William Eric Archer Hughes-Jones was born in Yackandandah, Victoria, Australia, on 28 April 1902 the eldest son of William Thomas Hughes-Jones, a clergyman. He attended local schools, Wesley College, Melbourne, and the University of Melbourne. He became senior lecturer in anatomy at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and acting Professor of Anatomy at the University of Melbourne. For thirty years, 1932-1962, he was surgeon and consultant surgeon to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, becoming subdean and dean, and finally in 1968, President. For ten years he was an examiner for the Final FRACS examination. During the second world war he served with the 2nd AIF as a Major in the Middle East. He married Florence Stanton in 1927 and they had 3 daughters and a son. He died on 6 June 1976, aged 74 years.