Peter Hugh Ashby was a plastic surgeon in London. He was born in Penang, Malaysia, the son of Hugh King Ashby, who worked in the Colonial Agricultural Service, and Birthe Ashby née Rentse. He studied medicine in Birmingham, gaining his MB ChB in 1974. He gained his FRCS in 1982. He was a registrar in general surgery at the Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. He was then a registrar in plastic surgery at St George's and St James' hospitals, London, and for the North West Durham Health Authority. He died on 11 September 2013.