Eric Anderson Turner was a neurosurgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. He was born on 8 January 1917 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. His father, John Anderson, was a teacher; his mother, Margaret Anderson née Galt, was the daughter of a building contractor. He attended St John’s Grammar School in Hamilton, where he was *dux*, and then Hamilton Academy, where he was also *dux*. He went on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1940 with a commendation, distinctions in physics and physiology, and the pathology medal. He served as a major in a mobile neurosurgical unit. Prior to his consultant appointment at Birmingham, he held posts at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow, the Royal Infirmary, also in Glasgow, Killearn Hospital, Stirlingshire and the Central Middlesex Hospital in London. He gained his FRCS in 1949. During his training he was influenced by James Eric Paterson, Sir Hugh Cairns, Illtyd James, Jack Small and Brodie Hughes. He wrote papers on epilepsy and psychosurgery, and a book *Surgery of the mind* (Birmingham, Carmen, c.1982). He enjoyed swimming, writing, photography, travel and camping. In 1942, he married Margaret. They had two daughters and a son, who became a doctor. Eric Anderson Turner died in February 2001. He was 84.