Robert Victor Cooke was born at Berkeley, Gloucestershire, on 17 May 1902, the eldest son of John Cooke and Rose Eva O'Neill. He was educated at Lydney Grammar School, on the opposite side of the Severn estuary. He entered Bristol University to study chemistry, but later transferred to the faculty of medicine and qualified in 1926. After house surgeon appointments in Bristol he achieved the much coveted post of house surgeon to Cecil Joll at the Royal Free Hospital, and it was here that the foundations of his career were laid. He then moved to Cardiff, where as an assistant to Professor Sheen he developed his lifelong enthusiasm for teaching, both undergraduates and postgraduates. In South Wales he first demonstrated his ability to operate round the clock without showing any sign of fatigue, and here he gained a vast experience in clinical and practical surgery. He did not appear to be a swift surgeon, because he paid so much attention to detail, yet his surgery was never slow, as he had perfected the masterly technique of accurate dissection without any wasted manoeuvre. His remarkable clinical judgement was due to extensive surgical experience and his absolute dedication to his profession from his earliest days. He obtained the FRCS in 1929 and the ChM a year later. In 1933 he returned to Bristol as honorary assistant surgeon at the Bristol General Hospital and the Children's Hospital. After their amalgamation with the Bristol Royal Infirmary he eventually became senior surgeon to the United Bristol Hospitals. His proud and fully justifiable boast was that he described himself as a true general surgeon. While working at the Royal Free he won the affection of the resident medical officer, Elizabeth Cowie, who was already MD and FRCP, and they married in 1929. Betty at all times gave him every support and encouragement and acted as a charming hostess to his friends at their home in Bristol and their country cottage in Cornwall, and ultimately their beautiful Elizabethan house, Athelhampton Hall, near Dorchester. Their achievement at Athelhampton was to restore both the house and the garden to perfection, so that it is now one of the finest sixteenth century houses, furnished exquisitely in the contemporary period and making a remarkable memorial to Cooke's knowledge of antiques and horticulture. It has been open to the public regularly since 1958 and has been used for the benefit of many good works. He served as President of the Sections of Surgery and Proctology of the Royal Society of Medicine. For many years he was the indefatigable secretary of the Moynihan Travelling Surgical Club. He served the BMA and the Royal College of Surgeons with outstanding loyalty and was President of the BMA, 1967-8. At the Royal College of Surgeons he was a Hunterian Professor, a member of the Court of Examiners, and finally senior Vice-President. He wrote extensively on carcinoma of the colon and small bowel obstruction. He was an experienced examiner and acted in this capacity in five universities in Britain as well as in Egypt, the Sudan, Kenya, Ceylon, India and Hong Kong. In 1963 he was awarded the Cecil Joll Prize for meritorious service in general surgery and thyroid surgery in particular. In 1970 he was invited to give the Bradshaw Lecture. In 1965 he won the Lawrence Abel Cup. In 1967 an honorary doctorate of Bristol University was conferred upon him. He took a great interest in the civic affairs of Bristol and was a past sheriff of the City. As a student he was a keen and able hockey player, captaining the university team and playing for Gloucestershire. He was full back in the Bristol University team which won the inter-universities championship. His versatility in sport included tennis and cricket, and in subsequent years he turned his sporting attention to golf with equal success, approaching scratch handicap. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1964 and in 1970 he married Dr Mavis Coutts, his anaesthetist and the daughter of a local general practitioner. He had two sons by his first marriage, the elder of whom served as Member of Parliament for the Bristol West contituency for a number of years. His younger son is a teacher. He died after a short illness on 17 January 1978.