The only son of Henry Kenneth Victor Soltau MD, David Soltau was born in Barnstaple, North Devon, on 13 May 1920. His mother was Nora Ramscar née Wright, the daughter of a chartered accountant. He was educated at Epsom College and Queen's College, Cambridge, before going on to Bristol to do his clinical studies, and to win the Henry Clarke prize in obstetrics and gynaecology. He did junior posts at Bristol Royal Infirmary before joining the RAMC, where he served in the Far East from 1944 to 1947 and was mentioned in despatches. On demobilisaton, he specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology, doing a series of registrar and junior posts at Queen Charlotte's, the Chelsea Hospital for Women, the Middlesex and St George's Hospitals. He was senior consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Cheltenham Hospitals. In 1960 he married Olivia Trower, by whom he had two sons. His hobbies included motoring, collecting pictures and playing the organ. He died on 16 October 2002.