Vincent Townrow was born on 1 June 1885 in Chesterfield, the youngest child of Thomas Townrow, a miller and his wife Mary (Adlington). Educated at Chesterfield Grammar School and Guy's Hospital, where he was prizeman of the Guy's Philosophical Society, he qualified with honours in medicine. Working under illustrious 'honoraries' such as Hale White, Alfred Fripp, Arbuthnot Lane, Charters Symonds and L A Dunn, he was the surgical registrar to Guy's 1910-1912. In 1913 he was appointed assistant surgeon at Sheffield Royal Hospital. In the first world war he served throughout from September 1914 as Captain RAMC in France, Gallipoli and East Africa. In 1924 he was appointed ENT surgeon at Sheffield Royal Hospital retiring in 1948. He was honorary lecturer at the University of Sheffield. In 1924 he married Jean Naish, the daughter of Professor Naish and Lucy Naish who was reader in anatomy at Sheffield. They had a son and four daughters, one of whom also entered the medical profession. He died on 22 April 1979.