Derek Larnder was a consultant dermatologist at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand. He was born in Timaru, New Zealand, on 22 June 1922. He attended Waimataitai Primary School, Timaru, Waimate High School and Timaru Boys’ High School and then studied medicine at the University of Otago, gaining his MB ChB in 1946. He held posts at the Rotorua and Wanganui hospitals, lectured at Otago and worked as a ship’s surgeon, including one trip on a troopship taking British soldiers to the Korean War. Deciding on a career in surgery, he went to the UK and gained his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1955. However, an allergy made surgery impractical, and he switched to dermatology. He went back to the UK for further study and then, in 1959, returned to New Zealand, where he settled in Christchurch, as a consultant at Christchurch Hospital and in private practice. He became president of the New Zealand Dermatological Society, co-founder and president of the Psoriasis Association, an honorary member of the British Association of Dermatologists and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. In 1981 he joined the Order of Saint Lazarus, a Catholic organisation dedicated to the care of the poor and the sick. He hosted a pan-Pacific symposium on leprosy and did extensive voluntary work for the order. In 1986, with the Order’s help, he launched Christchurch’s first free clinics for skin cancer checks: the success of the clinics led to their extension throughout the South Island and to the Chatham Islands. Larnder suffered a brain haemorrhage in 1986 but recovered and returned to work. In 1989, the Order of Saint Lazarus awarded him its prestigious order of merit and he received an OBE for services to dermatology. He retired in 1993. In retirement, he found time for sport and travelled extensively with his wife Prue (née Daniel), a former nurse, whom he had married in 1956 in England. Larnder died on 3 December 2009 in Christchurch at the age of 87. He was survived by Prue, their daughters Sarah, Bridget, Katie and Diana, and nine grandchildren.