My former colleague Ralph Kerr-Gilbert, who has died aged 93, helped establish oral and maxillofacial surgery in district general hospitals in the Sunderland area in the 1960s. Like so many consultants at that time, he played a huge role in establishing the NHS that is cherished today.
As a surgeon Ralph created and established a thriving unit, delivering the highest standard of care. An open and honest person, for whom patients, colleagues, trainees and staff at all levels had huge respect and fondness, he was a team player with boundless energy. A full week's work was rounded off by a Saturday elective list and usually a Sunday trauma list.
Born in Grantown-on-Spey, in the Scottish Highlands, Ralph had a happy extended family. His grandfather was the owner of the first car in the town. His father was a civil engineer, who emigrated to Vancouver Island, Canada, to work on hydro-electric schemes.
Ralph returned to Scotland to complete his education and took a dental degree at Edinburgh. Then he joined the RAF and was based in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He embarked on a hospital surgical career in Chepstow, Wales, taking his FDS (Eng) degree in 1951.
Realising the need for a medical qualification, he graduated in medicine from Trinity College Dublin in 1956.
Having arrived at Chepstow as a demobbed bachelor, he left for Dublin a family man (he had married Betty in 1954 and become a father) and a student once more: it was a very happy, productive time for him. After qualifying and doing his house jobs, he returned to his oral and maxillofacial training posts in Cardiff and Manchester, leading to his consultant appointment in 1962 to Sunderland, also providing a service to South Shields, Durham and Shotley Bridge hospitals.
Ralph established one of the best postgraduate training programmes, which he ran for 17 years, before retiring in 1985.
He was devoted to his family and is survived by Betty, his daughter, Katherine, and two grandchildren.