Eiron Jones was born on 6 June 1921 in Putney, London, of Welsh parents. His father, John, was a master dairyman and his mother was Mary Jane, née Davey. He was educated at Latymer Upper School, and this was followed by medical training at the London Hospital Medical College between 1940 and 1945, during which time he was awarded an honorary certificate in clinical surgery in 1942. After qualification he held junior house surgical appointments at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and the West London Hospital, Hammersmith, between 1945 and 1946. His training continued as senior casualty officer at Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, and as junior surgical registrar at the London Hospital. Subsequently he moved to Wales as senior surgical registrar at Cardiff Royal Infirmary, and this led to his appointment as consultant ENT surgeon to the Caernarfonshire and Anglesey Infirmary in North Wales (now Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor). He was very proud of his roots in Welsh farming stock in Cardiganshire, and was honoured by a couplet written for him by the Archdruid of Wales: *Daeth yntau at boenau'n byd A'i foddion a'i gelfyddyd* He brought to the suffering of our world His physic and his skill He was a committed supporter of the National Health Service and devoted his life to his patients and his professional work. He was especially convinced that there should be active involvement of clinicians in management responsibilities, and he took a lead in this with several administrative posts. He retired from clinical practice at the age of 67 in 1988. In 1946, he married Mabel, a nurse, and they had a daughter, Mair Rhiannon, who became a pharmacist at Ysbyty Gwynedd, and two sons, Rowlan Llewelyn and John Roderic, who became involved in the television industry. His main interests were walking and swimming, and he also enjoyed studying the Welsh language and politics. He died of prostate cancer on 1 March 1996.