Stanley Raw was born on 23 February 1910 in Spratton, Northamptonshire, where his father, George Raw, was vicar, and his mother was Ada, née Morton. One of his uncles was consultant surgeon to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Another uncle was a physician in Rodney Street, Liverpool, and at one time was MP for the Wavertree division of Liverpool. His son Anthony is a GP in Farnham and his daughter, Bryony, is a GP in Chichester, also married to a GP. Raw was educated at Northampton High School and at Newcastle Medical School, at both of which he won many prizes. He was awarded an open scholarship to Peterhouse, Cambridge, in natural sciences, but did not take it up, owing to a change of plan. He was house physician, house surgeon and resident surgical officer at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and won a Rutherford Morrison scholarship to the Lahey Clinic, curtailed by the outbreak of war. In 1942 he joined the RAMC and was the first surgeon to have operated on 500 casualties. He kept precise records of every case he operated on from 1934 to 1977 -totalling 27,247. In 1945, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was posted to India, attached to 112 BGH in Madras, Delhi and Calcutta. On demobilisation he was appointed consultant to the Farnham and Frimley group (1948) where he spent the remainder of his career. Raw was a good sportsman, enjoying golf (handicap 3), tennis and dinghy sailing, and he was a keen walker. He was widely read, particularly in astronomy, ornithology, history and current affairs. He also excelled at bridge. He married Marion Frances Askham, a VAD, in 1943. They had four children -Anthony and Bryony (see above), Rosemary, who died aged 7, and Rodney, who became an insurance consultant.