George Frederick Rowbotham was born at Altrincham and educated at Manchester Grammar School, Manchester College of Technology, and Manchester University. After qualification in 1925 he held surgical appointments at Manchester, Salford, Stockport, and London, and returned to Manchester in 1930 as surgical registrar at the Royal Infirmary. Here he came under the influence of Geoffrey Jefferson, was converted to neurosurgery, and then was made first assistant in Jefferson's new unit. In 1936 came his appointment as neurosurgeon at Stockport, Withington, and to the Christie Hospital. He moved to Newcastle in January 1941. His work soon became internationally renowned in the whole field of neurosurgery, but especially for the management of head injuries. He was a prolific and painstaking writer whose best-known work was *Acute injuries of the head*, first published in 1944. In this unique book Rowbotham demonstrated his ability to see the whole problem of the head-injured patient from the time of injury until the completion of rehabilitation. He served his hospital and his adopted city and region with great devotion and was for some time chairman of the medical staff committee. He was not without his eccentricities, and indeed many stories about 'Row' and some of his fascinating flights of fancy still go the rounds in Newcastle, where he was a distinctive figure for many years on the medical scene. A skilful and meticulous surgeon whose technique was always most evident when he sectioned a trigeminal root, he was prominent in many different aspects of Newcastle medical life. Virtually unaided, he established an outstanding department of neurosurgery at Newcastle General Hospital, at first under relatively primitive conditions. The new regional neurological centre was his brainchild and his pride and joy, but he was only able to enjoy its facilities for about two years before he reached the statutory retiring age. Honours were numerous, including a Hunterian Professorship and the Presidencies of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons, the North of England Neurological Association, and the North of England Surgical Society. He played international hockey for England, and was for many years a selector for the English hockey team. By his many pupils and his devoted staff he was always known as 'Father', a sign of the affection and respect which all had for this kindly, sometimes eccentric, and always compassionate man. After retirement he pursued active research, wrote, attended medical appeal tribunals, and at the age of 75 sat and passed an examination for the Open University BA degree. A devout churchgoer, he was vicar's warden for twenty-five years. On 4 July 1935 he married Monica Boyle, a university psychologist. Her father had been a gold medallist in his final year at Leeds and was RSO to Lord Moynihan. They had one daughter and four sons, three of whom are medically qualified. He died from Hodgkins' disease on 23 November 1975, aged 76 years.