It could be said that had Tom Smiley not been a cigarette smoker in 1941, his patients and colleagues, thoracic surgery and his own family and local community would never have known him as a fine surgeon, husband and father and dedicated churchman, for it was a cigarette-case in his breast-pocket wh

Bertram John Bickford was a consultant surgeon in Liverpool. He was born in Tavistock, Devon, on 17 October 1913, and was to become the third generation of his family to enter medicine. His grandfather, Thomas Leaman Bickford, was a Surgeon Captain RN. His father, Bertram Raleigh Bickford, was a GP

John Hayward was a thoracic surgeon based in Melbourne. He was born in East Brunswick, Melbourne, on 16 July 1910. His father, William Isaac Hayward, was a schoolmaster, and his mother, Ellen Grace née Maling, was a nurse. His education was marked at every step by scholarships and prizes. He won a s

Vernon Thompson ('VCT') was born at Tutshill, Tidenham, Gloucestershire on 17 September 1905, his father, Cecil Charles Brandon Thompson, being a general practitioner and his mother, Dorothy Christian, née Ford, the daughter of a solicitor. He went to Seafield School, Bexhill-on-Sea, and then on to

Born in 1929, Hakim Abdel Malak Samaan studied medicine in London, qualifying MB, BS from Guy's Hospital in 1958. He became surgical registrar in the thoracic unit of the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh and passed the FRCS Ed in 1962. Moving to London he held appointments at the Prince of Wales' Hospit

Edmond Lecutier was born in Leeds of French parents, and studied medicine at Leeds University, where he completed junior posts before joining the RAMC. He served with the 5th Indian Division in South East Asia Command, where he formed a lifelong admiration for the Gurkhas. After the war, he retur

Mary Shepherd was a former consultant thoracic surgeon at Harefield Hospital, Middlesex. She was born at Forest Hill, London, on 4 July 1933, the youngest of the two children of George Raymond Shepherd, an electrical and mechanical engineer, and Florence May Savile, whose father and grandfather had

Clayton Lindsay Nelson Robinson, known as 'Robbie', was a thoracic surgeon in Vancouver, Canada. He was born in Chapeau, Quebec, the son of Joseph Edward Robinson, a rancher, and Ada Elizabeth Robinson née Armstrong. He was raised on a farm in Meath, Ontario, the youngest of three sons who were all

Born in 1919, Ivan Barnat studied medicine at Witwatersrand University and qualified MB ChB in 1942. After serving in the South African Medical Corps during the second world war, he came to Britain and became FRCS in 1947. Following his return to South Africa he practised in Durban, specialising in

Cyril John Evans was born in Llandysul, Cardiganshire on 12 June 1915, the son of William, the postmaster, and Letitia (Morgan). He was educated at University College, Cardiff and University College Hospital, London, qualifying MRCS LRCP in 1938 and graduating MB BS London 1939. He trained in surger

Michael Bates, the second son and youngest of three children of Tom Bates, a surgeon, was born in Worcester in July 1917. There were strong surgical roots in the family, his father being surgeon to the Worcester Royal Infirmary for 34 years, while his paternal grandfather - another Tom Bates - and a

Geoffrey Flavell was born on 23 February 1913 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of Alfred William Flavell, an industrialist, and Elizabeth, née Spry-Harris, the daughter of a gold prospector. He was educated at Waitaki Boys' High School, Otago Boys' High School and Otago University, where he read