Alfred Taylor, known as ‘Roy’, was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Born in Scunthorpe on 28 November 1931, his father working at the steel works and his mother a peripatetic music teacher, Roy attended Scunthorpe Grammar School. He received a Lindsey scholarship to St Mary’s Medical School, from where he qualified in 1957. As a house officer he worked at Oldchurch Hospital in Essex and back in Scunthorpe, but remained London based for the majority of his training. Although the language sounds stilted, early references accurately describe his character; they include ‘His knowledge of modern methods in the diagnosis and treatment of medical diseases is quite remarkable….’ and ‘He is the most conscientious man, his powers of diagnosis are excellent, and he is a very loyal colleague, popular with medical and nursing staff alike.’ He was one of the youngest consultant orthopaedic surgeons appointed at the time, at 37, and he remained at Stoke Mandeville Hospital throughout his career. He devoted himself to his clinical, teaching, research and service development work, both locally and regionally. He was appointed as the first general manager of Stoke Mandeville Hospital. He presented over 30 papers nationally and internationally, had at least 20 peer review papers published and submitted three patent applications. He retired at 63, allowing him time to reignite his schoolboy talent for woodwork; he gained a City and Guilds qualification in woodcarving and built many pieces of furniture. He also read extensively and gave talks about philosophy. He joined Buckingham Rotary Club, engaging in much charity work and became the local president and a Paul Harris fellow, which recognises individuals who have significantly contributed to the organisation. Roy moved into a care home in Chesterfield to be close to his family at the beginning of 2024 and died on 25 July 2024 of a respiratory infection and frailty of old age. He was 92. He met his wife, Margaret, who was training as a radiographer, while working at his first house job. She predeceased him in 2020. He had one son, Simon, a psychiatrist, and two grandchildren, one of whom followed Roy into orthopaedics, the other became a science teacher.