Alexander McCalister (known as 'Alex') was a consultant general surgeon at the Ulster Hospital. He was born in Belfast on 6 June 1925 and grew up in rural Northern Ireland in relatively poor circumstances: his mother cooked on an open peat fire and they had no piped water in the home. His family suggested that Alex might become a carpenter, but his head teacher encouraged him to consider a career in medicine. He gained a local government scholarship and studied at Queen's University Belfast, qualifying in 1948 with first class honours. In 1968, Alex was appointed as a consultant general surgeon at Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, County Down and worked there until his retirement in 1989. He also specialised in urology. He was known as a very good surgeon - quick, deft and neat - and urological colleagues would come to him if they needed an operation themselves. He was well-liked by staff and his nickname on the wards was 'uncle'. He was known for carrying out very early ward rounds, often at 6.30 am, which meant he could begin operating an hour and a half before everyone else. Alex joined the Territorial Army as a young doctor and became a colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps, commanding his own unit, the 204 Field Hospital. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration, became a Knight of St John of Malta, and was an honorary surgeon to HM The Queen. He enjoyed travel and was interested in poetry, birds, trees, flowers and history (particularly military history). He made sure he kept up with current events, buying two newspapers every day. He was a deeply spiritual and religious person, and took his prayer book everywhere he went. He played the fiddle, having been taught by his father, who was a very skilled player. Alex met Claire Johnston while he was teaching medical students. They married in 1955 and had four children. The youngest became a doctor. After Claire's death in 1985, Alex married Heather Hector in 1989. She died in 2013. Alex died on 26 January 2018 from cardiac failure, aged 92, and was survived by three of his children. Sadly, he was predeceased by his eldest daughter, who died a fortnight before him.