William Ainslie Anderson was a paediatric and general surgeon in Derby. He was born on 24 September 1925 in Aberdeen into a medical family. His father, William Anderson, was a well-known surgeon and a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. His mother was Barbara Matthew Kate Anderson née Gibson, a nurse. Ainslie was educated locally in Aberdeen and then at Gordonstoun, which he loved and often talked about. He looked after the bloodhounds, partly for his love of dogs, but also to get out of the compulsory morning runs before breakfast! He once chopped down a tree from the neighbouring estate to build kennels for the dogs, and had to hide the evidence. The boys had to man the old telephone switchboard, which Ainslie was no good at, but he used to enjoy the stream of German swearwords from the headmaster Kurt Hahn when he cut him off! He held Kurt Hahn in high regard and the principles of integrity and diligence, which he learnt at school, lasted him through his life. He started medical school in Aberdeen at the age of 17, and was taught in part by his father. He captained the second XV medics rugby, and was an enthusiastic member of the student shows. The course was shortened due to the war, so that he qualified in 1947 at the age of 22, just before the NHS began. Soon after qualifying, he started postgraduate training in paediatric and general surgery in Aberdeen, which included a year in general practice in the Outer Hebrides. This training also included a year studying pathology in Edinburgh, which enabled him to understand surgical pathology better than most surgeons. Throughout his consultant career he enjoyed regular surgical pathology meetings. His surgical training also included a research fellowship in Denver, Colorado. His voyage to America was earned as the ship's doctor to one of the Woolworth millionaires who was an alcoholic: his duties were to hide the key to the drinks cabinet, and provide penicillin for the crew. The research he carried out in Denver was into cardiac valve implantation techniques, the downside for him being that it was conducted on dogs. He also missed his family - his wife had been expecting one of their children when he left. In 1961 he was appointed as a consultant paediatric and general surgeon to the Derby hospitals, retiring in 1990. He bought a house close to the Children's Hospital and for the first 13 years was on call virtually all the time for paediatric surgery, and prior to the setting up of a specialist unit in Nottingham he performed a number of major neonatal operations, such as repair of duodenal and oesophageal atresia, with considerable success. For the remaining 16 years until he retired he was on a one-in-two rota for paediatrics with his colleague David Thomas, who lived across the road from him in order to give the same service. He was a skillful surgeon and an astute clinician who gave a huge contribution to surgery in Derby. He was a keen and active member of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons, and often took his family to the association's annual meeting, incorporating it with his own annual holiday. He was widely read, with an in-depth knowledge of his own and other specialties, and he impressed his colleagues with his grasp of the latest developments. He ran a monthly journal club at home - always well attended - where he would elucidate how to analyse and critique an article for the benefit of his surgical trainees and his consultant colleagues. This was always an enjoyable and convivial evening. As a member of numerous committees he was a vociferous and skillful advocate, ensuring that the needs of both patients and clinicians were given due consideration; as a result he did not always endear himself to the administration, but was highly regarded by his clinical colleagues, who were usually in accord with the views he expressed. He regularly attended the Derby Medical Society and held the office of president in 1986. As a friend he was always available to support colleagues who needed help and gave good advice that was sympathetic and sound. He had a delightful turn of phrase and a sense of humour, evidenced by his engaging smile coupled with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He was an altogether outstanding personality. Shooting was a lifelong passion of his, particularly on retirement when he kept busy with pheasants and his dogs, and he was a keen birdwatcher. Even in his latter days when he became too breathless to go shooting he would drive to a shoot to chat with his friends and to see the dogs. During his surgical training in Aberdeen he met his future wife Eileen who was an anaesthetic registrar. They were married in 1956 and had three children, Bill, Sue and Jim, two of whom went in for medicine. Sue became an anaesthetist and now lives in America, and Jim became a surgeon, making the third generation of Anderson surgeons. Sadly Eileen died of breast cancer in 1985 and Ainslie continued to miss her for the rest of his life. In conclusion, he was a great friend and colleague, and a devoted family man. Beneath his slightly gruff exterior he was a very kind and caring man, a very able clinician and a man of great intellect and integrity. He read a great deal about non-medical matters as well, so that talking with him on almost any subject was always interesting. He died on 3 October 2011 and is greatly missed.