Known affectionately as ‘Dru’, David Ronald Petersgarth Urquhart was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, from 1957 until 1981. Although in many ways a private person, he was undoubtedly one of the established St Thomas’ personalities in the post-war era. His skills were

Alexander James Innes was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Stirling Royal and Falkirk and District Royal infirmaries. His father, James Innes, of Fochabers in Moray, was a farmhand who enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders at the age of 16 and rose to the rank of sergeant. His mother was Jessie Tu

Hugh Phillips, the first surgeon from Norfolk to become president of the Royal College of Surgeons, died within his first year of office. A past president of the British Orthopaedic Association and the orthopaedic section of the Royal Society of Medicine, Hugh influenced every aspect of orthopaedic

Ken McCluskey was the first orthopaedic surgeon to be appointed in Northern Ontario, Canada. He was born in Sorbie, Scotland, on 18 July 1925, where his father, James Joseph McCluskey, was a secretary. His mother was Alice née McShane. He was educated at St Joseph’s College, Dumfries, and then Stony

Frantz Langlais was chairman of the orthopaedic department at University Hospital Sud, Rennes, France. He was born in 1942 in Plouër-sur-Rance, Brittany, the son of a general practitioner. He trained in orthopaedic surgery in Paris under Robert Merle d'Aubigné, Jean Gossett and Michel Postel, and th

Guillaume Tom du Toit, known as 'Gumee', was professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He was born in Johannesburg on 22 November 1909, the son of Guillaume Johannes Izak du Toit, headmaster of the Abraham Kriel Orphanage at Langlaaglte, which had been founded for

Robert Bruce Salter, known as 'Bob', a sixth generation Canadian, was a pioneer in orthopaedic surgery in children. He was born in Stratford, Ontario, on 15 December 1924 and graduated from the University of Toronto. He then worked for two years at the Grenfell Medical Mission in Newfoundland, and s

Peter Shires was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal County Hospital, Guildford, Surrey. He was born in Huddersfield, the son of Frank Shires, a wool merchant, and Marion née Eastwood. He was the nephew of Bertram Shires, a radiologist at St Thomas' and Great Ormond Street hospitals. He wa

Alf Nachemson was one of the giants of his generation in the now recognised and developing specialty of orthopaedic spinal surgery. He spent a year or more in the USA, involved in editorial work and research, particularly at Boston, and remained a popular figure at American spinal conferences, where

Matthew Robert Wakelin Utting was a registrar in orthopaedic surgery in the Bristol area. He studied medicine at Manchester University, gaining a BSc in anatomy with first class honours in 1994 and his MB ChB in 1997. He held junior posts in Lancashire, Norfolk and the south west, and then joined t

Eric Hugo Strach was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon on Merseyside. He was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, into a Jewish family. His father, Cornelius Strach, was a businessman; his mother was Helene Strach née Bachrich. He studied medicine at Prague University and graduated in 1938. After qualify

Harman Gilbert Smith was a senior orthopaedic surgeon at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. He was born in Whangarei, New Zealand, on 10 October 1915 and studied medicine in Dunedin, qualifying in 1940. His first posts were as house surgeon and registrar at Auckland and Greenlane hospitals.