Raymond Dobson was a consultant thoracic surgeon who worked in the Newcastle upon Tyne region. He was born in Darlington on 24 October 1919, the son of Albert Dobson, an accountant in a bank, and Dorothy Dobson née Robson. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle and was then awarded an exhibition to St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He gained first class honours in his BA in natural sciences and then went on to clinical studies at Newcastle. He qualified MB BChir in 1942. He held house posts at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, and then, in 1943, joined the RAMC. He was twice mentioned in despatches and left the Army in 1946 with the rank of major. Following his demobilisation, he returned to Newcastle, as a house surgeon and then a registrar. From 1950 to 1951 he was a registrar in the department of regional thoracic surgery, Newcastle. He was then a senior registrar in thoracic surgery for a year, working for the South East Metropolitan Region. In 1953 he was appointed to his consultant post at Newcastle. He was also a clinical lecturer at Newcastle University and a senior administrator in the cardiothoracic surgical department at Freeman Hospital (from 1978 to 1980). He retired in 1980. Outside medicine, he was interested in sport. As a young man he had played rugby for Cambridge University and Northumberland. He was chairman of the Two Castles Housing Association from 1975 to 1989. In February 1949 he married Mary (née Meikle). They had three children, Susan (who predeceased him), Simon (who became a paediatrician) and Andrew. Raymond Dobson died on 7 June 2013. He was 93.