Roland Arthur Hertslet Fulton was the son of a doctor, and was educated at Otago Boys' High School and the University of Otago Medical School where he graduated in 1914. In his final year as a medical student he won a travelling scholarship and came to England in 1914. On the outbreak of war he joined the RAMC and served for four years as a regimental medical officer and retired with the rank of Captain. He was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre. After demobilization Fulton gained post-graduate experience at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and Hampstead General Hospital and took the Conjoint Diploma and the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1922. In 1924 he returned to Dunedin and was appointed Surgical Registrar at the Dunedin Hospital. In 1928 he was made assistant surgeon and surgical tutor, and in 1942 he became a senior surgeon. In 1951 he reached retiring age and became a consulting surgeon, and continued in private practice for the rest of his life. In addition to his hospital work Fulton took a great interest in the Otago University Medical Corps; he was medical officer of the War Pensions Department and looked after ex-service men; he was Vice-President of the St John Ambulance Association; and an active member of the Otago Division of the BMA. His sterling character and the care of his patients were deeply appreciated. When he died in hospital after a short illness on 27 April 1963 he was survived by his wife, a son, and two daughters.