Bernard Langdon Whitaker was born on 22 October 1927, the son of Harold Whitaker, a marine superintendent, and his wife Helen née Wragg, a schoolmaster’s daughter. He was educated at Woking County Grammar School on a county major scholarship. In 1949 he graduated MB, BS from London University having trained at Guy’s Hospital. After a few months as a house surgeon at Bromley and District Hospital, he joined the RAMC in June 1950 and served as a captain in the 14th Field Regiment in Korea for two years After demobilisation he held many brief house appointments, working at the Hammersmith, Royal Free, St. Mark’s, Southend General and Royal Marsden hospitals among others. Several senior surgeons were to influence him at this time including Henry Thompson, Oswald Lloyd Davies, Sir Clifford Naunton-Morgan, Donald Barlow and Alan Hunt. He passed the fellowship of the college in 1957 and, after various registrar posts, was appointed consultant in general surgery in 1968 to the Hertford County Hospital and the Hertfordshire and Essex General Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford. In 1987 he was also appointed consultant to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Welwyn Garden City. On 17 March 1956 he married Jean Mary North, who was also medically qualified and was a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Their son Simon Charles was born on 14 May 1957 and eventually became a consultant radiologist at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. Juliet Mary Whitaker, their daughter, was born on 18 March 1967 and qualified in medicine at University of Cambridge. Outside medicine he enjoyed wood-turning, sailing, scuba diving and foreign travel, the highlight of which was Himalayan trekking. He died on 10 November 2018 aged 81, survived by his children and grand-daughter Maddie.