Ken Oyston was an orthopaedic surgeon in the Royal Air Force and at Halifax Royal Infirmary. He was born on 13 January 1925 on Tyneside. His father, Harry Oyston, studied mathematics at Durham University and served briefly in the First World War as a second lieutenant in the Northumberland Fusiliers, but suffered a severe shrapnel wound on his way to the front and was invalided home. He was a teacher of mathematics and physics, and a keen chess player. Ken's mother, Ann Handyside Oyston née Clark, was a housewife. During the Second World War, Ken was evacuated to Wensleydale for his schooling, but used to cycle home to his parents in Low Fell at weekends. Ken studied medicine at King's College, University of Durham in Newcastle. After graduation, he did a house office job at a spinal injuries unit in Hexham, and took some of his patients to participate in the Stoke Mandeville games, a forerunner of the Paralympics. For his National Service, his preference was to enter the Army, as he had been in the Officers' Training Corps at school, and his second choice was the Navy. He was assigned to the Air Force, which proved to be fortunate as he developed an interest in orthopaedic surgery, which was not recognised as a specialty by the other forces. He worked as an anatomy demonstrator at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle while studying for his FRCS, which he passed in 1955. He celebrated by taking a trip on *Carita 111*, a wooden sailing boat, around the islands of Scotland with some surgical colleagues. He married Audrey Wilkinson, a sister on the plastics unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in October 1955 and took up a commission as a flight lieutenant in the RAF the following month. He served as a general surgeon at RAF Aden, where he volunteered to do caesarean sections at the local civic hospital, and he removed his wife's appendix (as no other surgeon was available). However, his main interest was in orthopaedic surgery. He undertook further training at RAF Ely, and was then posted to Germany. He rose to the rank of wing commander, before taking early retirement to pursue a second career as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Halifax Royal Infirmary. He was not an academic surgeon, but did publish two papers, one on a fungal infection of the foot ('Madura foot. A study of twenty cases.' *J Bone Joint Surg Br* 1961 May;43B:259-67) and one on a case of shoulder dislocation ('Unreduced posterior dislocation of the shoulder treated by open reduction and transposition of the subscapularis tendon.'*J Bone Joint Surg Br*. 1964 May;46:256-9). Ken was a kind and gentle surgeon, good with his hands and always looking for ways to improve life for his patients, for example, he promoted tibial osteotomy for Perthes disease, to avoid prolonged immobilisation in a 'broomstick' cast. He retired at 62 and enjoyed 30 years of retirement. He travelled extensively with his wife and with his children, and especially enjoyed sailing holidays in the Mediterranean. Ken and Audrey were keen gardeners who sometimes opened their garden to the public for charity events. He was active in Rotary, in particular with their polio eradication campaign. He was a devoted grandfather, always keen to hear news about his four grandchildren, to talk with them and to support them in any way he could. Unfortunately, his sight deteriorated, and he was registered blind for many years. An episode of endocarditis weakened his heart, but he managed to live at home with help from Blind Veterans UK, devoted caregivers and his family. He died peacefully from pneumonia on 2 May 2017, with his children at his side, aged 92, bringing to a close a life well-lived. His wife, Audrey, predeceased him. He was survived by his son, John, an anaesthetist in Toronto, his daughter Wendy, a retired nurse living in Holmfirth, and his four grandchildren, James, Christopher, Grant and Kate. His great-granddaughter, Rose, was born 17 days before he died.