Carl John Williams was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. He studied medicine at University College London, gaining a BSc in medical microbiology in 1989 and qualifying MB BS in 1992. He was a senior house officer in general surgery at Blackpool, and then a clinical lecturer and specialist registrar in orthopaedic surgery in Manchester. He became a fellow of the Edinburgh College in 1997 and of the London College in 1998. Outside medicine, he enjoyed snowboarding, mountain biking and windsurfing. Carl Williams died on 4 December 2006, aged just 38, following a five-year struggle with a melanoma and subsequent multiple metastases.