Allen John Bridson Goldsmith was born on 27 November 1909, the son of an Edinburgh MD. He was educated at King William's College, Isle of Man, and the Middlesex Hospital. He qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1931 and took the MB BS with distinction in medicine and pathology. He held posts at the Middlesex Hospital and was appointed senior Broderip Scholar and awarded the Lyell Gold Medal. In 1933 he passed the FRCS examination, but as he was under twenty-five he had to wait a year before receiving the diploma. In 1935 he was appointed house surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital. Two years later he became surgeon and pathologist to the Central London Eye Hospital, holding the appointment until 1948 when he became surgeon at Moorfields. He also served the Middlesex as ophthalmic surgeon. Other hospitals at which he was ophthalmologist were Paddington Green Children's Hospital, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, and the King Edward VII Hospital for Officers. He was lecturer in ophthalmology at London University and examiner in ophthalmology to the Royal Colleges. A joint editor of *Recent advances in ophthalmology*, he also published papers in specialist and medical journals. He was honorary secretary and member of the Council of the Ophthalmic Section of the Royal Society of Medicine; honorary secretary, member of Council and Vice-President of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom; Vice-President of the Medical Defence Union; and a member of the editorial committee of the *British journal of ophthalmology*. From 1952 to 1965 he was Surgeon Oculist to the Royal Household and then became Surgeon Oculist to the Queen, retiring from the appointment in 1974. He was created CVO in 1962 and KCVO in 1970. In 1936 he married Rosemary Porter, whose father also was an Edinburgh MD and they had one son and two daughters. He died on 13 December 1976.