Neville Connolly was a paediatric surgeon in Washington DC. His father, William Frederick Connolly, left Dublin at the age of 16 to make his way in London. He did two jobs to support himself while obtaining a law degree, then joined the Civil Service, working for the Inland Revenue. After the First World War, he transferred to the Air Ministry when it was formed in 1919 and was responsible for the administration and finances of the newly-formed RAF. He met Neville’s mother, Kathleen Maud Knott, before he left Dublin and kept in touch with her. They were married in 1918, and Neville was born on 13 November 1920 in Putney, London. Since his father’s position required an overseas assignment in Baghdad (in what was then Mesopotamia), where his mother was not allowed to go, Neville’s upbringing was greatly influenced by his mother. When Neville’s father was reassigned to Egypt, his mother was allowed to be with him. Neville was enrolled in boarding schools so his mother could join his father during the winter. Neville went to Lynchmere, Eastbourne, and then gained a scholarship to Canford, a relatively new establishment near Wimborne, Dorset. His father allowed him to include riding lessons at the school to reward him for the scholarship. Neville loved outdoor activity, and was very involved with all sport at the school. After Canford, and possibly because of Neville’s religious upbringing, he felt that he wanted to do something to help people, and decided on a career in medicine. After passing enough exams to get into medical school, he decided to try for a scholarship to Cambridge University. He sat the scholarship exam and won an exhibition to King’s College, Cambridge, later becoming a scholar. He started his studies at the beginning of the Second World War, reading natural sciences and then physiology and pharmacology. Neville shared a room with another medical student who was a choral scholar. He introduced Neville to the choral and organ scholars at King’s. His new-found friends were all brilliant musicians, particularly David Willcocks, the organ scholar. Neville’s friendship with the music scholars and his participation in the services of King’s College Chapel stirred a deep love of the music and services of the Church of England. Later in life, when Neville immigrated to the USA, he joined St Alban’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC. He became life-long friends with Norman Scribner, the organ scholar and music director at St Alban’s. After Neville finished his studies at Cambridge, he was awarded an exhibition to St Thomas’ Hospital, but later decided to accept a Rockefeller studentship to Harvard Medical School. Neville crossed the Atlantic in 1942 in a convoy of Merchant Marine ships, escorted by destroyers, to attend Harvard. The U-boats were very active and he was fortunate to arrive in New York without incident. Neville arrived at Harvard just as the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor and entered the war. While studying at Harvard, Neville spent three months as a surgical intern to Alfred Blalock at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. It was this experience that made Neville decide to become a surgeon. And he wanted to be a paediatric surgeon because of his love of children. He met, and fell in love with, an American patient named Agnes Flather during his training at Johns Hopkins. After a two-year courtship, they were married in England as war was ending, and had two daughters, Catherine and Angela. Neville returned to England to complete his residency training as a casualty officer and house surgeon to Bernard Constable Maybury and Roland Hodgson Boggon at St Thomas’ in 1945, and as a house surgeon to Denis Browne at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, from January to August 1946. He then served in the RAF Medical Service at Ely Hospital from 1946 to 1948 as a squadron leader. Neville was a supernumerary registrar at St Thomas’ from January to July 1949 and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in May 1949. Neville’s residency training was at the time of the National Health Service’s inception. His experience in general and paediatric surgery was broad-ranging and all-encompassing, but he did not see an opportunity to get a position as a consultant paediatric surgeon in the NHS. He had received an offer to become an associate of John Lyons, a well-respected senior surgeon in Washington, DC. Neville decided to accept his offer and emigrated to Washington in 1955, becoming an American citizen in 1958. Neville became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics and practised general and paediatric surgery for the next 40 years. His practice included a wide range of patients, from charity to the families of presidents. He was instrumental in establishing the specialty of paediatric surgery in Washington. Neville was well-loved and respected. He was an associate professor of surgery at Georgetown University, a senior attending surgeon and president of the medical staff at Washington Hospital Center, and a senior attending surgeon at the Children’s National Hospital. He adhered to his original ideals throughout, and always believed the practice of medicine to be a ‘calling’. Shortly after Neville retired, his wife Agnes died. He later married Jocelyn Rountree, who he had met in Washington in 1958 when he was called to care for her three-year-old son, Rickey, who had a lump on his leg. Unfortunately, the lump turned out to be rhabdomyosarcoma: in spite of all Neville’s efforts, it metastasised and led to his death. Neville was very fond of Rickey and became his godfather. Rickey in turn adored Neville, and knew he could depend on him. Jocelyn became a family friend and was always available to help care for Agnes when her health was failing. After Neville and Jocelyn were married, Neville wrote his autobiography, *Called to be a surgeon: not for bread alone* (AuthorHouse), published in 2009. It covers his life, training and surgical practice in the USA and England. After 23 wonderful years of marriage, Neville died peacefully at home on their farm in Culpeper, Virginia on 30 January 2017. He was 96.