Charles Cory was a consultant ophthalmic surgeon in east Surrey. He was born in 1932, the son of John Walter Edward Cory, a doctor. He was educated at Epsom College and then studied at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and King's College Hospital Medical School, London. Shortly after qualifying, he held a temporary commission in the RAMC. His first post was as a house physician in paediatrics at Belgrave Hospital, London. This was followed by a house surgeon post at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. His next appointment was as a casualty officer at St Mary's Hospital, London. After senior house officer training at Sussex Eye Hospital, he gained further experience in the department of ophthalmology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, following which higher training was undertaken at the Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester and at King's College Hospital, London. During this time, he obtained the diploma in ophthalmology and the FRCS. He then held the post of first assistant in the department of ophthalmology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1974 he was appointed as a consultant ophthalmic surgeon to the East Surrey District Health Authority, Redhill, a post he held until his retirement in the 1990s. He was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and in 1988 gained his fellowship of the College of Ophthalmologists. Following his retirement, he became clinical director of Optimax, a large private company offering photoreactive keratectomy using a hand held laser. 'PRK', as it is known, is a controversial treatment, but Cory had extensive experience in the field and was a firm advocate of the technique. The author of this obituary first met Charles Cory when they were both regimental medical officers attached to 44 Parachute Field Ambulance RAMC (Territorial Army), a close-knit group of mainly surgeons. Cory left an indelible memory of that time during a drop to test a new method of carrying medical equipment. The new 'container' was a modified Bergen rucksack, which replaced the previous cumbersome leg bag. The rucksack had to be strapped to the waist band of the parachutist and to one lower limb, and released immediately after deployment of the parachute to hang 30ft below. Unfortunately, on this occasion, Cory had forgotten to attach the rucksack to his waistband, with the result that it dropped to the ground from around 800 feet. Luckily, the expected disciplinary action did not take place as interest centred around the state of the surgical instruments in the rucksack, which had been contorted into unusual shapes. Charles Cory authored a number of papers and was an authority on the treatment of post-operative astigmatism and cat eye syndrome. His final years were marred by profound deafness, which he bore with fortitude and dignity.