Victor Cullum was an orthopaedic surgeon in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born in Cape Town on 25 February 1930, the son of John Richard Leslie Cullum, a businessman, and Olive Mildred née Willmott, who owned a nursery school. He was educated at St George’s Primary School, Cape Town, and St Joh

Hugh Michael Shaw was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Prince Henry Hospital, Melbourne. He was born on 18 January 1919, in London, the son of Charles Gordon Shaw, a consultant surgeon who had commanded the First Australian Field Ambulance in the First World War, was mentioned in despatches and h

Joseph Francis Silva was a distinguished orthopaedic surgeon who developed the Silva replacement elbow. He was born on 12 September 1915 in Moratuwa, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He was educated at St Peter’s College, Colombo, and then at Ceylon Medical College in the same city. He qualified in 1941 with

Myer Makin was professor of orthopaedics at Hadassah University, Jerusalem. He was born in Birkenhead in March 1919, the son of Leon Makin and Rebecca nee Goldman, furniture dealers. He studied medicine at Liverpool University and was house surgeon at Walter Municipal Hospital, Liverpool, before joi

George Heyse-Moore was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon who practised at the James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth. He was born and brought up in Exeter, where his father, Henry Dendy Moore, practised as a general surgeon. The ‘Heyse’ component of his name came from his mother, who was a sculptor pra

Thamotharampillai Nadarajah Shanmugalingam was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Sri Lanka. He was born on 26 September 1928, in Point Pedro, Ceylon, the son of Thamotharampillai Nadarajah, a land owner and merchant, and Vettrivetpillai Muthuratnam, a housewife. He was educated at Hartley College,

Harry Platt, the eldest son of Ernest Platt, a master velvet cutter, and of Jessie Cameron Platt (née Lindsey), was born at Thornham, Lancashire, on 7 October 1886. His father later became chairman of United Velvet Cutters, Ltd, and both parents lived to be nonagenarians. Harry's life was dominated

Joseph Thambiah Motha was an orthopaedic surgeon in West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds. He was born in Trivandrum, Kerala, India on 13 January 1947, the sixth child and fifth son of Vincent Motha, a businessman, and Philomena Motha. His father died when he was just three months old and Motha was

Maurice Edmond Müller was an eminent Swiss orthopaedic surgeon who developed internal fixation techniques to treat bone fractures and designed new hip protheses. He was born in Biel, Switzerland, and studied medicine at the universities of Neuchâtel, Berne and Lausanne. He gained his MD from the Uni

John Monk was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Liverpool. He was educated in South Africa, at the Christian Brothers' College in Bokburg. After finishing his schooling, he worked in the family business and then went to the UK, hoping to start an acting career, but soon realised he wanted to be a

David Edwards was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Stoke-on-Trent. He was born in Sutton on 27 July 1936, the son of Reginald William Edwards, a managing director, and Irene Bertha Grace née Coad. He was educated at King’s College School, Wimbledon, from which he won the Williams exhibition in na

James Arnault James was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Kidderminster. He was born on 9 June 1917 in Gwynfe, a thriving farming community in rural Carmarthenshire, Wales. Both his parents, James and Florence (née Jones) were schoolteachers, and had moved to Gwynfe when they married. John and his