Roy Duckworth was head of the department of oral medicine and periodontology, and a former dean of the London Hospital Medical College. He was born in Bolton in Lancashire on 19 July 1929 to Stanley Duckworth and Hilda Evelyn Duckworth née Moores. His secondary schooling was at King George V Grammar School in Southport, from where he entered Liverpool University’s school of dentistry, qualifying with a BDS degree in 1952. From 1953 to 1955 he carried out his National Service in the RAF dental branch. He then enrolled again at Liverpool University to undertake medical training for the MB ChB. It must have been a strange experience: the new medical students were much younger and at least ten were from his old school, students he would have supervised as a prefect years before. Despite this, he bonded well with the rest of the year and qualified with the MB ChB in 1959. Immediately thereafter Roy obtained a post as a Nuffield fellow at the Postgraduate Medical School of London and Guy’s Hospital. In 1961 he joined the London Hospital, remaining on the staff of that hospital for the rest of his varied and illustrious career. Roy made rapid progress through the academic ranks, becoming professor and head of the department of oral medicine and periodontology in 1968. The following year he took over the mantle of dean of dental studies from Geoffrey Slack and carried out those duties with great distinction for six years. From 1986 to 1994 he took on the wider role of dean of the medical college at a time of great change when a clear mind and steady hand at the helm were essential. Outside the London Hospital he made many significant contributions to the dental profession. In 1983 he was elected dean of the faculty of dental surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and also held office at various times as president of the British Society of Periodontology, the British Society for Oral Medicine and, in 1990, the British Dental Association. He served on numerous important committees and advisory bodies, both nationally and internationally, and was editor of the *International Dental Journal* for many years. His outstanding contributions were recognised by the award of the CBE in 1987. He was one of the first recipients of the Geoffrey Layton Slack medal. Roy married Marjorie Jean Bowness in 1953, a microbiologist. He died peacefully on 16 September 2020 aged 91 and was survived and missed by his beloved wife Marjorie, sons Michael and Stephen, daughter Anne and nine grandsons.