Jean-Pierre van Besouw, known to most simply as 'J-P', was a consultant anaesthetist and honorary senior lecturer at St George's Hospital, London and president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists from 2012 to 2015. He was born on 20 April 1957 in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Jos and Anne van Besouw. The family moved to England in 1958 and he attended Wyggeston Boys' Grammar School in Leicester. He went on to study medicine at the St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School in London, qualifying in 1981. After house jobs, he began his training in anaesthesia at St Bartholomew's and the Whittington hospitals. Subsequently he was a registrar in anaesthesia at the St George's Hospital group, during which time he spent six months at the Royal Perth Hospital in Australia, before returning to a senior registrar rotation at Great Ormond Street, Whipps Cross, Homerton and St Bartholomew's hospitals. In 1990, he was appointed as a consultant anaesthetist with a special interest in cardiothoracic anaesthesia at St George's Hospital in London, where he remained until his retirement through ill health in 2016. In this post he was able to develop his interest in medical education culminating in appointments as head of the St George's school of anaesthesia from 2002 to 2008, regional adviser (South Thames West) for the Royal College of Anaesthetists from 2003 to 2006, and chair of the specialist training committee in anaesthesia for London South, and Kent, Surrey and Sussex from 2004 to 2006. He had a long association with the Royal College of Anaesthetists, being an educational adviser, an examiner for 13 years and chair of the examinations committee for the last three years of that tenure. He was a visiting examiner for anaesthetist fellowship examinations in Hong Kong, Ireland and Sri Lanka. He was also an examiner for the University of London MB BS examination. He was a council member of the Royal College of Anaesthetists for seven years from 2008 to 2015, became vice president in 2010 and president in 2012. During his time on council, he was responsible for the development of college policies on examinations, recruitment and workforce. He also championed the Royal College's anaesthesia clinical services accreditation (ACSA) scheme for departments of anaesthesia to achieve quality improvement through peer review and was particularly proud when St George's became the first major trauma centre in London to be recognised by ACSA for the excellence of its anaesthetic service. In addition to his association with the Royal College of Anaesthetists, he was also president of the Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthetists from 2007 to 2009, and a member of a number of national working parties on cardiothoracic related issues including the National Cardiac Benchmarking Collaborative steering group from 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Department of Health cardiac workforce review team and an external reviewer for the Health Inspectorate for Wales. He was vice chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges from 2013 to 2015. It was a measure of the esteem in which he was held by his consultant colleagues that he was elected by them to be one of the governors of St George's Hospital in 2014. Throughout his career he maintained a strong interest in medical training and politics. He liked to challenge established dogma and to make people think about what they did and the way they did it. He was a sociable man with an extensive circle of friends. He enjoyed sarcasm, irony (he was a lifelong subscriber to the satirical magazine *Private Eye*), gardening, rugby (Leicester Tigers) and travel, particularly in south west France. He was married to Liliane (née Field), a medico-legal adviser with the Medical Protection Society and a former consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, and had three children, including twin daughters. Sadly, he was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in 2015 and, despite treatment, died on 17 July 2017. He was 60. The fortitude with which he bore his final illness was an inspiration to all who came in contact with him during this time.