Hugh Cox was an ear, nose and throat surgeon in Poole, Dorset whose main interest was head and neck surgery. He was born in Chatham, Kent, to Derek Joseph Cox, a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, and Joan Cox, a nurse originally from south Wales. He had three siblings - David and twins Sian and Christopher. Hugh attended the Monterey Preparatory School in Cape Town, St John's Preparatory School in Porthcawl and finally Portsmouth Grammar School. He did his preclinical course at King's College, London and then went on to the Westminster Hospital for his clinical course. He was a member of the Westminster Hospital Sailing Club and was in the United Hospitals Sailing Team. He qualified in 1980. His first house job was at the Westminster group of hospitals. On his first day as a house officer at the Gordon Hospital he met a recently-qualified staff nurse, Lynne, who was to become his wife. By the time he moved to his second job in Guildford, Lynne had moved to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children for further training, and the relationship necessitated a good deal of travelling. Hugh next took up a one-year orthopaedics and accident and emergency rotation in Brighton, followed by an 18-month surgical rotation in Portsmouth. In 1986 Hugh joined the Royal Naval Reserve in the rank of surgeon lieutenant commander. He transferred to the Royal Navy with a regular commission in 1988. His sole general duties posting was as a medical officer in HMS *Nottingham*. During his time at sea the ship took part in a Gulf patrol and was present during a royal visit to the Far East and a heads of Commonwealth conference in Malaysia. After the required general training, Hugh specialised in ENT surgery. He obtained the FRCS in both general surgery and in otolaryngology. After two years as an ENT registrar at the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar he took up senior registrar jobs in Southampton, the Royal Marsden and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. He was promoted to surgeon commander towards the end of his higher surgical training, and he was appointed as a consultant ENT surgeon at the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar in late 1994, where he was the lead clinician for both head and neck surgery and paediatric ENT surgery. He also had honorary consultant status at Portsmouth and Southampton hospitals, where he held clinics. He taught on the underwater medicine course and also on the training programmes for Royal Naval medical officers and medical assistants. He was the consultant adviser in otorhinolaryngology to the medical director general (Naval) from 1997 to 1999. With the establishment of cancer centres in the early 1990s and the transfer of paediatric services to the NHS, Hugh found it difficult to pursue his clinical interests at Haslar and he was granted premature voluntary release from the Royal Navy in early 2000. He rejoined the Royal Naval Reserve at the end of the year and contributed to the visiting ENT clinics at the Royal Naval Hospital, Gibraltar until 2006. After leaving the Navy, Hugh was appointed as a consultant ENT surgeon at Yeovil District Hospital and Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester. He and his family settled in a village in rural West Dorset. However, Hugh's main interest was head and neck surgery and the main cancer centre for Dorset was in the east of the county, at Poole Hospital. In 2000, we were looking to expand the ENT department in Poole, and in particular we were looking to appoint a surgeon with an interest in head and neck cancer surgery. ENT is a small specialty, and we were delighted when Hugh applied for our new post in Poole. He joined the ENT department in Poole in 2001, but continued to live in West Dorset and continued to do a head and neck clinic in Dorchester. As well as his head and neck commitment, Hugh did a weekly paediatric ENT clinic at Poole. Hugh was a very reliable, conscientious and supportive doctor and colleague. Patients were always given the time that they needed in his clinic, and his clinics were notorious for over-running! Patients rarely complained of the wait to see him. He was always happy to provide a courteous second opinion to a difficult clinical problem, and I can personally attest to the value of his thoughts, both on the ward and in theatre. Though very committed clinically, he was a keen cyclist and hill walker and a lover of books on a wide range of subjects. In 2004, he somehow found time to complete a law degree with the Open University. Unfortunately, in February 2015, he was involved in a road traffic accident while cycling. He was found unconscious after what seemed to have been a hit and run encounter with a vehicle, which was never identified. He sustained a head injury and several significant fractures. Though he returned to work, he was unable to return to his full operating schedule. In retrospect, this very conscientious doctor perhaps took more care of his patients than of himself. He failed to attend his clinic on 20 June 2017. This was most out of character, and the alarm was raised promptly. At his inquest, the coroner described Hugh as an intelligent man, who 'always went the extra mile for all those he cared for'. He was 60 when he died. The cause of death was drowning, details of which were provided at the coroners' inquest (see attached reference). He was survived by his wife, Lynne, three adult children (Jonathan, Matthew and Victoria) and a grandson (Daniel). Matthew is a doctor. Over 200 people attended his memorial service.