Patrick James Chesterman was born in Hillingdon on 15 June 1928, the son of G.H. Chesterman, and after early education at Gunnersbury Roman Catholic School entered St Mary's Hospital Medical School in 1944 at the unusually early age of sixteen. During his student days he captained the medical school water polo team and later played for England. He qualified in 1950 and after early house appointments at Paddington and St Mary's Hospitals was commissioned in the Royal Army Medical Corps for his National Service. He was later orthopaedic and casualty registrar at St Mary's Hospital, resident surgical officer at the Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, and registrar at the Hammersmith Hospital and Postgraduate Medical School. He passed the FRCS in 1960 and having decided to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery was appointed senior registrar at St Mary's Hospital. At this stage he became very interested in grafting articular cartilage and worked for a time on a research project under Dr Audrey Smith at the National Institute for Medical Research, carrying out experimental surgery on animals in connection with storing and grafting articular cartilage. He was invited to present this work to the Royal Society and in addition published many papers on other orthopaedic subjects and maintained an interest in research projects throughout his life. In 1964 he was appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, and associate surgeon at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford and shortly afterwards was awarded the travelling fellowship of the British and American Orthopaedic Associations which enabled him to carry out further research in North America. He had a particular interest in joint replacement surgery and his operations were performed with great dexterity and meticulous technique which was a great inspiration to the junior staff of the hospital. He was an enthusiastic teacher and in addition to his professional commitments served as chairman of the medical executive committee of his hospital. He acquired considerable notoriety during the widespread strikes in January 1979 which particularly affected ancillary hospital workers. Strike action had forced him to cancel an entire day's operating and he retaliated by turning away from his outpatient clinic anyone who admitted to membership of a trade union. This action did not extend to emergency cases and the British Medical Association commented at the time that his action was consistent with medical ethics. He died from malignant melanoma on 26 August 1987 aged 59, and is survived by his wife, Pearl, three sons and two daughters.