Michael Du Preez (he did not use ‘Hercules’) was born in Cape Town on 19 November 1935, the son of Hercules James Du Preez, a company director, and his wife Josephine Florence née Koll. Educated at Rondebosch Boy’s School from 1944 to 1952, he proceeded to study medicine at the University of Cape Town in 1953 and graduated MB, ChB in 1958. While there he was particularly inspired by the work of professors Jannie Louw, Bill Hoffenberg and Christiaan Barnard. He passed the fellowship of the college in 1963 and proceeded to train as a urological surgeon in England, working in London at St Thomas’ Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. On his return to South Africa in 1968 he worked as a consultant urologist at the Groote Schuur Hospital and senior lecturer in urology at the University of Cape Town Medical School. From 1970 to 1993 he continued this work part-time and built up a private practice. He also spent four years as a lecturer in anatomy at the College of Surgeons of South Africa. In 1994 he travelled to Bahrain, working as senior consultant urologist and head of urological services at the International Hospital of Bahrain. The following year he became consultant urologist at the Armed Forces Hospital in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia, retiring in 2001. In a *Potted Biography* that he submitted to the college he put that *Virtually all of this time [his working life] was spent in academic activities.....and travels related to his profession have taken him to Scotland, England, the USA, Germany, Portugal, France, Egypt and Turkey*. Of his interests he wrote that they: *include an appreciation of fine art, a lifelong interest in photography, architecture and heraldry – he designed a coat of arms for the medical school as well as for the Red Cross Hospital. Kite flying, music – specifically the cello – the growing and exhibition of roses and the breeding and showing of dogs (chow chows) may....be added to the preceding. In respect of sporting activities, he represented his school in tennis and hockey, and his university at golf, but for the past fifty years it has been sailing, both inshore and offshore racing and latterly long distance cruising....He has been a certificated scuba diver..* In 1986 he sailed the family yacht accompanied by his wife and daughters across the Atlantic via the Azores and also cruised the entire length of the Mediterranean to Turkey. He married Angela Jane née Kay, a public relations consultant and function organiser, on 6 June 1965. They had two daughters; Camilla Jane (born on 26 September 1967) who became an interior designer and Eugénie Josephine (born 17 June 1970) who became an accountant. On retirement in Cape Town he worked for over ten years researching a biography of James Barry. With the assistance of Jeremy Dronfield, the book was published as *Dr James Barry; a woman ahead of her time* by Simon and Schuster in 2016. It was very well received and became, among other acknowledgements, *Sunday Times Book of the Year*. Michael explained that his interest in Barry was kindled by his father during his childhood and reawakened by the research for a paper he presented at a London meeting of the college’s Senior Fellows Society in 2002. He died on 22 April 2019 aged 83.