Alan Glass was born on 15 April 1919 in Manchester, the son of Isidore, a textile merchant, and his wife, Nellie, née Foster. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Manchester University. He became house surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he was much influenced by Sir Harry Platt and Mr David Lloyd Griffiths. During the second world war he served with the RAMC in Burma as a major, second-in-command of a field ambulance. After the war he was seconded from his senior registrar post to Copenhagen to study its management of the recent epidemic of poliomyelitis and especially the long term care of the most disabled victims. He soon developed a major interest in the orthopaedic problems of children and was further seconded to Florence to study congenital dislocation of the hip, while the hospital chairman termed him 'Booth Hall's first travelling fellow'. He was appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to the North Manchester Hospital Group and Booth Hall Children's Hospital in 1954 and stayed there until he retired in 1983. He was a careful, conservative surgeon, avoiding speculative or adventurous procedures. He was much in demand for a medicolegal opinion and was also adviser to Manchester United Football Club and to the Lancashire Cricket Club. He was an enthusiast for music, having been to Glyndebourne only a few days before his death. He married Vivian Lewis in 1947 and they had a daughter, who became a MCSP, and a son, who became a general practitioner in Manchester. Alan Glass died of ischaemic heart disease on 15 August 1996, survived by his wife and family.