Harry Isaac Deitch was born in London on 18 January 1903 and after his early education entered the Middlesex Hospital, graduating in 1926. After early hospital appointments which included that of resident surgical officer at St Peter's Hospital for Stone he rapidly acquired both the FRCS and the MS degree. He then spent some time in Berlin studying thyroid surgery which at that time was in its infancy. Returning to England he was appointed resident surgical officer at Bradford Royal Infirmary in 1933 and surgeon superintendent at Halifax General Hospital in 1937, where he was initially the only surgeon and undertook gynaecological, orthopaedic and ENT surgery as well as general surgery. In 1948 with the introduction of the National Health Service he was also appointed to the Royal Halifax Infirmary where he remained in active practice until his retirement in 1968. He intended to devote his time to his pursuits of bowls and snooker but within a few weeks he suffered a severe myocardial infarction from which, however, he recovered and lived for a further 22 years until his death on 13 March 1990. He is survived by his wife, Mona.