The following letter by Dr Walter Somerville to Dr Evan Bedford was written 40 years ago. It was recently unearthed by Dr Howard Swanton of the Middlesex Hospital, London.

I had been meaning to have a word with you about one or two points since you came back but I know you have much to catch up on. None of them is urgent but I thought I would put this point now. Sooner or later we will have to take a more active part in pump-oxygenators. They were discussed recently …