William Crisp was born in Edinburgh on 5 December 1914, being the eldest son of Thomas Crisp (MD Edin) who was a medical practitioner and his wife, Janet (née Cowie). In 1921 the family moved to Chorley, Lancs, where Thomas established himself in general practice. William went to Bolton School and then on to Epsom College. He had a wish to be a surgeon from his early childhood. He qualified MB BS London in 1937 and did house appointments at Preston Royal. After a short period as a general practitioner in Paignton he enlisted in the RAMC. He took the FRCS while working as a resident medical officer in England. In 1942 he was sent to India with a general field hospital. He was a surgical specialist holding the rank of Major. He was moved to a casualty clearing station in Bengal and from there to Burma where he was commanding officer of a mobile field surgical unit in the Arakan campaign. On return to civilian life he worked at University College Hospital under E K Martin and A J Gardham. He then moved to the Miller Hospital, Greenwich. He found difficulty in obtaining a consultant appointment so he decided to emigrate to New Zealand. In November 1952 he was appointed surgeon and superintendent to the Dargaville Hospital, Northern Wairoa. Here he worked from 1952 to 1980 when he retired from hospital work. He continued to do GP surgical work from his home. William was interested in sea fishing and was very skilled at tapestry work. He had been dedicated to his surgical work being of a retiring and shy disposition. In 1938 he married Enid Dorothy Thompson. They had three sons, Thomas David who took the BDS in Tasmania, John Cunningham BDS who worked in Leigh-on-Sea, and William George. William Crisp died on 8 December 1989, survived by his wife and three children.