Born in 1865 he was educated at New College, Oxford where he took first-class honours in mathematical moderations and second-class honours in the final school of mathematics. He received his clinical training at St Thomas's Hospital, where he held various resident posts, and made further study at Paris and Berlin. He was a clinical assistant at the Evelina Hospital for children and surgeon to St Paul's and Holy Trinity provident dispensaries. He practised for a time at Warminster, Wilts where he was surgeon to the cottage hospital, but returned to London. While practising in Putney he served on the council of the South-West London Medical Society and the committee of the Wandsworth division of the British Medical Association. He was also surgeon to the Anerley Provident Dispensary. He then settled in practice at Exeter, but gave it up to serve as a surgical specialist in the RAMC during the war of 1914-18. After the war he practised at Kidlington, Oxfordshire, but later lived at 20 Elm Park Mansions, London SW10. He retired to Carbis Bay, St Ives, Cornwall. He had married in 1892 Jean Grandage who died on 20 May 1950 aged 80, and he himself died on 9 March 1955 aged 90, survived by his daughter Mrs Armstrong. Shearer kept up his interest in medical questions to the end of his long life, and till within a few months of his death was writing to the College Library for information.