William Mervyn Owen was a consultant ENT surgeon who worked in Liverpool. He was brought up in Caernarfon, Wales, and studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, qualifying with the conjoint diploma in 1937 and the MB BS in 1938. During the Second World War he served in the RAMC and in 1940 was on the beach at Dunkirk. After the war he continued to serve in the RAMC. He rose to the rank of major and spent a long period stationed in Germany, on the Rhine. In 1948 he gained his diploma in laryngology and otology, and became a senior specialist in otolaryngology. After leaving the Army, Owen became a consultant ENT surgeon on Merseyside. He was also a visiting consultant to the Isle of Man Health Services Board. He was a member of the Liverpool Medical Institution. Owen was married to Annie (née Daly), a nurse who had trained at the Middlesex Hospital. They had seven children. Two sons (Anthony Wynn Michael Carton and Eoghan) became surgeons. William Mervyn Owen died on 21 April 2004.