Sir Andrew Watt Kay was regius professor of surgery at Glasgow and an archetypal Scottish academic surgeon. Known by surgical trainees worldwide through his book *A textbook of surgical physiology* (Edinburgh/London, E & S Livingstone, 1959), written with R Ainslie Jamieson, Kay stood alongside many

John Masterton epitomised the term "canny Scot" and also adopted the Aussie characteristic of giving everyone "a fair go". The Royal Australasian College of surgeons has indeed been fortunate that John chose to spend the last 52 years of his working life since 1963 here in Melbourne. The College