George Larks was born in Sheffield on 22 October 1900, the son of an ironfounder. His early education was at King Edward VII School, Sheffield, from which he obtained a scholarship to Sheffield University. Before going up he served as a rating (combatant) in the RNVR during 1918 until the end of the first world war. At university he had a distinguished academic career, qualifying with honours in 1924 and obtaining a distinction (bronze medal) in obstetrics and gynaecology and the John Hall Gold Medal in pathology. He then held junior house appointments at Sheffield Royal Hospital, Leamington, and Leicester Royal Infirmary before becoming registrar to Graham Simpson in Sheffield and to George Grey Turner at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle. There he was appointed surgical tutor. He was resident surgeon at the East Suffolk Hospital, Ipswich, when he was appointed surgeon and medical superintendent to the City (later Freedom Fields) Hospital, Plymouth. He became widely known both for his administrative ability and for his surgical skill. He was a sound clinician and a careful and methodical operator, but was never noted for his speed. He had taken his FRCS at Edinburgh in 1926 and his Mastership in Surgery at Sheffield in 1931, but felt that as he was working in England he should have more English qualifications. He took both MRCS and FRCS of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1933. During the second world war he joined the RAMC, in which he served from 1943 to 1946. His administrative experience led to rapid promotion. He became Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the Southern Division of hospitals in Normandy, and later served for a short time in India. After the war he returned to civilian life in Plymouth, and was appointed consultant surgeon to the South Devon and East Cornwall Hospital. With the inception of the NHS he soon became involved with administrative problems. His talents were quickly recognised by his professional colleagues and by lay administrators. He was made chairman of various staff committees and served on the local hospital management committee and on sub-committees of the Regional Hospital Board. He was a modest and reserved man, but his pre-eminence in the field of organisation led some of his less reverent colleagues to confer on him the title of "The Great George Larks". He was active in BMA affairs and in the Plymouth Medical Society, of which he was President in 1961. His concern with nursing education was recognised when he was made President of the local branch of the Royal College of Nursing, but he had interests in the wider fields of medical education and history. He was particularly expert on the history of medicine in Plymouth, from the time of the Black Death to present days. He amassed a large library on the subject, and a collection of original documents, from which he drew when writing his monographs. He was always generous with the loan of material to those seeking his help and advice, even to the extent of allowing precious glass slides to be borrowed for projection elsewhere. In retirement he continued his historical studies, and also occupied himself with golf and in his garden until he was over 80. In 1930 he married Esther Meredith, the daughter of a general practitioner, who survived him. He died on 16 September 1988. There were no children.