Basil John Ireland was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on 27 February 1927. He was the second child and first son of John Bede Ireland, a school teacher, and his wife, Marjorie Zara Lang née Monaghan. He attended Portland School, Wellington School, St. Joseph’s Convent School of Wattle Flat and Lithgow High School. After studying medicine at Sydney University and training at St Vincent’s Hospital (SVH) Clinical School, he graduated MB, BS in 1950. After initial house jobs at SVH, he worked there as an orthopaedic surgeon and passed the fellowship of the college and of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in 1957. He also worked at the Concord Repatriation Hospital and Liverpool Hospital and as a lecturer in surgery at the University of New South Wales. At times in his career he acknowledged the influence of Douglas Ian Miller, the neurosurgeon, R.M. Dunn and Mr McC Callow. He served as a captain in the RAAMC during the Korean War and was a resident medical officer in the first Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. In 1954 he married Ernestine Messenger and they had five sons and a daughter. Outside medicine he enjoyed skiing, sailing and cattle breeding. He died on 29 May 2018 aged 90 years.