David Geoffrey Failes was a colorectal surgeon. Born on 12 March 1924 in Syndey, he was the son of Geoffrey Christopher Failes, a grazier, and his wife Vera Tawmii Caroline Failes née Perry. He was educated at Sydney Boy’s High School and, at the age of eighteen, joined the Royal Australian Air Force, serving as a sergeant from 1942 to 1945. He then attended Sydney University, graduating in 1951. In the UK he held junior posts at Ancoats Hospital in Manchester where he was much influenced by George Oliver Jelly. He passed the fellowship in 1955. On his return to Australia he became honorary surgeon to the Sydney Hospital, the Blacktown District Hospital and Parramatta District Hospital. He was also a surgical tutor at Sydney University. He married a fellow medical practitioner, Beryl Margaret Parsons, in 1959 and they had a son Tim and daughter Kate. Outside medicine he enjoyed playing tennis, golf and skiing. He died on 14 November 2014 aged 90 survived by Beryl, his children, son-in-law Tony File, and grandchildren Georgie and Luka.