George Leonard Shatwell was born in Litherland, a northern suburb of Liverpool, on 2 October 1913 and after early education in a local school left at the age of fourteen to work for a local pharmaceutical company. He acquired a strong ambition to study medicine and at the age of twenty-two was accepted into Liverpool University Medical School with financial support from an elder sister who was a midwife. He qualified in 1941 and during his early house appointments at the Royal Southern Hospital, Liverpool, decided to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery. He served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in India from 1942 to 1946, attaining the rank of Major and practising his chosen specialty for much of this time. After demobilisation he returned to the Royal Southern Hospital and within two years had passed the MCh degree in orthopaedics. Three years later he passed the FRCS and in 1954 was appointed consultant surgeon to Bootle Hospital, Liverpool. He had a particular interest in the treatment of children and was subsequently appointed consultant to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and to Ormskirk Hospital in West Lancashire as well as being clinical lecturer in orthopaedics to the University of Liverpool. After retiring from the hospital he continued to live in Liverpool until his death in October 1988 at the age of 75. He is survived by two sons, both of whom are qualified doctors, one in orthopaedics.