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The Peter Templeton Prize honours the life and example of Peter Alexander Templeton, a consultant trauma and children’s orthopaedic surgeon whose clinical excellence, generosity and leadership influenced patients, trainees and colleagues across Leeds, the Armed Forces and the wider orthopaedic community.
Peter was born in Saskatoon, Canada, while his father, Professor John Templeton, was working there as an orthopaedic surgeon. His family later lived in Montreal before returning to Belfast in 1978. This early Canadian upbringing, combined with his Belfast roots, gave Peter the distinctive Irish-Canadian accent and warm manner for which he was widely remembered.
He studied medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, qualifying MB, BCh, BAO in 1987. He began his medical career as a house officer to his father at a particularly proud time for them both. While working at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, he met his wife, Kate, who was then working as a night sister. They married in 1990 and built a family together with their two sons and daughter.
Peter entered orthopaedic training in Leeds, passing FRCS (Eng) in 1991 and FRCS (Orth) in 1996. He worked as Tutor and Honorary Lecturer in the Academic Unit of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Leeds under Professor Robert Dickson. A year-long fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, undertaken with Kate and their young family, established his commitment to children’s orthopaedics and shaped his future specialist practice.
Appointed Consultant Trauma and Children’s Orthopaedic Surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals in 1999, Peter combined paediatric subspecialist work with expertise in adult trauma. With colleagues, he developed the children’s service into a regional referral centre for congenital deformity. He brought sound judgement, technical ability, compassion and reassurance to the care of children and families, while also being recognised as an outstanding trauma surgeon.
Peter was a natural leader with a strong commitment to developing services and people. As Clinical Director of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, he helped lead the centralisation of trauma care at Leeds General Infirmary laying the foundation for major-trauma-centre development. He also served as Clinical Tutor, Foundation Programme Director and Regional Training Programme Director for Orthopaedic Surgery in Yorkshire and Humber.
Education was central to his professional identity. He guided hundreds of junior doctors and orthopaedic trainees with patience and practical wisdom, taking real interest in their development as clinicians and as people. Trainees valued his availability, sound advice and the genuine care he showed during the demanding process of becoming a surgeon.
Alongside his NHS career, Peter served with distinction in the Territorial Army and Royal Army Medical Corps. As Lieutenant Colonel Templeton, he completed operational tours in Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan in 2011, bringing trauma expertise, calm leadership and compassion to demanding military environments. His contribution was recognised with the Territorial Decoration in 2006.
He also contributed to the profession through scholarly service as a respected reviewer for Injury, where his thoughtful, fair and constructive assessments were valued by the editorial board.
Peter’s professional achievements were matched by his humanity. He was an exceptionally generous host, a loyal colleague and a committed family man, known for his engaging humour, gentle wit, optimism and unmistakable welcome: a broad smile and a warm “How are you?” His ability to put others at ease, coupled with deep kindness and an unfailing commitment to those around him, made him a much-loved friend, mentor and surgeon.
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The Philip Fulford Prize recognises the wide-ranging contribution of Surgeon Captain Philip Fulford: naval surgeon, orthopaedic consultant, teacher, researcher and leading medical editor. It celebrates the intellectual curiosity, professional breadth and commitment to high standards that characterised his career.
Born in Bideford, Devon, on 20 September 1930, Philip Fulford was the first member of his family to enter medicine. He attended Bideford Grammar School, where he became head boy and gained a scholarship to University College London. At UCL, he read anatomy with distinction under Professor J. Z. Young, completing an honours BSc and receiving the Goldsmiths Travelling Scholarship.
After house appointments at University College Hospital, he joined the Royal Navy for National Service. His early work included research into deep diving and submarine-rescue medicine, illustrating an interest in the practical and physiological challenges of naval service. He accepted a permanent commission in 1955 and trained surgically at the Royal Naval Hospitals in Plymouth and Portsmouth. His training also included a year at Hammersmith Hospital under Ian Aird and Peter Martin, before appointment as a senior surgical specialist. In 1965, he completed the MCh course in orthopaedics at Liverpool.
His naval career combined clinical leadership with broad surgical experience. Posted to Malta in 1966, he undertook the full range of surgical practice before being appointed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, Gosport, in 1967. He became Professor of Naval Surgery in 1969, holding the post until 1975. From 1967 to 1977, he also served as medical officer to HM The Queen during overseas tours.
After retiring from the Royal Navy as Surgeon Captain in 1982, Philip Fulford continued his clinical work as a full-time Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Queen Alexandra’s Hospital, Portsmouth. He was also Honorary Consultant and Senior Lecturer at Southampton General Hospital, contributing to both service delivery and surgical education.
