Keith Norcross was born in Oldham, Lancashire, on 29 May 1929, the second son of Frank Norcross, a chartered secretary, and Elizabeth Parker. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School before being awarded the Somerset Iver and a state scholarship at Brasenose College, Oxford. While at Oxford he gained the Theodore Williams scholarship in pathology. Returning to Manchester for his clinical training, he was awarded the Bradley memorial prize in surgery in 1954 and the Gazette essay prize. Following qualification and graduation Norcross worked for most of the eminent clinicians practising in Manchester at that time, including Sir Geoffrey Jefferson, Sir Harry Platt, Richard Johnson, Professor Michael Boyd and Mr C H Cullen. He served in the RAMC from 1955 to 1958 and was a clinical officer in surgery. On his release from the army he trained in orthopaedic surgery at Manchester, and on completion of training he was appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to Dudley Road Hospital and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. Throughout his life Norcross was keenly interested in environmental and humanist issues and was always ready to express his opinion on a controversial topic if he believed the cause to be right. He contributed to the public debates on many contentious issues such as sex education, organ transplantation and voluntary euthanasia. At Oxford he had been a member of the mountaineering club and he remained a life member of the fell and rock climbing club. He also enjoyed canoeing and deep sea diving. A largely self-taught recorder player, he was extremely knowledgeable about these instruments and performed to a high standard. In 1954 he married Kathleen Ellis and there was one daughter of the marriage. He died on 19 February 1994, following a heart attack.