Alfred ('Boo') Fripp was born in London in 1899. He was the son of Sir Alfred Fripp (*Lives* 1930-51), a surgeon at Guy's Hospital and Surgeon-in-Ordinary to both King Edward VII and King George V. He served in the first world war, enlisting as a second lieutenant and seeing action in France. After the war he trained at Oxford and Guy's, qualifying in 1924. He specialised in orthopaedics and was appointed consultant surgeon to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in 1934. One of his special interests was the surgery of club foot, and he wrote a well-known and well-used book on the subject. He was always an innovative surgeon and, at the age of 60, he helped to develop the transthoracic approach for treating tuberculosis of the spine. He rowed for his school and, after the war, rowed for Oxford, becoming a lifelong member of the Leander Club. He continued to play squash all his working life and, even towards the end of his career, continued to beat younger players. He was a regular attender at Arsenal Football Club matches and became their honorary surgeon. He died on 31 December 1995, survived by his son Christopher and daughters Jill and Tessa. His wife Jennie had predeceased him.