Arthur George Leigh was born on 22 March 1909 in Liverpool, the son of John McWhan Leigh. He was educated at Liverpool Collegiate School and Liverpool University Medical School. He qualified in 1933 and was appointed house surgeon and house physician at the Liverpool Royal Infirmary. He then undertook a period of research in the anatomy department and during this time he passed the Primary examination for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons and read an MD thesis. He decided to specialise in ophthalmology and after taking the Final examination for the FRCS he became house surgeon at Moorfields in 1938. He continued in the post for a few months longer than was usual because the onset of the second world war had upset the normal routine of the house appointments. In 1942, he joined the Royal Air Force and was ophthalmic specialist to the RAF Hospital at Littleport. He was posted to Brussels after that town was reoccupied by the Allies in 1945, and finished his period of service at the RAF Hospital, Uxbridge. He returned to Moorfields after his demobilization and was appointed to the surgical staff in 1948. He also served for brief periods as ophthalmic surgeon to King Edward Hospital, Windsor, and to the National Temperence Hospital, before being appointed assistant ophthalmic surgeon to St Mary's Hospital in 1949. He was honorary secretary of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom in 1952-54 and Vice-President in 1966. He was a founder member of the editorial board of *Ophthalmic literature* and he was conscientious in his duties. He had written papers for the ophthalmic journals and had read papers at the societies. He was Chairman of the Medical Committee at St Mary's for a year and at the time of his death he was Chairman of the Medical Committee at Moorfields. He undertook both these posts with cheerfulness and ability. He had a great natural ability to discern the essential point in any argument and to keep a committee directed to the subject under discussion. He was a most competent ophthalmic surgeon with interests particularly in the operative aspects of the subject. This crystallised further to an overwhelming enthusiasm in keratoplasty during the last years of his life. His book on this subject *Corneal transplantation*, was regarded as the authoritative reference book. He was a good teacher of undergraduates and of postgraduate students. He derived great pleasure from his association with his residents and registrars and from coaching them in the essential technique of ophthalmic surgery. He used to say that he liked to have his assistants at a junior stage of their training so that he could teach them the correct principles of surgery without having to undo some wrong habits which had been learnt previously. He had throughout his life been interested in athletic pursuits of various types. He played hockey and tennis for Liverpool University. He was an enthusiastic skier who had visited Davos almost every winter since the second world war and he was a keen golfer. He had some ability as an artist and had exhibited pictures at medical art exhibitions. He married in 1942 Eileen Parry-Edwards and when he died on 11 August 1968 she survived him, with two daughters, one of whom became a medical student at St Mary's Hospital.