“…He was a canny sleuth and sought clues to aetiology and evidence of modifiable environmental influences as steps towards preventive medicine. For over two decades he investigated patterns of diseases ranging from diabetes and thyrotoxicosis (Barker & Phillips, 1984) to Paget's (Barker & Gardner, 1974) and Perthes' disease ; gall stones (Brett & Barker, 1976), urinary stones (Barker & Donnan, 1978), gout and Henoch-Schonlein purpura (Atkinson & Barker, 1976); duodenal ulcers (Barker et al, 1981), colorectal cancer (Barker & Godfrey, 1984) and respiratory infections (Barker & Osmond, 1986b); polio (Martyn et al, 1988) and Alzheimer's disease (Martyn et al, 1989). This prodigious work included one of his less well known scientific contributions -the initiation of what is now referred to as the ''hygiene hypothesis''.…”