Israel Preiskel was born on 7 July 1907 in Lithuania but early in his infancy the family moved to Paris and came to England when he was seven. He was educated at the Grocers' Company School in Hackney, from which he won a scholarship to St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School. A brilliant student, he qualified in 1929 at the early age of 21, and was appointed house surgeon to the London Jewish Hospital. He later returned there as registrar having gained the FRCS at the age of 23, although under the regulations he had to wait until he was 25 before he could be admitted to the College. At the outbreak of the second world war he was working at the London Jewish Hospital and during the blitz when the hospital received a direct hit he improvised an operating theatre and wards in the nurses home so that work could continue. Later he joined the RAMC rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of a surgical division with the army of occupation in Germany. On demobilisation, he was appointed consultant general surgeon to the London Jewish Hospital with a special interest in genitourinary diseases until the hospital was closed in 1978. "Lolla" Preiskel was a careful and considerate surgeon, a superb diagnostician and a good teacher. He travelled extensively, particularly in Europe and Israel, and was widely read. After retirement he developed an interest in restoring and repairing antique clocks and became an expert in this field. In 1940 he married Dr Ella Schwartzman, who became a consultant radiologist and who died in 1983. He died on 18 June 1985, aged 77.