Nigel St John Pasfield Dwyer was a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon to East Birmingham Hospital and later the first paediatric trauma and orthopaedic surgeon in Birmingham. He was born on 19 June 1935. His parents were Michael Arthur Vincent Dwyer, a draughtsman, and Joyce Dallas Dwyer née Pasfield, a nurse. School was challenging, but he was the first in his family to gain a place at a grammar school (Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield) and from there he was the first to go to university, studying medicine in Edinburgh. As a student extracurricular activities included boxing (he was captain of the university team), running and mountaineering. Nigel graduated as a doctor in 1960. He trained in Birmingham and Bristol and researched bone electrics in Oswestry. He was appointed as a substantive general trauma and orthopaedic surgeon to East Birmingham Hospital in 1969 and in 1979 became the first solely children’s trauma and orthopaedic surgeon in the city. He cared deeply about those children and many families across the region have been indebted to him and his innovative skill. He was fearless in calling out weak planning or poor practice and was a passionate supporter of the NHS. His contributions to orthopaedic practice included: developing nursing services to all but eliminate decubitus pressure ulceration in patients recovering following fractures; invention of the East Birmingham external compression device (an early circular frame that provided sufficient stability to heal tibial non-unions); bringing callotasis techniques to the fore when reconstructing paediatric limb deformity; developing an almost flawless universal clinical screening programme to detect congenital dislocation of the hip during the perinatal period; a novel talar neck osteotomy for correction of severe congenital talipes equinovarus deformity; popularising the work of Albert Ferguson in promoting early surgical reduction of congenital dislocation of the hip via a medial approach with patient follow up in excess of 30 years, the vast majority remaining functionally normal. Nigel was an inspiration to his two sons. He acted as Jonathan’s orthopaedic surgical trainer during his paediatric orthopaedic fellowship year and subsequently as a mentor during his early consultant career. Following his retirement at the age of 60 and having inherited his father’s art materials, Nigel studied art at Solihull College in 1996, gaining a BA and then an MA in fine art. He redefined and developed himself as an artist and produced many fabulous, challenging and enthralling pieces in different media, gaining several commissions for publicly funded sculptures that remain on display at various locations in the West Midlands. Characteristically, Nigel ended a lecture on art and religion with these words, attributed to St Francis of Assisi: ‘He who works with his hands is a labourer. He who works with hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.’ It gives a glimpse of Nigel’s enquiring mind: he had a passion for truth and for a deeper knowledge that he expressed during his surgery and carried forward into his second career as an artist. While at medical school he met his future wife, Moira Isobel Munro, then a young physiotherapy student. They married in 1960. Nigel died on 30 May 2023 at the age of 97. He was survived by Moria, his wife of nearly 63 years, and their two sons, Jonathan, a consultant children’s orthopaedic surgeon, and Sean, a consultant anaesthetist.