George Hayes qualified from Durham University in 1938, having already joined the RNVR. When the second world war broke out, he joined the Royal Navy, serving overseas throughout the war and afterwards in shore-based hospitals in Ceylon, Mauritius and Malta. His last commission was as President of the Naval Medical Board, London. He took early retirement and he and his wife, Margaret, continued to travel abroad. He died on 10 February 2004, and is survived by his widow, three daughters and two sons.