Emlyn Lewis was born in America on 10 April 1910; his mother brought him at an early age to Wales and he was educated at Monmouth. He later entered St Mary's Hospital and qualified from there in 1929. After obtaining his Fellowship he held appointments of surgical registrar at King's College Hospital and senior resident surgical officer at Cardiff Royal Infirmary, and these two appointments gave him a sound foundation in general surgery. After this training he decided to specialise in plastic surgery and at the beginning of the second world war he was made surgeon in charge of the EMS plastic unit in Gloucester. It was from this hospital that he made several contributions to the literature on the treatment of burns. In 1948, when the Welsh Hospital Board came into being, a plastic unit of 150 beds was established at St Lawrence Hospital, Chepstow, with Lewis in charge. He revelled in the organisation of this unit and his clinical catchment area extended from West Wales to East Monmouthshire. Lewis still concentrated mostly on the treatment of burns which were all too frequent after explosions in the South Wales coal fields. There must be many miners to-day who owe their life to his skill and care. Lewis will be remembered both for his efficient surgery and also for his skill as an administrator. For relaxation he became a keen horologist and he was very proud of his fine collection of clocks; he was also a keen Freemason, being a past master of many lodges. When Lewis died in the Cardiff Royal Infirmary on 14 May 1969 at the age of 64, he was survived by his wife and a married daughter.