COPIES of a picture of a world famous surgeon are being sold to raise cash for charity by one of his former patients.

Keith Whalley, of Ulster Street, Burnley, was operated on by Sir Harry Platt after he was diagnosed with polio as a seven-year-old boy.

And now he is hoping the snapshot of the surgeon from Biddulph Grange Hospital, Staffordshire, will raise money for other polio sufferers.

The photo is believed to show the award of an honorary Doctorate of Literature given to Sir Harry by Manchester University.

Keith said: "I had polio as a child and I was at Biddulph Grange Hospital, then under the Lancashire Health Authority.

"Later, I did a cycle ride to raise money for the National Trust gardens at the hospital and I came across this wonderful photo of the eminent surgeon in the main hall and managed to buy it.

"I want to offer copies for sale for whatever donations people want to give to raise money for orthapaedic charities."

Keith said: "There are so many legends about Sir Harry, such as performing semi-miracles by getting wheelchair-bound people to walk again.

"Once he needed an operation himself after damaging his knee.

"The story goes that he guided the doctor on how to perform the procedure.

"He was such a talented violinist that he had the choice of becoming a musician or going into medicine.

"He once said the letters of thanks from the people he had performed on made his choice the right one."

Sir Harry Platt was one of the foremost orthopaedic surgeons of the 20th century.

During the 1920s and 30s, he established a formidable reputation as a surgeon in the North West, and in 1939 he was appointed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Manchester.

After the war he worked tirelessly towards better hospital services in the new National Health Service. In the late 1950s and 1960s, he chaired influential committees on the care of children in hospitals, on emergency services and on nursing education.

In 1954, he was elected President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the first orthopaedic surgeon to be honoured in this way.

He was knighted in 1948.

To order a copy of the photograph call Keith on 01282 426456.