Roger Lallemand was a consultant surgeon at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey. He was born on 21 September 1935 in Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia, the son of Joseph François Lallemand (from Ciney, Belgium) and Gladys Ann Lallemand née Else (from Bexley, Kent). Roger started school in Nkana aged four, but when he was six he was sent to Whitestone School in Bulawayo, two days journey from Kitwe by train. Although he did not know it at the time, his mother was sick with an ill defined condition that eventually took her to Cape Town to be cared for by John Fleming Brock at Groote Schuur Hospital. Roger had no health problems, apart from an occasional attack of malaria, treated by quinine and a good sweat. Unfortunately, his mother's condition did not improve and she died in 1945 in Cape Town while Roger was at boarding school. His father took him to England to stay with his aunt's family in Staines and he went to School at Epsom College. Having met fellow pupils from medical backgrounds, he decided to pursue studies in medicine and gained a place at St John's College, Cambridge. He was a talented sportsman: he represented his college at hockey, later becoming club captain, and played in the university team (the Wanderers). He also won an oar in the St John's medical boat at the May bumping races on the river Cam. He eventually graduated and went to London to Guy's Hospital. While at Cambridge he was introduced to Nicole, a charming young lady from the Belgian Congo, who was taking her English proficiency examination while staying at Lady Margaret House. They eventually became engaged, but had to wait until 1959 to be wed. Roger qualified MRCS LRCP in 1961 and MB Chir in 1962, and was appointed as a houseman at Guy's, the first time any of his chiefs had had a married house surgeon. He gained some experience as a general practitioner while studying for the preliminary examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons. While on the teaching staff of the physiology department at Guy's with J N Hunt, he completed a paper on the sedative properties of simple analgesics, published in the *British Journal of Pharmacology* (*Br J Pharmacol.* 1969 Oct;37[2]:450-8). He was also developing an interest in vascular studies and published two papers relating to the causes of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the *British Medical Journal* ('Vessel dimensions in premature altheromatous disease of aortic bifurcation.' *Br Med J.* 1972 Apr 29;2[5808]:255-7) and in *Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics* ('Role of the bifurcation in atheromatosis of the abdominal aorta.' *Surg Gynecol Obstet.* 1973 Dec;137[6]:987-90). There was also a presentation to the Surgical Research Society while he was researching the effects of sympathectomy on digital blood flow. He eventually moved to Guildford as a registrar and, after a spell as a senior registrar at Guy's Hospital, he was appointed as a consultant surgeon at Frimley Park Hospital in 1972. He was developing an interest in surgical oncology and was among the founder members of the Melanoma Study Group. Having developed skills of endoscopy with colleagues at Frimley Park Hospital, he was among the first to take to laparoscopic surgery and colonoscopy. Teaching operative surgery was a major interest and Frimley Park was a popular training post on the circuit from St George's Hospital in London. Thanks to a colleague who developed a close liaison with Switzerland, Frimley Park was also a popular training appointment for visiting surgeons from the University of Basel. He also published papers in the *Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England*, *Clinical Oncology* and the *British Medical Journal*. Roger was also the chairman of the 1988 appeal to raise funds for an ultrasound scanner. The funds were raised, and Farnham and Frimley hospitals became the first in the southwest Thames area to benefit from this diagnostic equipment. This appeal attracted the personal support of local MP at the time, Virginia Bottomley, and her then cabinet minister husband Peter. In the words of one former colleague, Dick Rainsbury, surgeon at Winchester Hospital, Roger 'has always been a staunch advocate of high standards of clinical practice, and an exemplar of what can be achieved through attention to detail. His total commitment, first and foremost to his patients, and his dedication to the training of generations of surgical registrars is legendary. His resistance to falling standards of care has been a force for good - something which has influenced many of his colleagues and juniors throughout their careers.' Back in the early 1990s, after a national review had identified waiting lists at Frimley Park Hospital as being amongst the longest in the country, Roger put forward a case for a major expansion in staffing to cope with the workload, alongside the hospital's chief executive Sir Andrew Morris. This led to the appointment of three more consultants and several other medical staff. Roger was a very early adopter of screening - supporting the implementation of methods for looking for breast and bowel cancer long before these diseases had a chance of becoming life-threatening. As a former colleague attested, many of the early recommendations which he adopted and supported have become embedded into clinical practice today. He was always a strong advocate of patient-driven recovery - encouraging patients to draw on their own reserves, to eat a healthy diet, to exercise and to engage family and friends to help and support their recovery. He was always a great organiser and networker, engaging with his local and national colleagues to influence and bring about significant changes in clinical practice by promoting new opportunities for education and training. He was president of the British Association of Surgical Oncologists and co-edited *Diagnosis and management of melanoma in clinical practice* (London, Springer-Verlag, 1992), essential reading for anybody involved in the study or management of melanoma. As a Farnham resident, Roger was well known in many social circles, particularly at Hankley Common Golf Club, and latterly through the Farnham Society, Probus and the Military History Society at the University of the Third Age, where he was noted for his talks on the French Resistance in the Vercors region during the Second World War. He was a keen and knowledgeable gardener. Many gardening conversations were punctuated with his compendious knowledge of Latin genus names, a language in which he excelled while at school. He became passionate about forestry, having developed an interest in this area after one of his sons chose forestry as a career. He purchased woodland in Hindhead and particularly enjoyed toiling away at the practical maintenance of the grounds. Many of his wide circle of friends and colleagues will also remember him for the parties held at this woodland, often accompanied by live music and rustic barbecues, and, on several occasions in the winter, by the children delightedly returning home with freshly cut Christmas trees. He was also a keen member of the congregation at St Thomas-on-the-Bourne parish church, where he supported youth work initiatives, some connected to promoting his enjoyment of cycling, a hobby he developed when his two sons presented him with a bicycle upon retirement. Tuesdays were cycling days, when he and a friend could be found winding their way round the numerous cycleways of southwest Surrey. He was a member of the Tilford Road Residents Association, which led to active campaigning for the safe traffic management of this busy local road with its nearby school. Roger's final years were blighted by Parkinson's and, in the final stages, by prostate cancer. His wife of 55 years was unfailingly devoted to him at this difficult end to his rich life. He still derived much pleasure from the late advent of grandchildren in his life and will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by them. Roger Lallemand died on 16 January 2015, aged 79, and was survived by his wife Nicole and his two sons, Christopher and Mark.