Michael Burton was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Hillingdon and Ealing hospitals. He was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, on 28 July 1926, the second son of Rennie Cooksey, a general practitioner, and Elsie Jane née Laycock, the daughter of an adviser in music. He began his education at King Edward VII School in Sheffield, but was subsequently evacuated to the United States during the Second World War. He attended Newton High School in Newtonville, Massachusetts, and later Phillips Academy in Andover. He was very well cared for by his foster parents in the United States, with whom he formed a strong relationship. He returned to England at the age of 17, with the aim of volunteering for the Royal Air Force. Instead, being too young, he was called up as a 'Bevin boy' and worked in the coalmines. He did eventually join the Royal Air Force, and was selected for pilot training and also as a potential officer. As a part of his training, he was sent to Durham University for six months, where he studied engineering before being commissioned. He completed his training as a pilot, but did not see active service as the war in Europe finished and he was not posted to the Far East. After demobilisation, he enrolled as a medical student in Sheffield and qualified in 1954. He was then awarded a travelling scholarship to complete his pre-registration year in America, and at the same time gained his American MD. He served as a rotating intern at the Albany Medical Center, in Albany, New York. As a postgraduate, he went to Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied anatomy and physiology. He became a casualty registrar in Sheffield and his specialist training was at the Jessop Hospital, Sheffield, later in Chelmsford and the North Middlesex Hospital. During this time he became a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, becoming a fellow in 1977. He was a fellow of both the Edinburgh and English Royal Colleges of Surgeons, and he also became a master of midwifery of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. In 1968, he was appointed as a consultant at Hillingdon and Ealing hospitals. He contributed papers on a case of chorion epithelioma with pulmonary complications (*Tubercle*. 1963 Dec;44:487-90), catastrophes in labour and 'pulseless' disease (*J Obstet Gynaecol Br Commonw*. 1966 Feb;73[1]:113-8). He had keen service interests. After leaving the Royal Air Force, he served in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and achieved the rank of squadron leader. Later, he became a territorial, eventually becoming a colonel, commanding the 257 (SI) at General Hospital. He was awarded the territorial decoration. He was also a distinguished member of the St John's ambulance and was awarded the decoration of the Commander of St John. Another lifelong interest was scouting. He was a keen swimmer and reached international standard whilst a postgraduate at Cambridge, where he was awarded a blue for swimming and water polo. He also continued to fly until poor health stopped him. He had the misfortune of developing a dissecting aortic aneurysm and was operated on very successfully by Sir Magdi Yacoub. He was able to return to work, but was left with limited dexterity in the left arm. He had to stop operating and retired from active practice. However, he continued to examine for the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board and also to do medical examinations for pilots for the Civil Aviation Authority. He had two daughters and a son by his first marriage. His son was also medically qualified, served in the Royal Air Force and eventually became a consultant in accident and emergency medicine. Michael was later married to Toni, who survived him. He died on 31 March 2003. Michael Pugh