19 March 1925 in Glasgow, the son of George Irvine. He was educated by his father and then at the University of Glasgow. After qualifying he planned his own programme of surgical training and successively worked with Sir Charles Illingworth (Glasgow), Peter McEvedy (Manchester), Chassar Moir (Oxford), Ian Aird (Hammersmith), and Walter Galbraith (Glasgow), taking Fellowships of both the Edinburgh and English Royal College of Surgeons. He served the RAMC for two years (1950-1952) serving as surgical specialist at Hamburg Military Hospital. Next came his desire to train in research and he travelled first to McGill University where, with Donald Webster, he carried out early experimental studies on hypochloraemic acidosis following urinary diversion and then to the Mayo Clinic where, with Charles Code, he utilised assays of urinary histamine to explore further the role of histamine in gastric secretion. His theses on these topics were awarded the degrees of MD and ChM, both with honours. Returning to Glasgow as a lecturer in 1956, his high academic talents led to his appointment at the age of 32 as reader in surgery at the London Hospital Medical College with Victor Dix and, three years later, to the Chair of Surgery at St Mary's Hospital, in succession to Charles Rob. He held this appointment with distinction until 1972. Thereafter, he was, for a short while, consultant to the Libyan Government. Bill Irvine was a penetrating and provocative academic surgeon. Handicapped by his deafness, he followed the written word avidly and had an enormous knowledge of the surgical literature. This came to the fore at meetings of the Surgical Research Society when his debating skills were manifest often to the discomfort of both junior and senior members. He was also a man of ideas and his pursuit of knowledge was endless. He was much interested in gastroenterology, and his first paper on blood-sugar changes in the dumping syndrome was published while he was a house-surgeon; it was the start of many important contributions to the understanding of post-gastrectomy syndrome. He also spread his wings in other directions; and his paper with Folca and Glascock was the first evidence that human breast cancer could concentrate oestrogenic hormones. His skill in the laboratory, as well as in the surgical wards, brought many young men to his departments to learn their first steps in experimental surgery. His wide range of interests in many aspects of contemporary surgery attracted numerous visitors from overseas and there were lively discussions on topical problems in his room at St Mary's Hospital. He was widely known and respected as editor of *Modern trends in surgery* and *The scientific basis of surgery*. He received great support from his wife, May Warburton, and he was closely attached to his two daughters, one of whom graduated in medicine. He died on 11 May 1980.