James Patrick was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on 31 May 1909, the son of George Patrick, a school master. He was educated at Kirkcaldy High School and Edinburgh University and during his student years he secured the Pattison Prize in clinical surgery, the Allan Fellowship in clinical surgery and the Annandale Gold Medal in clinical surgery. He qualified with first class honours in 1932. His early appointments were at Sheffield Royal Hospital where he was house surgeon, casualty officer, resident surgical officer and surgical registrar before being appointed one of the three original consultant orthopaedic surgeons to Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Law Hospital, Lanarkshire, in 1939. His particular interest was the treatment of fractures and he gave an address entitled *A study of supination and pronation in relation to the treatment of forearm fractures* when elected Hunterian Professor in 1943. In 1948 he visited the United States as Nuffield Travelling Scholar. His main research interests were in promoting speedy union of sub-capital fractures of the femoral neck by inserting a fibular graft and a study of avascular necrosis of bone with special reference to the union of fractures. He retired from practice in 1969 and thereafter lived in Ardfern, Argyllshire, where he devoted his time to his boat and his garden as well as painting watercolours. He married Elizabeth Forrest in 1940 and had four daughters, one of whom is an anaesthetist. He died on 29 April 1986.