Gareth Gambold Thomas was born on 13 July 1937 at Tonypandy, South Wales. After education at Porth County Grammar School and Edinburgh University he began his training in paediatric surgery in Swansea, continuing it in Edinburgh and again in Wales at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary. After becoming FRCS in 1968 he was senior registrar in Sheffield, taking a special interest in the problems associated with spina bifida, and thereafter at the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool. He was also honorary clinical tutor in paediatric surgery at Liverpool University. In 1976 he was invited to join the staff of the Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, and he was put in charge of the paediatric urological department. He built up a unit of the highest standards, his work and worth being appreciated by many paediatric surgeons and urologists in the Netherlands. He was working there when he died suddenly on 12 June 1978 at the age of 40. He maintained a constant interest in the academic aspects of his work and made contributions to the literature. He was also a keen Territorial, holding the rank of Major and senior surgical specialist in the Army Volunteer Reserve, being awarded the Territorial Decoration in 1974. A kindly man, devoted to his family, he was survived by his wife Jennifer and his three children.