John Cridlan Barrett was born on 10 August 1897 in Leamington Spa where his father was a pharmaceutical chemist. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School from where he obtained a scholarship to St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. In the first world war he served as a Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment from 1916 to 1919. While in France he took part in an attack on the village of Pontruet on 24 September 1918. Under cover of darkness and smoke from the barrage he led his men in an assault on a trench heavily defended by machine guns. Although severely wounded he destroyed two of the enemy machine guns himself and inflicted many casualties upon the defenders. In spite of exhaustion and unable to move he then ordered his men back to their own lines, at first refusing any assistance. For this act of gallantry he was awarded the Victoria Cross. After the war he resumed his medical studies at St Thomas's Hospital and qualified MRCS, LRCP in 1924. He obtained the MB BS in 1925 and the FRCS in 1928. He did several house jobs at St Thomas's Hospital and at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. He was influenced by Sir Percy Sergeant, Sir Max Page and W H C Romanis at St Thomas's and R S Lawson in Leicester. He was appointed surgeon to Hinkley and District Hospital, consulting surgeon to the Leicester Isolation Hospital and to the City General Hospital, Leicester. He was senior surgeon to the Leicester Royal Infirmary from 1945 to 1960. He served as Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 8th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment between 1937 and 1939 when he transferred to the RAMC as Lieutenant-Colonel and served in Ireland as officer in charge of a Surgical Division. He was Honorary Colonel of the 8th Battalion Royal Leicestershire Regiment from 1953 to 1962. He was awarded the TD in 1936 and made a Freeman of the Borough of Royal Leamington Spa. In 1960 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Leicestershire. He was elected to the Council of the College in 1958 and served until 1966. He was Chairman of the Library Committee and a regular attender at the Council Club to which he brought a Stilton cheese each autumn. He contributed to various medical journals. His main outside activities were the Territorial Association, swimming and photography. He married Ernestine Helen Wright 1935; they had no children. He died on 7 March 1977.