Gordon Joseph Clowes was a general and trauma surgeon in Sydney, Australia. He was born in Sydney on 13 April 1921, the son of Joseph Clowes, a grazier, and Mary Clowes née Lancashire, a housewife. Both of his parents had been born in Manchester, England. His mother was a volunteer nurse in the First World War and his father served during the battles of Somme and Ypres. Gordon Clowes studied agriculture at Sydney University, and then changed to medicine, qualifying MB BS in 1951. He then held junior posts at Sydney Hospital, where he was particularly influenced by Eric Hedberg and Thomas Edward Wilson. In 1956, he went to the UK, where he worked at the Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith, London under Ian Aird, and at St Thomas' Hospital. He gained his FRCS in 1956 and his FRACS in 1958. He left the UK at the end of 1957 and returned to Australia. He was an honorary surgeon at the Prince Henry Hospital, Sydney (from 1958 to 1964), and a visiting surgeon at Liverpool Hospital (1958 to 1991), Camden Hospital (1958 to 1991), Nepean Hospital (1970 to 1980) and Campbelltown Hospital (1980 to 1991). He was also an indemnity consultant; he was a board member of New South Wales Medical Defence Union for 25 years and chairman for eight years. He was a councillor in his local area of Camden, New South Wales for eight years and deputy mayor. He was active in Camden Rotary and president in 1963. He was also a cattle and sheep grazier in the Tablelands area of New South Wales. He enjoyed skiing, travel and red wines and kept an extensive wine cellar. In 1955, he married June Clinton and they had four children (Melissa, Edwina, Duncan and Simon) and nine grandchildren. Gordon Joseph Clowes died on 23 January 2015. He was 93.