Reginald Walter Patrick Hosford was born on 23 June 1898, the eldest son of Dr B Hosford, a general practitioner in Highgate and elder brother of John P Hosford, FRCS, surgeon to St Bartholomew's Hospital. He was educated at Highgate School where he was a foundation scholar and was admitted to St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School in the middle of the first world war. In 1918, while still a student he became a Surgeon Probationer in the Royal Navy and served on destroyers in the North Sea before returning to St Bartholomew's after demobilisation. He qualified in 1921 and was initially house surgeon on the newly formed professorial surgical unit at Barts. He passed the FRCS in 1923, two years after qualifying and was then appointed surgical registrar in Wolverhampton. In 1926 he joined his father's practice in Highgate where he remained until his retirement. For much of the time he worked single-handed in a large private practice and was available at all times for his patients. He did not join the National Health Service and continued private practice until 1953 when he retired at the age of 55, going to live in Dorset. He took a great interest in local affairs, serving as rural district councillor for West Dorset and as chairman of his parish council. His wife, Norah, died suddenly in 1966 and he died on 6 August 1988 aged 90. He is survived by his two sons, David and Jonathan, and a daughter, Rose.