Professor Roland Barnes, Emeritus Professor of orthopaedic surgery, Glasgow University; born May 21, 1907, died November 15, 1998

Roland Barnes was born in Accrington, Lancashire, and qualified in medicine at Manchester University Medical School. His resident appointments and early surgical training were in Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he came under the influence of Sir Harry Platt, finally becoming his Chief Assistant in 1937. During this period his orthopaedic horizons were broadened by a year spent working in the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, and by many visits to Europe. On the outbreak of the Second World War, Roland Barnes was asked to establish a large Emergency Medical Service Orthopaedic Unit with a special interest in the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries.

His move to Scotland came in 1942 when Glasgow University appointed him to the Frederick Young Lectureship in Ortho-paedics in Professor Charles Illingworth's Department of Surgery. This far-sighted appointment allowed him to begin the development of an academic orthopaedic unit, which reached fruition in 1959 when he was appointed as the first Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery to the university. By then he had created an outstanding department, recruiting a number of young orthopaedic surgeons returning from war service. The development of orthopaedics, as a separate speciality from general surgery, still faced considerable difficulties working on split sites with beds in Killearn Hospital and the Western Infirmary. With enthusiasm and good teamwork these difficulties were overcome, producing a unit with an international reputation for clinical practice and undergraduate teaching. One of

Roland Barnes's main clinical interests was the treatment of bone tumours and, with the assistance of Dr Mary Catto as pathologist, he established a Scottish Bone Tumour Registry which continues to the present day. His other major contribution was to develop collaborative research links with Professor Bob Kenedi in the Bioengineering Unit of Strathclyde University.

In 1968 he was elected first Scottish president of the British Orthopaedic Association in its 50th anniversary year. During this period he was actively involved in the introduction of postgraduate training programmes for orthopaedic surgeons. His many achievements were honoured by his appointment as CBE in 1970. Following retirement in 1972 he remained in Scotland, enjoying his leisure interests in music and gardening.

He will be remembered by his many friends, trainees, and former patients for his virtues of honesty and total integrity, which he combined with a cheerful and humorous personality. His wife, Mary, and two daughters survive him, though sadly his only son, who was also an orthopaedic surgeon, predeceased him.