Anthony (Tony) Benjamin Oliveira was born in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on 23 November 1923, the only child of Benjamin Ernest Graeme Oliveira and Edith Glenny, née Davies. He was educated at Stowe School and King's College, London, and later at Westminster Hospital. During the second world war he enlisted with the Royal Engineers and served as captain in the 6th Airborne Division, being captured after parachuting into Caen in 1944. At the end of the war he served in Palestine and was wounded by terrorist action. There his surgeon stimulated his interest in medicine so he proceeded to qualify in 1953 and to become a surgeon, gaining the FRCS in 1957. After training under virtually all the consultants at Westminster (Price-Thomas, Cade, d'Abreu, Cox, Drew, Westbury) and R H Franklin, he was appointed consultant surgeon, Isle of Wight, in 1965, becoming very popular with staff and patients. He enjoyed outdoor pursuits such as sailing, fishing, shooting, tennis and golf. In 1952 he married Pamela Maitland-Heriot and they had one son, who entered medicine, and a daughter. He died suddenly on 10 November 1983.