Reginald Hamilton Livingston was born on January 15 1923 at Lurgan, County Armagh, into a Quaker family and educated at Lurgan College and Queen's University, Belfast. After qualifying he took his FRCS and then spent a year at the Mayo Clinic before proceeding MD with high commendation. In 1956 he joined the staff of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where his whole surgical career was spent. Starting as a urologist he became more and more involved in the expanding field of vascular surgery eventually being the leading expert in Ulster in this speciality. It was on the surgical unit at the Victoria that most arterial surgery was done and with the rise in civil disturbances the responsibilities which Reggie assumed were heavy indeed. He never complained and was always cheerful. Reggie Livingston was a splendid teacher and many generations of Belfast medical students owe much to his quiet, painstaking and kindly bedside instruction. He was a careful and fair examiner both in his own university of Queen's and subsequently on the Court of Examiners at the College from 1968 to 1973. He was chairman of the planning team in his own hospital and served on the Eastern Area Board from its inception in 1973. He was a keen member of the BMA and in 1972 became Chairman of the Northern Ireland Council which he continued to serve until 1978. As an excellent administrator he was greatly in demand and gave his advice to many committees in the province. Born a Quaker, Reggie was a committed Christian and gave unstintingly of his time to the local community. He served as district surgeon in the St John Ambulance Brigade and as council member of the YMCA, Cripples Institute, Belfast Bible College and Leprosy Mission. He was a family man and loved to escape with them to their bungalow by the sea at Dundrum. For relaxation he became a very skilled silversmith and was proud of owning his own hallmark. He was survived by his wife Sybil and family when he died on 7 December 1980 after a short illness.