Declan O’Keeffe was a surgeon in Kenya. He was born in London on 18 February 1922, the son of Edmond, a furniture salesman, and Jessica Edith née Riches. From St Dominic’s Preparatory School, West Hampstead, he won a ‘free place’ to the Regent Street Polytechnic Secondary School. He later went to Gu

Austin Marsden was a consultant surgeon in Ormskirk and St Helens. He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, on Christmas Day 1919, the third son of George Marsden, a shoe merchant, and Agnes née Liptrot. He was educated at St Helens Catholic Grammar School, from which he went on to read medicine at Liv

In the course of his career, Douglas Roy held appointments as a professor of surgery on three continents. He was born on 10 April 1925, the son of Arthur Roy and Edith Mary (née Brown). Educated at Paisley Grammar School, he went to Glasgow University to study medicine. After house appointments, he

Donald William Hugh Ruddick was a senior surgeon at Montreal General Hospital. He was born in Montreal on 23 October 1916, the son of William Wallace Ruddick, a general surgeon at Montreal General Hospital and a graduate of McGill University, and Ernesteen Angelic née Saucier. The family had a medic

Geoff Smiddy was a senior surgeon at Leeds General Infirmary and a prolific author. He was born in Kendal on 4 January 1922. His father was a hotelier and his mother looked after a haberdashery shop. His was not an easy childhood – his father left the family home shortly after he was born and his mo

Eric John Smith was a consultant surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, London. He was born on 31 March 1910 in Norwood, Surrey, the second son of Robert Percy and Edith Smith. His early life was overshadowed by the death from Hodgkin’s disease of his elder brother who had been a child prodigy, and Eri

Leader Stirling was an eminent missionary surgeon and a former minister for health in Tanzania. He was born on 19 January 1906 in Essex. Many of the family were doctors, although a cousin did found the SAS – the Special Air Service. Stirling was educated at Bishop’s Stortford and then went on to the

Gordon Walker was a consultant surgeon on the Isle of Wight. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1919. He studied medicine at Melbourne University, qualifying in 1942. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a medical officer and was posted to the UK, attached to RAAF Spi

Gustav Siegmund ‘Gus’ Plaut was a consultant surgeon at Tooting, London. He was born on 2 September 1921 to Ellen Warburg and Theodor Plaut in Hamburg, both from eminent Jewish banking families. His father was dismissed by the Nazis, and took the post of professor of economics at Hull University, wh

Born at Dunstable, and at the age of 14 was apprenticed to Mr Harris, a surgeon in Birmingham, with whom he lived for four years during his apprenticeship, and for a subsequent two years attending the Birmingham General Hospital and also the Snow Hill School of Medicine. At the age of 20 he proceede

Rowland Williams was a former consultant surgeon at East Glamorgan Hospital. He was born in Merthyr and educated at St John’s College, Cambridge, and University College Hospital. After junior posts, including a registrarship at the Royal Marsden Hospital, he was appointed consultant surgeon at East

Kelvin Thomas was a consultant surgeon at Nottingham General and King Mill hospitals. He was born in Hong Kong on 11 November 1926, the son of George Harold Thomas, a surgeon, and Nora née Gourdin. His father was formally admitted as a fellow by election by Sir Arthur Porritt in 1961, who went to Ho