Reginald Hems was born in 1922. He started work as a technician in Krebs' laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Sheffield straight from school, on 18th February 1940. In 1943, he was called up for military service, and rejoined the team as a member of Krebs' Medical Research Council Unit for Research in Cell Metabolism when he returned from service in April 1946. Krebs described him as "an exceptionally skilful experimenter who mastered to perfection difficult manipulative techniques." Hems co-authored many of Krebs' papers, and collaborated with other researchers on many other articles. In 1954, Krebs became Whitley Professor of Biochemistry at Oxford University, and Hems, along with most of the other staff of the MRC Unit, moved with him. He remained with Krebs following Krebs' retirement and the relocation of the Unit to the Metabolic Research Laboratory at the Radcliffe Infirmary in 1967. After Krebs' death in 1981, Hems continued to work in the Unit under the leadership of Derek Williamson, another long-term research partner of Krebs. He was awarded the OBE in 1985, and died on 26 November 2009.