William Brough was a general surgeon with a special interest in laparoscopic surgery. He was appointed as a consultant to Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport in 1989 and to Macclesfield District General Hospital in 2001, where he remained until his retirement in 2011. He gained a fine reputation for his technical ability as one of the country’s leading laparoscopic surgeons and travelled widely to demonstrate his skills in hospitals both in the United Kingdom and abroad. William was born in Nottingham on 30 November 1950, the son of William Brough, a builder, and June Brough née Radford. He was a pupil at Loughborough Grammar School between 1959 and 1969, followed by St George’s Medical School, where he gained a BSc in pharmacology as well as his MB BS, qualifying in1976. From 1976 to 1977 William was a house physician at St George’s and a house surgeon in Cambridge. This was followed by a lecturer post in anatomy at St George’s in 1978, prior to obtaining his fellowship in June 1980. He was a senior house officer and a registrar in Hull, Cambridge and Manchester from 1978 to 1985, and was appointed as a senior registrar in 1985 in Manchester, during which time he spent a year in Melbourne. William had an impressive list of publications, totalling 57 papers, 46 abstracts and two book chapters. More than half of these publications were related to laparoscopic surgery. He was a member of ten professional organisations, including the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS) and the Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons. He was a council member of five of these, as well as being an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a member of the 1921 Surgical Club and president of the surgical section of Manchester Medical Society. William was an excellent sportsman and played cricket for Nottinghamshire second 11 as a schoolboy. He is one of a select group of surgeons who has a mention in *Wisden*. He was a good golfer, enjoyed walking and cycling in the Peak District, and held a pilot’s licence. Sadly, William’s retirement was spoiled by ill health. He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage in 2013 and he went on to develop Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. He met Sylvia Glass in Cambridge in 1979, where he was a surgical registrar and she a house surgeon, and they married in 1982. They had two children, Tom and Claire, and three grandchildren. He died on 15 July 2021 at the age of 70.