John Francis Iffland was born in Salonika, Greece, on 22 June 1931 and, after early education at Palmer's School, Grays, Essex, and at Minster House School, Upminster, was admitted to the London Hospital Medical College. He qualified in 1954 and after early house officer appointments joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1955. Initially he was a National Service officer but within a month of joining he accepted a short service commission and was appointed to a permanent commission in 1959. Shortly afterwards he was appointed trainee in surgery at the Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich, and after attending the junior officers' course spent a year as junior surgical specialist at Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital, Millbank. He was then posted to Bahrain and Kuwait as surgical specialist to 50th Field Surgical Team before returning to secondment at the Royal Postgraduate Hospital, Hammersmith as registrar to Professor Aird and Professor Shackman for a year from August 1961 to August 1962. He passed the FRCS in 1962, was promoted to Major and subsequently served as senior surgical specialist at Millbank for two years before being seconded to Birmingham Accident Hospital for six months. He was later appointed consultant in surgery with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel at the British Military Hospital, Hong Kong, from 1967 to 1970, at Iserlohn, West Germany, from 1970 to 1973 and at Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich, from 1973 to 1979 when he was also Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Royal Army Medical College at Millbank. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1978 and later served as consultant surgeon to Princess Alexandra's Hospital, Wroughton, from 1984 until the time of his death, apart from a five month spell of duty at the British Military Hospital in the Falkland Islands in early 1985. He died in service on 4 January 1987 and is survived by his wife Thea, two sons and one daughter.