Professor Ling is one of the two originators of the Exeter Hip. Educated in British Columbia and later at Oxford University and St Mary's Hospital, London, Professor Ling underwent his postgraduate training in London and Edinburgh before being appointed to a Consultant position in Edinburgh in 1961, and subsequently moving to Devon in 1963. His interest in Hip Arthroplasty started in the mid-sixties and culminated in the implantation of the first Exeter Hip in the autumn of 1970. With great vision he set up a system to allow the prospective gathering of all data on hip arthroplasties at the time of the very first implantation of the Exeter Hip.

His contribution to British Orthopaedics has been recognised by the presentation of numerous accolades throughout his career. He has been President of the British Orthopaedic Research Society, the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Hip Society and the International Hip Society.  He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1992.

He was made a Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Orthopaedic Association in 1999, and  an Honorary Fellow of the British Orthopaedic Association in 2000. Professor Ling discontinued active surgical practice in 1991 but continues to pursue his academic and research interests.