FIG. I Robert Jones as a young surgeon. (By permission of Hodder

1, alas, met Sir Robert Jones but once. My first attendance at a meeting of the British Orthopaedic Association was his last. I remember it clearly. There he sat in patriarchal splendour, surrounded by his favourite sons, Bristow, Girdlestone, McMurray, Platt and Malkin, to name only a few among them. In those days the Association was a small affair, something of a club; its spontaneity was not blighted by a microphone. We youngsters in the back row noted every word, the astonishing wisdom of Sir Robert’s remarks, the geniality that softened the blow of a devastating question. Later we gathered round him-the attraction was quite irresistible-and he asked us about our work with an interest and understanding too genuine