Arthur Hargreaves was the lead consultant general surgeon for Salford hospitals and a lecturer in surgery at the University of Manchester. He was born on 9 June 1934 in Darwen, Lancashire, the son of Percy Walsh Hargreaves, an engineer and general manager, and Lillie Kendall Hargreaves née Muir. He was educated at Darwen Grammar School and subsequently at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, from where he gained admission to Manchester University medical school in 1954. In 1959 he was elected president of the medical students’ representative council prior to qualifying in medicine in 1960. He soon decided upon a career in surgery, no doubt influenced by the proud Manchester school of surgery tradition, which boasted specialist surgeons such as Sir Geoffrey Jefferson, Sir Harry Platt and Sir John Charnley, as well as noted general surgeons, including Harry Teesdale Simmons, Peter McEvedy, William Francis (‘Frank’) Nicholson, Robert Wyse and Anthony (‘Tony’) Anscombe, all of whom put a premium on delivering high quality surgery to the population of the north west. Arthur set about his training for a career in general surgery with house officer appointments at Manchester Royal Infirmary and Withington Hospital, and as a tutor of physiology at the medical school. Further training led to busy posts as a resident surgical officer at Salford and then as a senior registrar at Manchester Royal Infirmary. He passed his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1963 and of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1965. His training in general surgery, at which he excelled, led to him becoming especially interested in endocrine and colorectal surgery, the latter leading to laboratory research with his surgical colleague Nigel Keddie into the healing of colonic anastomoses, the findings subsequently being published in the *British Journal of Surgery* (‘Colonic anastomosis. A clinical and experimental study’ *Br J Surg* 1968 Oct;55[10]:774-7; ‘Colonic anastomosis: a histopathological study in the rabbit’ *Br J Surg* 1969 Sep;56[9]:673-6). His interest in thyroid surgery led to him having notable publications on adolescent thyrotoxicosis, carcinoma of the thyroid, multiple endocrine neoplasia and post thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia, contributing to his reputation as a leading authority on endocrine surgery. His paper on emergency surgery for acute cholecystitis recorded his experience of the developing practise of urgent cholecystectomy for the acutely inflamed gall bladder, challenging the old ‘wait until the inflammation resolves’ philosophy (‘Emergency surgery for acute cholecystitis’ *Postgrad Med J*. 1967 Jun;43[500]:406-8). In his series of 55 cases, he commented that acute cholecystectomy was perfectly safe and effective, providing the procedure was carried out by an experienced surgeon using the correct techniques. Arthur was soon appointed as a consultant surgeon to Salford Royal Infirmary and Hope Hospital, Salford, combined with an honorary position as a lecturer in surgery at the University of Manchester. He was particularly pleased with his appointment to Salford Royal Infirmary, which had a national reputation as a voluntary hospital where some of the north’s most famous surgeons had worked. However, things were about to change radically. In the early 1970s, the University of Manchester set about expanding its medical school in order to increase recruitment of medical practitioners to work in the north west of England, which was, relatively speaking, deprived of doctors. In order to bring this about it was decided to increase the size and number of its teaching hospitals and in so doing enlarge the medical school to become the biggest in Europe. Two previous hospital expansions were based upon the existing Manchester Royal Infirmary and the Central Manchester hospitals, with Withington and Christie hospitals forming the University Hospitals of South Manchester. Discussions then took place on how best to develop secondary services in the northern sector of the city and its boroughs, which were served at that time only by the small but well-respected Salford Royal Infirmary and Hope Hospital, which had been inadequately restored after being badly damaged by bombing in the Second World War. Arthur, as a senior consultant in the two hospitals and chairman of the Salford Royal medical staff committee from 1974 to 1997, was a leader in the campaign to have the Salford hospitals designated as the third teaching group, even though he knew that such a redevelopment would have adverse consequences for the future of the Salford Royal. Following the retirement of Arthur Bullough, Arthur became the senior consultant general surgeon with sessions at both the Salford Royal Infirmary and Hope Hospital, and was tasked with leading his surgical colleagues Geoffrey Ingram and John Curt into the massive redevelopment of the Salford hospitals on the Hope Hospital site. This did indeed lead to the closure of the historic and much-loved Salford Royal Infirmary. From the start, Arthur realised that maintaining morale, particularly of the nursing and ancillary staff, was to be the prime task; their online tributes after his death showed that his support during this time was much appreciated. Whilst all this was taking place, he became involved in surgical training in the Manchester region becoming a tutor and a member of the Court of Examiners at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He also held office between 1980 and 1985 as chairman of the North West Region Specialty Training Group in Surgery. Arthur was recognised nationally as one of the leading surgeons in the north of England and as such was invited to become a member of the Moynihan Chirurgical Club and was elected its president in 1994. He was a fellow of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, being a member of its council between 1989 and 1982, and of the Manchester Medical Society, serving as president of its section of surgery from 1992 to 1993. He was also a member of the British Association of Endocrine Surgeons. Towards the end of his surgical career, his lifelong commitment to his Christian faith was taken a step further and he studied for a diploma in theology, which he obtained in 1990. He was ordained as an Anglican priest and, in 2000, took part in the large procession of ordained clergy fellows at the bicentenary celebration of the Royal College of Surgeons at St Paul’s Cathedral. In 1961 Arthur married Jill Taylor, a fellow medical student in the same year. Jill subsequently trained in anaesthetics and became a consultant anaesthetist. Arthur and Jill had three children – Paul, David and Susan. Sadly, Jill developed a malignancy and predeceased him in 2001. Arthur moved from Sale, where they had lived for nearly four decades, to Cheshire, where he was supported by his daughter Sue and friend Frances, who lived nearby. After a long period of ill health from inclusion body myositis (IBM), he died peacefully from pneumonia at the Countess of Chester Hospital on 6 April 2021. He was 86. He was survived by his children and four grandchildren. He left an enduring legacy: the importance of clinical excellence for aspiring surgeons.