Graham Belham was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and, for a time, clinical director of surgery at Mount Vernon and for the Watford Hospital NHS Trust. He also practised privately in local hospitals. He was born in Thetford, Norfolk, on 3 March 1955, the son of Walter and Joyce Belham. He had one brother, Tony. He went to King Edward VII Grammar school, where he excelled in most aspects of school life, becoming head boy in his final year. He then entered Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to study natural sciences, gained a BA degree in 1977, and went on to the Westminster Hospital for his clinical years. After qualifying, he did pre-registration house appointments at St Stephen's and Queen Mary's hospitals, London. He was a senior house officer in the accident and emergency department of the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, and in trauma and orthopaedics at Nottingham University and Harlow Wood hospitals. He did registrar jobs in general surgery at Middlesex and Central Middlesex hospitals, during which time he passed the FRCS and then returned to orthopaedics at the Whittington and Middlesex hospitals, to finally became a senior orthopaedic registrar at the Westminster and University College hospitals. He took much trouble to hone his technical skills. His standards for himself and others were exacting; he insisted that registrars followed his teaching to the letter, knowing that he would support them completely if they did so in his absence. One colleague described him as being happy to operate on any bone from the first cervical vertebra downwards. His forte was revision hip and knee surgery, but the upper limb did not escape his attention, and he had a great interest in sports medicine, writing on acute cruciate ligament injuries and contributing to *Knee surgery: current practice* (London, Dunitz, 1992). Other published papers including writings on day stay surgery and the use of computers in orthopaedic practice. He was involved in treating casualties from the Watford rail crash. Graham was described as "a perfectionist in all areas of his life, from the red pen used in writing his operative notes, to the Valentino suits and Gucci shoes he wore". He enjoyed fine wines, fast cars and socialising in Chelsea and Knightsbridge. He had the trappings of the single, educated professional gentleman, albeit at the cost of a stable family life. In many ways an enigma, he rarely mentioned his personal life or relationships, although these were, at times, the subject of gossip. He was extremely close to his parents, frequently taking them away on lavish holidays. In the last few years, he had health problems and took early retirement in 2009. Graham Belham died suddenly at his home in Ealing on 5 March 2010, and was survived by his elderly parents, his brother Tony, and a daughter, Ali, who settled in South Africa with her mother.