Surgeon Commodore (D) Geoffrey William Myers, the Director Naval Dental Services, died in a road traffic accident on Sunday 17 October 2004, aged 57.

He was born near Rotherham in Yorkshire on 14 June 1947. As a boy he was a member and leader of his church choir and altar server for eight years. He was also a boy scout and senior scout. He attended Leeds Grammar School where he was awarded the Ada Emmor Exhibition before entering Leeds Dental School in 1965. He was granted a Royal Navy cadetship in 1968 and became a Surgeon Lieutenant (D) in 1970.

His early career included time at sea in HMS BULWARK and a variety of shore clinics at home and abroad. In 1980 he attended the Eastman Dental Institute and gained an MSc in Conservative Dentistry. During the Falkland Islands crisis his welfare work with the families of the bereaved and injured was recognised by a Flag Officer Commendation. Following a two-year exchange appointment with the United States Navy Dental Corps, based in Norfolk, Virginia, he moved to Scotland as Senior Dental Surgeon HMS COCHRANE. In 1989 he became the first Royal Navy dentist to attend the Joint Service Defence College at Greenwich. An appointment to Commander-in-Chief Fleet's Headquarters as Deputy Fleet Medical Officer followed, just four months before the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. During the first Gulf War he was involved in the establishment of the Primary Casualty Receiving Ship, RFA ARGUS, and for ensuring that the medical and dental organisation was able to support the deployed Royal Navy and Royal Marine units. This work was recognised by the award of the OBE.

He participated in the creation of the Defence Dental Agency in 1996, subsequently holding the posts of Deputy Director Plans and Resources and Deputy Director Clinical Services within that Agency. In 2001 he became Director Royal Naval Dental Services in the rank of Surgeon Commodore and was appointed QHDS later that year. His most recent role was as Director Policy and Plans and Chief of Staff at the Defence Dental Agency Headquarters.

The day before his death he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners, which he served as a Board member.

Above all Geoff was loyal, to the Service, his colleagues and his friends.

Listing his career achievements does not give a full picture of the man. Geoff was a Yorkshireman and proud of the fact. During his time in the sixth form he was drummer and later lead singer in a locally successful rock band. Rock music was a lifelong passion, regularly demonstrated by his virtuoso performances on the dance floor. Above all Geoff was loyal, to the Service, his colleagues and his friends; a quality he combined with a caring attitude and a strong record of public service. He was devoted to his family and was immeasurably proud of his children's achievements. His boundless energy and commitment to all that he undertook was his hallmark. He was a generous and entertaining host; none of his many friends will forget Geoff disappearing into a cold winter's night to cook the evening's main course on his barbecue. His hobbies included furniture restoration, gardening and wine collection. However, much of his spare time was spent on the touchline or around the cricket oval, supporting his children.

Geoff's many colleagues and friends will wish to extend their heart-felt sympathies to his wife Denise, their sons, William and Simon and Geoff's daughter Samantha.