The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was the bloodiest conflict seen in western Europe since World War I. It began after a military coup, led by nationalist General Francisco Franco, against the democratically elected Spanish government. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War Dr Josep Trueta, recently appointed chief surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Barcelona, presented the results of his research on the treatment of traumatic bone injuries. Known now to the world as the “Trueta Method”, this five point method of prompt surgical debridement, cleaning, excision, drainage and immobilisation was employed and refined during the Civil War in the treatment of war injuries. As Franco’s nationalist armies advanced on Barcelona in 1939, Trueta fled Spain and later moved to England - becoming a professor at the University of Oxford and advisor to the British war effort during World War II. His method was enhanced with the use of antibiotics in later years. Trueta’s interest in the treatment of osteomyelitis found him assisting the research team at Oxford University that led to the discovery of penicillin. Dr Trueta’s methods were successfully applied during World War II, and later in the Korean and Vietnamese wars. Augmented with the discovery of penicillin, his work has saved countless lives. Josep Trueta’s interests extended to politics, painting (holding two exhibitions of his work during his lifetime), and medical history. His research during a transient period as a renal physiologist informs our understanding of renal haemodynamics to this day. This presentation explores Dr Trueta’s life and his outstanding contributions to multiple facets of surgery – the impacts of which continue to be seen today.