Howard Mitchell Jamison was born in London on 19 January, 1917, the son of James Jamison, a schoolmaster. He studied at the Sir Walter St John's School and the Regent Street Polytechnic before winning a scholarship to St Bartholomew's Hospital. He qualified MB BS in 1941 and, before joining the Army, was employed for a short time in the Blood Transfusion Service. He then had a distinguished Army career, during which he served in India and was awarded the MC and MBE. On returning to civilian practice Jamison took the FRCS in 1949 and, after working in Hackney, deserted his native London in 1953 for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where he studied urology with J Swinney, an appointment that he greatly enjoyed. In 1954 he went to Bishop Auckland, where a new hospital was being developed from a wartime Emergency Medical Service hospital and was appointed consultant surgeon in 1955. From then onwards his life was spent developing the surgical unit, but he gave unstinting service to the community as well as to the hospital. He considered it a great honour to be elected President of the North of England Surgical Society for 1978. For 15 years his interests lay largely with the Territorial Army. Later he took a great delight in the Lake District where he enjoyed walking, particularly in the Weardale area. He had married Monica Niall in 1941 and they had two daughters and a son, Michael, who qualified MA MB BCh from Cambridge and Bart's in 1972. He died unexpectedly on 2 August, 1980 at the age of 63.