Kenneth Paine was born in London on 16 October 1921, the only son of William James Paine, an accountant, and his wife Edith, née Ellis. He won a LCC scholarship to the City of London School whence he gained a City of London scholarship to St Thomas's Hospital. There he won the Kitchiner scholarship and the Foord Caiger exhibition in pathology. After junior posts at St Thomas's and Grimsby he joined the RAF in 1946 and was posted to Habbiniya, Iraq, as a surgeon. After his National Service he became registrar on the neurosurgical unit at St George's Hospital, from which he passed the FRCS, and then spent a year as a resident at the Montreal Neurological Institute in 1951. He returned to become registrar at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases at Queen Square from 1952 to 1954, going on to Great Ormond Street in 1954. He became a fellow in neurosurgery, with consultant status, at Queen Square and St George's in 1956 and for the next three years. In 1959 he returned to Montreal as an assistant professor, became associate professor and finally chief of neurosurgery in 1962. He became President of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society from 1973 to 1974 and wrote extensively on neurosurgical topics. His hobbies included big-game shooting (especially elk), and bridge - he became a Life Master of the American Contract Bridge League. In 1953 he married Vetha Merritt, by whom he had two sons - Anthony, an organic chemist and Michael, an environmental consultant - and twin daughters - Wendy, working for Canada Transport, and Gail, a political scientist. He died on 30 December 1994.