I met Paul in 1980 when we started our medical studies together at St Mary's, London, and I knew him as a good friend in the Christian Union there; he went on to become our President. Paul in those early years had so many of the qualities which were to define him in his later roles. A modest, gentle and engaging soul with a winning smile and a capacity to support and 'get alongside' others. A born communicator in fact. All this was coupled with a razor-sharp intellect, devoid of intellectual snobbery. His untimely death has been a huge loss to our public life, and indeed to Medicine in general. God bless you Paul; it was a privilege to know you.