Norman Winstone was a consultant surgeon at Selly Oak, Birmingham. He was born in Gidea Park, Essex, on 8 February 1924, the son of Herbert Charles Winstone, a property manager, and Kate née Robinson, a policeman's daughter. He was educated at Gidea Park College and Romford Royal Liberty School, before going to St Bartholomew's. After junior house appointments at St Bartholomew's and Luton and Dunstable, he joined the P&O Steam Navigation Company as a ship's surgeon for two years. Returning to resident posts in anaesthesia at Bart's, he later became a demonstrator of physiology and obtained his FFA. In spite of attempts by Langton Hewer and F Evans to get Norman to pursue a career in anaesthetics, he decided that he was more suited to surgery. To gain more surgical experience he became a casualty registrar at Bart's, and was then appointed senior registrar at the United Birmingham Hospital, where he was greatly influenced by Bryan Brooke. He was a tall well-built man, who was agile on the tennis court, and whose quiet and unassuming manner was spiced by soft and kindly humour. Playing chess against him was a challenge and his thoughtful, caring and gentle manner went beyond his consultant work at Selly Oak Hospital, leading him into helping others in community activities. Fond of restoring antique cars, he became more disabled as vascular disease took its toll and confined him to a wheelchair, where his fortitude remained an example to all those around him. He married Anne Acock at St Peter's, Vere Street, in 1956. She was the daughter of a former superintendent of police in Lucknow. They had four sons - Mark, Jamie, Denny and William. Norman Winstone died on 22 March 2001.