William Parke was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. He was born in Bootle, Lancashire on 3 March 1910 the oldest son of William and his wife Mary née McCourt. He was educated at St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool and Liverpool University. From 1942 to 1947 he served as lieutenant colonel advisor in surgery in the Palestine Command. After early appointments at the Royal Liverpool United Hospital, he moved to New Zealand and was appointed orthopaedic surgeon first to the Cook Hospital in Gisborne and then the Middlemore Hospital in Auckland. In the 1950's he was a member of the board of the Cook Hospital. He became president of the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association from1964 to 1965 and again in 1967. In 1940 he married a teacher, Muriel Stephens and they had two sons and two daughters. His hobbies were trout fishing and horticulture. He died on 4 January 1979. Publication: Premature epiphysical fusion at the knee in tuberculous disease of the hip *J bone jt surg*