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Born at 35 Castle Street, Edinburgh. Educated at Hendersons, Edinburgh Academy, Christs College, Cambridge. According to himself never did very much work till he took his degree "with distinction" at Edinburgh University in 1897. He was president of the Students Union.

He served as an assistant surgeon with The Edinburgh East of Scotland, South African Hospital. In 1901 he was appointed to the staff of The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. Married 1902 and appointed Assistant Surgeon to The Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh in 1903. In the 1914 - 18 war he served as a Major with the British Expeditionary Force from which he returned temporarily unfit due to the strain of operating for weeks on end and little or no sleep or rest. In 1922 became Senior Surgeon of the Royal Infirmary, and retired in 1937, retaining the position of Consultant Surgeon, and become a member of a Board of Management.

he became President of the Medio-Chirurgical Society and I have a letter writen by his father to my mother in 1907 when he had delivered his first paper there, saying "It was concise and logical - I think he has got the right end of the sitck. He got into the discussion but he gave with interest, I might almost say compound, which will appeal to the Merchant in you. If John wants a walk I will be ready for him at 3.30 today. He and I get on well" (was 3 then).

The restoration of his practice after the war resulted in a period of slight stringency in the family finances and prevented him from runing for the Presidency of the Royal College of Surgeons, an honour in which many thought he would follow his father and this I know was a very great disappointment at the time. His sons howefer had to be educated and to his lasting credit they never suffered.

Another feature of his teaching, was the debates on surgical topics over which he presided all his students took part and remember them to this day. He never talked down to them but educated them in the true sense. Honesty and punctuality were his watch words and many a student who had spent too much time at the Union billiard Table, would get a "gentle hit from Geordie" that he had better mend his ways, often temprered with some advice as to how to improve his game.

In the '39 war he emerged from retirement to assist in one of the Convalescent Homes attached to the Royal Infirmary.

He was a good golfer and curler, until a "bad foot" prevented such activivities and his love of angling was left to satisfy his outdoor activities thereafter, but in his latter years his zest for art manifested itself in a devotion and skill which proved satisfactory to all. I used to "look in" on the way home from the office and find him still at his easel - utterly engrossed and not realizing how exhausted he was. while attending night class at the Art School on one occasion when a "nude male" was posing, he could stand the teacher's comments no longer, so went up and drew the anatomy of the humAn frame on the blackboard and showed just how it was designed and how it worked, much to the delight and edification of his fellow students.

One of his greatest friend in latter years was F.C.B. Cadell, RSA, "Bunty" as he was known and one time he had both operated on Cadell and had been concerned in restoring picture frames. Consequently he received a letter addressed to "George Chiene Esq., Carver and Gilder", - typical bunty humour.

He was just, had no use for foreigners, and loved the Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. His wife Elaine Somerville Turcan came of a large Edinburgh family. She was educated at private schools and then "finished" in Paris, having been brought up very strictly she became a bit of a "tomboy". She first met her husband when she was 3 when her brother brought him home on the way back from the academy. She was a wonderful mother, a good cook and a very good sense of dress, but was never very fond of sport. She devoted a large part of her energies to "Queens Jubilee Nurses" activity as Chairwoman of the Training Committee from 1912 and latterly as Vice-President to the Scottish Sector, following her mother in law in this. Her memories included being bery nearly squashed to death at a fireworks show in Prices Street at the marriage of George V and attending the coronation in London of George VI. One of her beliefs was to do what she could for people during their life time.