Born in 1907 he was educated at the University of Manchester. After serving as house surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary and senior resident at Bootle General Hospital, he travelled twice to the Far East as a ship's surgeon. He joined the Lancashire County Council tuberculosis service in 1934 at Wrightington Hospital, Apley Bridge near Wigan, was made deputy superintendent in 1936, and became surgeon superintendent in 1944. During the twenty-four years of his work at Wrightington, Dobson made valuable contributions to the surgery of tuberculosis and to orthopaedic surgery. He worked in close touch with the Liverpool School of Orthopaedic Surgery and gave regular training courses to their post-graduate students. Dobson died on 12 October 1958 aged 51. Publications: Arthrodesis in tuberculosis of the hip. *J Bone Jt Surg* 1948, 30 B, 95. Prognosis in tuberculosis of the hip. *Ibid* 1951, 33 B, 149. Tuberculosis of the spine. *Ibid* 1951, 33 B, 517.