Denis Bodenham was a pioneer plastic surgeon who learnt his basic skills in RAF hospitals during the war, and went on to apply his expertise in peace time surgery, making important contributions to the pathology and the management of malignant melanoma. He was born in Bristol on 20 October 1915, the son of a dentist. After schooling at Clifton College he gained his medical education at Bristol University, where among other things he distinguished himself as captain of the rowing club. He qualified with both the conjoint diploma and the MB Bristol in 1939 and after a house job in the Bristol General Hospital he joined the RAF. In the service he worked with David Matthews and Archibald McIndoe and had the opportunity to make the earliest use of penicillin in surgical cases, a subject on which he wrote in the official Air Ministry publications. He left the RAF with the rank of Squadron Leader. After the war, with the FRCS Edinburgh, he was appointed consultant plastic surgeon to the Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, and led innovative teams concerned with cleft lip and palate and with malignant melanoma. He was the inventor of a new skin graft knife and of a facial nerve stimulator of great value in major facial surgery. He soon realized the importance of a training programme and was Chairman of the Special Advisory Committee on plastic surgery between 1968 and 1971. In 1968 he delivered a Hunterian Lecture on the subject of melanoma and in the following year was awarded the FRCS England ad eundem. In 1973 he was elected President of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons. In 1944 he married Judith Bradley. They had three sons, none of whom have entered the medical profession. After retirement with his second wife, Anne, he wrote *The Food Dictionary*, a volume designed to promote healthy eating. Rowing was not a sport to carry on into mature years but he continued to enjoy the water when sailing or fishing. He died of heart failure on 22 November 1996.