Born on 24 September 1897, son of Lieutenant-Colonel H L Donovan RAMC, he was one of a large family which contributed notably to medicine and the Services. Major-General Sir Patrick Hehir, Indian Medical Service, was an uncle, and three of Donovan's brothers became well-known Birmingham doctors. Educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, Hugh Donovan was a scholar, played in the XV and was colour-sergeant of the OTC. At Birmingham University his medical studies were interrupted by the first world war and he served as a surgeon-probationer in destroyers. His clinical studies were outstanding for he won all the medals, prizes and scholarships for his particular year. After qualifying in 1920 he was house surgeon to Seymour Barling before entering the Indian Medical Service. When he found that Service life was not to his taste he returned to resident hospital posts. Once Donovan had decided to be a surgeon he took the Edinburgh Fellowship in 1924 and the English in 1925. His main interest was urology, which he studied in London, and was a clinical assistant at St Peter's Hospital. Soon afterwards he was appointed assistant surgeon at the Queen's Hospital, Birmingham. In later life he decided to withdraw from general surgery and practise only as a urologist, and he became one of the leaders in his field. He built up a large department, with extensive out-patient services, which he aimed to make the urological centre for the West Midlands. Donovan was president of the Section of Urology of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1953-54, and vice-president of the Section of Surgery at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association in Birmingham in 1958. He accepted the presidency of the British Association of Urological Surgeons for 1960, but had to withdraw because of ill health. On 19 December 1932 Hugh Donovan married Mabel Thorburn Johnstone MD, of Letchworth, an old friend and former fellow-student. It was a most happy marriage, and when Donovan's wife died leaving two small children, it was a tragic blow for him. He threw himself even more into his work and eventually impaired his health. He was a man of independent views, and a lively conversationalist with a whimsical Irish charm. He lived at 1194 Warwick Road, Solihull and later at Green Acres, Copt Heath, Warwickshire. He died on 16 December 1959 at the age of 62. Publications: Speculation on the nature of the chemical structure which is the essence of the malignant cell. *Nature* 1943, 152, 509. Severe anaemia and hyperpiesia associated with prostatic obstruction. *Brit J Urol* 1947, 19, 126. Care of the urinary tract in paraplegic patients. *Lancet* 1947, 1, 515. **See below for additional obituary uploaded 19 January 2022:** Hugh Donovan was a consultant in Birmingham and one of the first surgeons to specialise in urology, becoming a leader in this field. He was born on 24 September 1897 in Burma, the son of a Hugh Latimer Donovan, a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and Rosabel Sinclair Donovan née Kirkwood, who was originally from Dublin. There were many doctors in the family, including two uncles, Sir Patrick Hehir of the Indian Medical Service and William Donovan, a senior doctor in Erdington. Hugh’s first cousin was Charles Donovan, professor of pathology in Madras, who independently discovered the causative parasite of kala azar but was pre-empted in publication by a few weeks by William Leishman. Three of Hugh’s brothers, Harry, Ivar and Edwin, were well-known Birmingham GPs. Hugh saved the life of Ivar when as a small boy he fell into a rainwater tank in a greenhouse. His sister Lillie Mary, who also qualified in medicine at Birmingham, married Kenneth Bernard Pinson, a senior anaesthetist in Manchester. Hugh was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, where he was a scholar, played rugby and was colour-sergeant of the officers’ training corps. At Birmingham University his medical studies were interrupted by the First World War, and he served as a surgeon-probationer in destroyers. His clinical studies were outstanding, and he won all the medals, prizes and scholarships in his year. After qualifying he was a house surgeon to Seymour Barling in Birmingham before entering the Indian Medical Service. When he found that service life was not to his taste, he returned to resident hospital posts. Once Donovan had decided to be a surgeon, he took the fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1924 and of England in 1925. His main interest was urology, which he studied in London, as a clinical assistant at St Peter’s Hospital. Soon afterwards he was appointed as an assistant surgeon at the Queen’s Hospital, Birmingham and was subsequently appointed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham as a consultant in general surgery. After the Second World War, he gradually withdrew from general surgery and practised as one of the first pure urologists, becoming one of the leaders in this specialty. He built up a large department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, with extensive out-patient services, which he aimed to make the urological centre for the west Midlands. Donovan was president of the section of urology of the Royal Society of Medicine from 1953 to 1954, and vice president of the section of surgery at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association in Birmingham in 1958. On 19 December 1932 Hugh Donovan married Mabel Thorburn Johnstone, of Letchworth, an old friend and former fellow-student. It was a most happy marriage, and when Donovan's wife died in 1941, leaving a daughter and a son, it was a tragic blow for him. He threw himself even more into his work, which eventually impaired his health. He was a man of independent views, a lively conversationalist with a whimsical Irish charm. He enjoyed hill walking, often with friends and colleagues, and suffered his first myocardial infarction whilst on such an expedition. He died from the effects of coronary artery disease on 16 December 1959 at the age of 62, before he could take up the presidency of the British Association of Urological Surgeons to which he had been elected. Ian Donovan