John Francis Stone was born on 4 October 1926 in Edinburgh. His father, Thomas Willam Stone, was the headmaster of the only school on Barra and his mother, Evelyn Agnes, née McFarlane, was the daughter of a journalist. He was educated first at the Castlebay School on the Isle of Barra before attending Catholic schools, first in West Hartlepool and later in Sunderland, before finally finishing his primary education at the Holy Cross Academy in Edinburgh. He received his medical education in Edinburgh, qualifying in 1948, and after a house surgeon's appointment at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary entered the Royal Air Force. After completing his National Service he continued in the RAF for a further five years, attaining the rank of squadron leader. He obtained the Fellowship in 1961. Retiring from the armed forces he became first a resident orthopaedic officer at the Wolverhampton Royal and then registrar and later senior registrar in the Newcastle region. He was appointed by the Manchester Regional Board as consultant orthopaedic surgeon to Bury District Hospital in 1963, where he remained until his retirement. In Bury he took part in developing the orthopaedic services of the town and its surrounding districts, taking a particular interest in hip replacement. Throughout his consultant appointment he took a great interest in teaching his registrars and in the many local and national orthopaedic societies to which he belonged. He remained a keen gardener throughout his life, and was particularly happy when fly fishing. He married Katherine Mary, née Rutter, a nursing sister in the RAF, in 1952. They had a daughter and four sons, one of whom qualified in medicine and became a general practitioner in Sunderland. John Stone died of carcinoma of the oesophagus on 18 June 1996.