Roger Pearce was a consultant ophthalmologist at Watford General Hospital. He was born in Pinner, Middlesex, on 23 December 1943, the son of Leonard John Pearce, the director of a firm of gunsmiths, and Millicent Maud. He was educated at University College School, Hampstead, where he was captain of fives and played rugby for the school. He studied medicine at St Mary’s Hospital, where he was a member of the Christian union and played tennis for the school. In 1966, he spent a year in India with Voluntary Service Overseas. After house posts at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Welwyn, a period in Nigeria with Save the Children Fund, and some time spent at St Mary’s as a lecturer and a casualty officer, he decided to specialise in ophthalmology. He was a senior house officer in ophthalmology at St Mary’s and trained at Moorfields and the Western Ophthalmic Hospital. In 1981, he was appointed as a consultant at Watford. His special interest was in paediatric ophthalmology. He married Linda Turner in 1976, and they spent their honeymoon in India. They had three daughters, Claire, Victoria and Nicola. He was an active sportsman, until 1982, when a ruptured Achilles tendon led to a pulmonary embolism. He enjoyed walking, trekking and skiing. He had only just retired from the NHS when he and Linda were tragically killed on 31 December 2003 in a minibus crash near Bergville, South Africa, whilst on a safari walking holiday to celebrate his 60th birthday.