Michael Rees Gooding was born on 11 January 1935. He studied medicine at London University, trained at the Royal Free Hospital and graduated MB, BS in 1959. He spent time researching neurosurgery at Atkinson Morley’s Hospital and at Queen Square in London and in the USA at the University of California. In 1967 he passed the fellowship of the college. He was appointed consultant neurosurgeon at Hull Royal Infirmary and worked there on a ‘one in two rota’ for over 20 years with no registrar and only a senior house officer to help. A family man with many close friends, outside medicine he enjoyed fishing, listening to music and driving Jaguar cars. He died on 19 May 2021 aged 85.