Melville John Corrigan was born in Tiverton, Devon, on 17 September 1934 the son of H J Corrigan, an electrical engineer. He was educated at Tiverton Grammar School and at Blundell's School. He studied at Queen's College, Cambridge from 1952 to 1955 and was a keen athlete, playing rugby for his college. In 1955 he became a clinical student at the Westminster Medical School and qualified in 1958, eventually being appointed house surgeon at the Westminster Hospital. He then worked at St John's Ophthalmic Hospital, Jerusalem and was senior registrar at Moorfields. He was appointed consultant surgeon at Southampton Eye Hospital and the Royal Hants County Hospital at Winchester. He died at the Almana Hospital, Saudi Arabia, on 24 March 1978 survived by his wife Corinne and his children Juliet, David, Matthew and Catherine.