Gordon Hardman was a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon in north Wales. He was born in Oldham on 11 June 1918. His father, Frederick Hardman, fought in the First World War, received the Military Cross in 1918 and went on to run the family rope and twine manufacturing business. His mother was Emmeline May Hardman née Ogden. Hardman began studying dentistry at the Victoria University of Manchester in 1937 and gained his LDS and BDS before he joined the Navy in August 1942 as a temporary surgeon lieutenant. He served on HMS *Black Prince*, where he was the entertainments officer. He later joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Following his demobilisation, he returned to his studies at the Victoria University of Manchester, studying medicine and gaining his MRCS LRCP and MB ChB in 1950. He became a fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1952. He completed his senior registrar training at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, where he worked for Terence Ward. In 1954 Hardman was looking for a consultant appointment; there were few openings. He started in general medical practice until he was offered a consultant position in north Wales with five sessions. He managed to persuade the appointments committee to raise this to six sessions, so he could have an operating and outpatient session in each of the three hospitals in the region – in Bangor, St Asaph/Rhyl and Wrexham. For the rest of the week, he worked as a clinical assistant in ENT and general surgery. In the early days of the department there was no maxillofacial laboratory to produce splints or other appliances: all such work was sent to Hardman’s old department at East Grinstead. Slowly the service was built up: in 1960 a consultant orthodontist was appointed, followed by a second consultant oral surgeon six years later. Hardman held a chair at the National Autonomous University of Mexico until his retirement. In north Wales he established senior registrar exchanges with the USA, Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Mexico. In 1994 graduates established the Hardman Society in Denver, Colorado: members meet annually and the Society also has a training scholarship which is awarded every year. Hardman was president of the British Association of Oral Surgeons in 1979 and vice president of the International Association of Oral Surgeons from 1980 to 1983. Outside medicine he enjoyed outdoor activities, particularly skiing, walking, sailing and shooting. In October 1942 he married Brenda Sutcliffe. They had three children – Clive, Charlotte, and Charles. Hardman died on 23 January 2006. He was 87.