Was born on 4 February 1904 at Melbourne, third child and youngest son of Alfred Body, customs official under the Australian commonwealth government, and Louisa Bang, his wife. Educated at the Scotch College, Melbourne, and graduated MB BS Melbourne in September 1927, taking the MD degree at the university in August 1929. He obtained first-class honours in both medicine and obstetrics and second-class honours in surgery in the final MB BS examination. He served in the Melbourne Hospital for two and a half years, first as resident medical officer and afterwards as surgical registrar. He came to England and took courses in anatomy and physiology at the Middlesex Hospital, passing the primary FRCS at his first attempt in December 1930. He then proceeded to St Bartholomew's Hospital and obtained from there his admission as FRCS on 10 December 1931. Returning to Victoria, he died at Elsternwick on 29 December 1932, having married, 19 March 1930, Lorna Louise Backwell, who survived him with one daughter.