Marc Winslet was professor of surgery, head of department and chair of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine’s division of surgery and chair of the division of surgical and interventional sciences at University College London (UCL). He was born on 27 February 1958 in Luton, Bedfordshire, the son of Alan John Noel Winslet and Eileen Julia M Winslet née Samm. He qualified in 1981 from the Royal Free Hospital Medical School, was awarded a master of science degree and was Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1988. He trained in general, upper and colorectal surgery in the London, Birmingham and Leicester rotations. After his lectureship at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, he returned to his alma mater as a senior lecturer and honorary consultant to the Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine in 1992. In 1996 he was promoted to a personal chair and, in 1998, to a substantive professor of surgery, head of department and chair of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine’s division of surgery. In 2002 he was appointed chair of the division of surgical and interventional sciences at UCL. Marc held several leadership roles, clinical and academic, in his specialty, including council membership of the British Association of Surgical Oncology, the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland and the Royal Society of Medicine, and treasurer of the British Stomach Cancer Group. He was a talented and popular trainer in both upper and lower GI surgery in addition to his longstanding commitment to the court of examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. As chair of the division of surgical and interventional sciences at UCL from 2002 to 2012 he developed and actively promoted surgical research not only in his chosen areas (upper GI cancer, Barrett’s oesophagus, colorectal cancer, AIDS/HIV related surgery GI and peri-anal disease) but also across the surgical disciplines in particular plastics, vascular, breast and their associated basic scientific fields. He co-edited several major surgical textbooks (*The complete MRCS. Vol 2 system modules* Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone, 2000, *Essential general surgical operations* London, Churchill Livingstone, 2001 and 2007, and *Surgical oncology* Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009), in addition to major peer-reviewed contributions to the literature. He also elevated the teaching profiles for the newly combined UCL division of surgery by contributing to the popular undergraduate intercalated BSc and postgraduate MSc in surgical sciences and promoted a network of London centres capable of supporting thesis opportunities for surgeons in training. Marc retired from the NHS and UCL in 2017 to focus on his major interest in medico-legal work – he had always been fascinated by the legal profession as an aspirational advocate. In addition to expert opinion, he was in great demand as a clinical adviser to the medical protection societies. He died after a short illness and was survived by his wife Johanna and their young daughter, and three grown up children from a previous marriage to Esther (née Meli). Marc also leaves his siblings, many colleagues, friends and trainees touched (and occasionally exasperated) by his ebullience and charm. Those who knew him will not forget his ebullient personality and wit. His was a true ‘one off’ character with a personal mix of gritty London Eastender, West Ham fanatic and metropolitan sophisticate.