Born at Cobar, New South Wales, in 1899, the son of a medical practitioner, Charles Lawes was educated at Newington College where he played both cricket and football for his school. He went to Sydney University and qualified in 1923 and also played cricket for the University and the State. He proceeded overseas and obtained his FRCS in 1936 but soon after his return to Sydney the war broke out and he enlisted, going to the Middle East and serving in the 2/6 Australian General Hospital. He was in the evacuation from Greece and Crete, serving later in Egypt, New Guinea and then in the Repatriation Hospital, Concord, Sydney. 'Chiller', as he was known to all, was appointed to the staff of the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney in 1946, but the hurly-burly of private practice was not to his liking and he directed his energies into forming a unit for the investigation and treatment of vascular and proctological diseases. His publications were all in these fields and he was also in demand to speak about them at College meetings. After the war he married an architect, Eugenie Kirkpatrick, and their home with its lovely garden was a happy haven for their guests. A devoted couple, they had no children and died within 24 hours of each other.