Francis John Milward was a consultant surgeon in Chesterfield. He was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, on 5 April 1903, the son of Henry Tomson Milward, managing director of a needle-making firm, and Elsie Townsend née Newton, the daughter of an Anglican canon. An uncle, Frederick Milward FRCS, was a consultant surgeon at Birmingham General Hospital. He was educated at Rugby and Clare College, Cambridge, and, after his clinical training at St Thomas's, became house surgeon to Sir Percy Sargent and Hugo Romanis. After further junior positions as clinical assistant in the antenatal, children's, ECG and anaesthetic departments, he became surgical registrar at St Thomas's. He was appointed consultant surgeon and surgeon in charge of the urological departments at Chesterfield Royal and Mansfield General Hospitals in 1931, although he continued to deal with orthopaedics, gynaecology and general surgery. In 1931, he married Rosemary Smedley Aston. They had one son, Timothy, who became a plastic surgeon in Leicester, and two daughters, Vanessa and Frances. There are six grandchildren. He was a keen horseman, fisherman and gardener. He died on 15 December 1997.