James Ashworth was an orthopaedic surgeon in Darlington and Northallerton. He was born on 2 November 1927 in Rossendale, the eldest son of George Ashworth, a yarn agent, and Doris Ashworth née Honey. He attended Haslingden Grammar School and Manchester University, where he was in the cross-country running team and played rugby. He qualified in 1951 with distinctions in medicine and forensic medicine. After junior posts at Manchester Royal Infirmary, he completed his National Service in the RAMC as regimental medical officer to the 1/7 Gurkha Regiment. On leaving the Army he specialised in orthopaedics, holding registrar and then senior registrar posts at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford and the United Leeds Hospitals. He was then appointed as a consultant to Darlington and Northallerton. He married Mary Sinnott in 1966, with whom he had two daughters. Ashworth died in 2007.