Born on December 19th, 1886, at Sherwood, the son of William Oakden of Bank House, Retford. He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Retford, and at the Nottingham High School under G J Turpin, DSc. He obtained a foundation scholarship at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in December, 1905, but did not matriculate in the University until October, 1906. He took first-class honours in the first part of the Natural Science Tripos in 1909. He then entered St Thomas's Hospital with a scholarship and subsequently gained the Bristowe Medal. He served as Casualty Officer, House Surgeon, Resident Anaesthetist, and Clinical Assistant in the Ear Department at St Thomas's Hospital, and as Resident Assistant Surgeon and Surgical Registrar at St George's Hospital. He was sent to Salonika as surgical specialist with the acting rank of Major RAMC during the War, in 1919 he was appointed Orthopaedic Surgeon at Springfield Park Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Liverpool, and in 1920 became Senior Assistant Surgeon at Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton. On the opening by the Metropolitan Asylums Board of St Luke's Hospital, Lowestoft, for the treatment of surgical tuberculosis in 1922 Oakden was appointed Medical Superintendent. He died unmarried at St Luke's Hospital on August 12th, 1928. Oakden was singularly shy and reserved, with a curiously hesitating manner of speech. He proved himself a good organizer and a fine administrator, but his bias was towards medicine rather than surgery.