Philip Fulford made a substantial academic contribution, publishing extensively on stress fractures and disorders of the shoulder and knee. He was deeply involved with The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, serving on its editorial board before becoming Deputy Editor and subsequently full-time Editor. He was also a founder member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, reflecting his belief that scientific publication should be rigorous, responsible and trustworthy.
Alongside his professional commitments, he maintained a strong family life with his wife, Jean Vida Davidson, whom he married in 1953, and their four children. His legacy is one of service, scholarship and editorial integrity, with a career that connected naval medicine, orthopaedic practice, research and the advancement of medical publishing.
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The Surg Capt John Bertram Prize was established in 2026 to recognise the contribution of Surgeon Captain John Bertram, QHS, BS MB, MChOrth, FRCS; known warmly to colleagues and trainees as ‘Bertie’. As one of the original members of the Combined Services Orthopaedic Society, he embodied clinical excellence, professionalism and generous mentorship.
Born in 1933, John Bertram was educated at Epsom College and The Middlesex Hospital. He joined the Royal Navy in 1958 for National Service, choosing to continue his naval career and undertaking orthopaedic training in London between 1962 and 1967.
Following completion of his training, he was posted to the Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth. His service included time at sea aboard HMS Ark Royal, HMS Victorious and HMS Eagle. He spent the greater part of his orthopaedic career in Plymouth, progressing to Surgeon Commander in 1968 and Surgeon Captain in 1981. His final post was at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, where he served as Professor of Military Surgery before retiring in July 1990 as a Queen’s Honorary Surgeon.
Bertie was a man of few words but considerable presence, often remembered in his immaculate white coat and with his characteristic Nelsonian gait, one hand in his pocket. He was an early advocate of AO principles, with one of the UK’s early AO instrument sets established at RNH Stonehouse.
Above all, he was a clinician and teacher who valued careful observation, sound judgement and respect for the patient. He impressed upon trainees that attentive listening and a thorough history would often reveal the diagnosis before examination began: a lesson that remained with many throughout their careers.
He combined meticulous standards with genuine support for junior colleagues. He recognised the importance of professionalism and non-technical skills well before these became formal parts of surgical training, while expecting the same care in detail from those around him. Trainees learnt quickly that accuracy mattered, whether in clinical decision-making, documentation or the simple discipline of trimming sutures properly.
Throughout retirement in Plymouth, he continued to enjoy music, nature and family life, while remaining closely connected to the orthopaedic community. His thoughtful calls and notes marking colleagues’ professional achievements reflected a lasting commitment to the people he had trained and supported.
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The Mike McErlain Travelling Fellowship commemorates Lieutenant Colonel Michael McErlain, an Army trauma and orthopaedic surgeon whose career was defined by service, clinical commitment, enthusiasm for learning and an enduring concern for those injured in conflict.
Mike studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen, qualifying in 1993. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a medical cadet in 1990 and was already recognised among his peers for his energy, humour and larger-than-life character. After completing his early postgraduate training and the Professionally Qualified Officer course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he went on to serve as Regimental Medical Officer to 1 PARA in 1996.
He completed both basic and higher surgical training within the NHS, supplementing this with an overseas spinal-surgery fellowship in Melbourne, Australia. After receiving his Certificate of Completion of Training, he was appointed as a consultant at Frimley Park Hospital. This combination of broad surgical training, specialist experience abroad and military practice reflected his belief in continually developing skills for the benefit of patients.
His military service included operational tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. At Camp Bastion, he treated the severe and life-changing injuries sustained during that conflict; work that profoundly shaped his commitment to the long-term care of injured service personnel. On returning to the UK, he continued to review and support patients through peripatetic clinics at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court.
Mike’s response to the needs of wounded veterans extended well beyond the hospital. In 2009, he founded the D-Day 44 charity run in aid of BLESMA, bringing together endurance sport, remembrance and practical support for service personnel who had sustained life-changing injury. The event honoured those lost in the Normandy campaign and in more recent conflicts, while reflecting Mike’s determination that injured personnel should remain visible, supported and valued.
He personified the qualities of a military surgeon: calm commitment to patient care, a strong sense of duty, and an active investment in educating the next generation of surgeons. He also brought formidable energy to life outside work, with interests including skiing, ultra-distance running and cycling. A self-taught guitarist, he was known equally as a talented colleague, loyal friend and engaging companion.
At the centre of Mike’s life was his family. He was a devoted husband to Joanna and a loving father to Paris, Venezia and Lucius. His legacy continues through the clinicians he trained, the patients he supported, and the charitable work inspired by the D-Day 44 Challenge.
His untimely death from an undiagnosed cardiac condition was a tragic loss to his family, friends and Defence. This Travelling Fellowship celebrates his outward-looking approach to professional development: seeking experience beyond one’s usual setting, bringing new knowledge back to improve care, and combining clinical excellence with compassion, service and a sense of shared purpose.
