Sholem Glaser was born and educated in Cape Town, S. Africa where he became senior demonstrator in anatomy at the university. Moving to England, he worked at the London Hospital

During WW2 he became a regimental medical officer and was eventually posted sent to Bath Military Hospital, where he served under Mr Charles Kindersley at the Royal United Hospital. In 1943 he accompanied the allied landing at Salerno

In 1946 he was appointed surgeon at the Royal United Hospital, where he worked until his retirement in July 1971. Immediately after his appointment, he became involved in the postgraduate teaching organised at the RUH for general practitioners and gave weekly postgraduate lectures and tutorials for the FRCS candidates (including beer and sandwiches at home)

Towards the end of his consultancy as a general surgeon he concentrated on urology

In 1995 he published the first full-length biography of Dr Caleb Hillier Parry