Bertram Leslie Ardill was born on 5 November 1937 in Ballywalter, County Down. His father was a bank official. He was educated at the Methodist College, Belfast, and the Queen's University, where he had a distinguished academic career, obtaining the BSc with honours in physiology in 1959 and proceeding to honours MB BCh BAO in 1962. After a year as assistant lecturer in physiology he was awarded a Beit Memorial Research Scholarship in 1964 and worked in the physiology department of St Mary's Hospital Medical School for three years. During this time he published many papers on peripheral vascular surgery and proceeded MD in 1967. He returned to Northern Ireland to develop a long held interest in vascular surgery and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1970. A promising career was cut short by illness in 1973, and he decided to turn to medical administration. He became a consultant in community medicine and in 1975 was appointed administrative medical officer to the North and West Belfast District, a position he served with great ability until his untimely death on 26 September 1977.