Geoffrey Slaney Hoggins, consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon, died on January 4 2000, aged 84. ‘Geoff’ as he was affectionately known by colleagues throughout the hospital service in the Midlands, was educated at Bedford School, King Edward’s School Birmingham, and Birmingham University. He qualified LDS (Birm) in 1937. BDS followed in 1946, and FDSRCS (Eng) in 1949. Before he retired he held consultant appointments at three hospitals, the Children's and Selly Oak Hospitals in Birmingham, and Walsall General Hospital. Together these represented a heavy load, but hospital work was Geoff's life, and he enjoyed it. He was always kind and caring towards his patients and his junior staff. In 1940 he volunteered for service in the Army Dental Corps spending five years overseas with various medical units under Middle East and India commands. He returned to England in 1945, and was demobilised in 1946, with the rank of major. He then became surgeon in charge of the General Anaesthetic Department at Birmingham Dental Hospital until 1953. Many of the older Birmingham graduates will remember with gratitude his teaching of safe dental extractions under general anaesthesia for out-patients. In those days this was a normal procedure in general dental practice. Geoff was an enthusiastic member of many professional societies including the BDA, with the Hospitals branch, the Oral Surgery Club of Great Britain and Birmingham Medical Institute, of which he was president of the Odontological section in 1962. He was a founder fellow of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons, and a founder member of the Midland Clinical Club, and past president. He published several papers describing rare and interesting conditions he found in the course of his professional career. Apart from his work, he had great enthusiasm for art, motor cars, wine, and above all for the restoration of antique clocks. When he returned to England in 1945, Geoff married Mary Isobel Prince, a girl who had been in the same academic year as himself. Sadly ‘Molly’, as she was always called, died after a short illness in 1971. Geoff slowly recovered, and in 1973 married Mary Eileen McShane who was consultant anaesthetist to Walsall hospitals. Incredibly, after only 12 years she also died in 1985. But in spite of these tragedies Geoff still had a good life and the best years of the Health Service. He leaves two daughters, Jane and Sarah, by his first marriage, and three grand- children.