Born in Manchester in 1934, John Bowden Garland studied medicine at Manchester University. After junior appointments, he specialised in urology and completed registrar appointments in Preston under Harry Graham and Dennis Poole-Wilson at Salford Royal Hospital. He wrote his MD thesis on chronic prostatitis. He was subsequently appointed as a consultant urologist to Salford NHS Trust. His keen sense of humour and placid personality made him a delightful colleague and a favourite with the nursing staff. He was a keen historian, with a particular interest in the canal system in Manchester, and an avid reader and collector of old books. He was married to Eileen and they had two sons, Richard and Robert, and a daughter, Rebecca. He died on 13 October 2001.