Athula Withanage, a consultant general and laparoscopic surgeon, was lead clinician in the department of surgery and clinical director at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, Wales. He was born in Gonagalapura, southern Ceylon, the son of Paul De Silva and his wife Piyaseeli Kanahera Arachchi, and was educated first at Gonagalapura Mahavidyalaya and later at Ananda College in Colombo. He later studied medicine at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia on a government scholarship. He qualified in 1970 with distinctions in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, hygiene and organisation of public health, and a credit in general medicine. After qualifying, he went to Ireland. He was first an intern in general medicine and general surgery at Barrington’s Hospital, Limerick, and went on to hold training posts at Barrington’s, St Vincent’s and Sir Patrick Dun’s hospitals and at the National Children’s Hospital in Dublin. He moved to Wales in 1980, where, prior to his consultant appointment, he was a specialist registrar at Withybush Hospital. Over his 40-year career, he operated on thousands of patients. He always aimed at improving the quality of life of the patient, irrespective of age. The oldest patient he operated on was 94. It was a touch-and-go case, but he took a chance and saved him. Later the patient visited him to thank him and left a card and a huge wall clock, which he treasured. As well as general surgery, he developed skills in vascular surgery. At Withybush he reattached two near-amputations as a result of trauma. The first arm he reattached was of a seven-year-old boy; his mother had brought the arm to the hospital in a bucket full of ice! He was a senior lecturer and tutor covering the whole of Pembrokeshire, attached to the Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy in Cardiff. With the help of surgical colleagues, he trained postgraduates at Withybush to prepare them for the MRCS examinations. He was also a clinical and educational supervisor and examiner for Colombo East Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. His unique qualities made him stand out as an excellent surgical trainer. He passed on theory as well as skills to his trainees, taking each one through all the steps of any procedure. His patience was paramount. He was never sarcastic or irritable and was always tactful and considerate. He never put down his colleagues or trainees or criticised them in front of patients or colleagues. Problems were addressed privately, and advice was always friendly and constructive. He was nominated three times for the prestigious Silver Scalpel award, which recognises exemplary surgical trainers, in 2000, 2003 and 2006. In 2000 he was one of only two consultants from Wales to be put forward for the award, out of 870 contestants from all over the UK. He was awarded clinical leader and mentor of the year awards by NHS Wales in 2008 and 2009. In recognition of his services to the people of Pembrokeshire, he was invited to attend one of the Queen’s garden parties at Buckingham Palace. Apart from surgery, he was interested in writing and drama. He wrote fiction in Sinhala and English, including *Noriena and Wasantha*, a novel first published in 1974, *Samanmali Sandamali*, which was made into a television drama in Sri Lanka, and a translation of Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse *Eugene Onegin*. In Ireland in 1996, he became the first Asian to take part in an Irish language drama festival, taking a role as a doctor in the play *Citi*. In Wales he was a member of the Clarbeston Road Players and played a variety of roles. He was married to Simon Meru Pathiranage Jinadasa, known as Nelum. They had three children, Triona, Shane and Dylan, two of whom followed him into medicine, and another became a lawyer, and six grandchildren. He died on 1 March 2024 at Morriston Hospital, Swansea at the age of 81. He was a simple guy who had to work hard to achieve what he did. He dedicated his life to medicine, to help others, and had a great fondness for teaching. Our father was a warrior; he never wanted to stop working, always educating himself and others, and, best of all, he was caring and compassionate. He was a simple, uncomplicated surgeon doing a service he loved. He will always be in our hearts and his legacy will continue forever.