Baron Theodore Rose was born on 21 July 1892 and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and the Birmingham Medical School. He graduated BSc in 1914 and MB ChB in 1916. After resident posts at Cardiff, Bristol and the Royal Northern Hospital, London, he took the FRCS Edinburgh and became resident surgical officer at the old Queen's Hospital, now the Birmingham Accident Hospital. In 1919 he was appointed assistant surgeon to the General Hospital and shortly afterwards took the FRCS and the ChM. He rapidly established an extensive consulting practice and, in addition, provided loyal and diligent service to the West Bromwich, Walsall, and Tamworth Hospitals for many years before the National Health Service. Though a true general surgeon he always had an especial interest in malignant disease and for many years pioneered the application of radium and x-ray treatment to its management. He detested administrative work but in 1947 found himself elected chairman of the medical advisory committee when the NHS was imminent. To the surprise of many, he proved to be an excellent and statesmanlike leader who fulfilled this difficult role with distinction and success. Though a bold and rapid operator, the Baron, as he was universally known, was an outstanding clinician and one of the great teachers of the Birmingham School. He demanded high standards and incompetence or inefficiency infuriated him. He distrusted many of the innovations of the post-war era and almost broke the hearts of several generations of his devoted house surgeons by his aversion to intravenous drips. The majority of these, painstakingly established with much effort and loss of sleep, he would order removed in a peremptory manner because he 'could not abide a ward festooned with bottles'. The General Hospital was his pride and joy and his comments on the 'other places' seldom repeatable. Behind his formidable exterior lay a kindly Christian man, widely read, and with an abiding interest in the countryside and all things pertaining to it. The death of his first wife, Dora, in 1947 was a tragic blow, but in 1949, to the delight of their many friends, he married his former 1914 classmate, Dame Hilda Lloyd (see next entry). In 1953 he retired to the peace and quiet of Herefordshire, where he and Hilda spent many years of happy retirement. He continued to fish his beloved Wye to the last and died while tending his beautiful garden in the late evening. With his death a generation of Birmingham surgeons and countless students lost a respected teacher and valued friend. He was survived by his wife and the son of his first marriage.