Cyril Jeffery, or 'Jeff', was born on 13 April 1911 in Southsea, the son of Surgeon Commander T W Jeffery OBE RN. He went to the London Hospital in 1929, initially to study dentistry, but changed to medical studies in 1931. He was surgical dresser to Sir Hugh Cairns and Sir James Walton, and was house surgeon to Sir Henry Souttar. He passed the primary FRCS in 1935, soon after qualifying, and the final four years later. He was in the Navy throughout the second world war, and returned to the London to specialise in orthopaedics in 1946, as supernumerary registrar to Sir Reginald Watson-Jones. On completing his training in orthopaedics, he was appointed to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, the Royal Devon and Exeter, and Torbay Hospitals. He published extensively on fractures of the head of the radius and neck of femur. His wife, Joy, predeceased him. He died on 1 October 1997, survived by his children, Andrew, Rosalind and Corinne.