Cyril Fletcher ('Peter') Critchley was born on 7 July 1909 in Dulwich, south London, the son of James Critchley, a barrister, and his wife Margaret, née Fletcher. He was educated at Dulwich College and St Thomas's Hospital, and qualified in 1934. As a student, he fenced for London University. His

William Henry Daines Trubshaw was born in Johannesburg in 1908, his father having gone to South Africa during the Boer War and became headmaster of the Mayfair School in Johannesburg. Trubshaw went to King Edward's School and Houghton College, Johannesburg and then came to St Bartholomew's Hospital

Bernard Williams was a senior surgeon in Portsmouth. He was born into a medical family on 26 August 1910, his father, Morgan Watkin Williams, being a general practitioner in Morriston, Swansea. His mother, Beryl Jane née Gabe, was the daughter of a GP. He received his schooling at Marlborough Colleg

Andrew Killey Monro was the son of James Donald Monro MD, of London, and Beatrice, née Killey. His grandfather was also a medical doctor. He was born on 27 August 1907 in London and was educated at Highgate Junior School, Epsom College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He trained at the London Hospit

Born on 5 October 1910 in Lanchowfu, Kansu Province, China, he was the elder son of Albert Penard Laycock, a medical missionary and Winifred, née Hingston. He was educated at St Paul's School, West Kensington, where he was a Scholar. He gained scholarships to St John's College, Cambridge and to St T

Guy Blackburn was born on 20 November 1911 in Harrogate, the eldest son of Dr A E Blackburn, a general practitioner, who later moved to Beckenham, Kent. Guy was educated at Rugby (without great exposure to the game!), Clare College, Cambridge, and St Bartholomew's Medical College. At Clare he took u

Arthur Hughes was born at Oswestry in Shropshire on 3 December 1910, the son of the Reverend Hywel Hughes, a Welsh Presbyterian minister, and his wife Myfanwy; he was a twin and his brother John also became a minister in their father's church. His schooling was rather peripatetic because of his pare

John Howell Hughes was born on 25 October 1908, in Liverpool, to John Hughes, a builder, and Anne Ellen, née Williams. He was educated at Liverpool Collegiate School, where he was captain of rugby, and went on to study medicine at Liverpool University. After qualifying, he was house surgeon and hous

Kenneth George Frederick Mackenzie was a general surgeon at Shotley Bridge Hospital, County Durham. Born on 20 June 1911 in Brookwood, Surrey, he was the only son of John Mackenzie, a colonel in the RAMC and his wife Hilda Constance née Johnston. After attending Arnold House, a preparatory school in

'Tim' Merrington was an accomplished surgeon whose career was blighted but whose spirit was undimmed by multiple sclerosis. Within four years of becoming consultant surgeon to University College Hospital, an appointment for which his earlier achievements had long marked him out, he developed the fir

Thomas Ackland was a general surgeon in Melbourne who introduced mammography into Australia. He was born in Melbourne on 8 September 1908, the son of William Ackland, an engineer, and Blanche Glana née Rye, the daughter of a veterinary surgeon. He was educated at Spring Road State School and then wo

Gordon Ungley was born on 17 January 1906 in Harringay, North London, the son of Charles Ungley, an accountant and company secretary, and his wife, Grace Daisy Eleanor, née Goody. After a spell at a local school he went as a boarder to Archbishop Holgate's Grammar School in York and from there to me