Mike Solan was born in Eltham, London, on 31 January 1932. His father, Michael, was a Bank of England official and his mother was Doris Winifred Gladys Rogers, a Librarian. He was educated at Douai Abbey School, Berkshire, and at Woolwich Polytechnic and he attended St Thomas's Hospital Medical Scho

Charles Clyne was born in Huddersfield on 3 February 1946, the son of a Czechoslovakian immigrant who had come to Britain in 1939. His early education was at St Bee's School in Cumbria, just five miles from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield. He trained at Liverpool University Medical School

Roland Jones was a consultant surgeon at Essex County and Black Notley Hospitals. He was born in Southport, Lancashire, on 16 May 1919. His father Norman was an architect, his mother was Esther née Cooper. He was educated at Oundle and St John's College, Cambridge, from which he went to St Thomas's

Hugh Owen Jones was a general surgeon in Cardiff. He was born in Monmouth on 12 May 1918 and brought up in a school house in the tiny village of Goytre near Pontypool, where his father, William Lewis Jones, was a schoolmaster. His mother, Rebecca Jane Jones née Davies, was a nurse. The toilet for bo

David John Tibbs was a consultant general and vascular surgeon in Oxford who, during the Second World War, was awarded a Military Cross for his bravery on D-Day. He was born in Croydon on 10 March 1920, the youngest of three sons of Evan Llewellyn Tibbs, a city trader, and Mildred Ann Tibbs née Mund

John Chamberlain was a consultant in general and vascular surgery to the Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals for 26 years. He was born in Leicester on 27 January 1938 to Jack and May Chamberlain. He was an only child. As a young boy John was fascinated by steam engines and was very proud of his grandfathe

Frank Cockett was internationally known for his ground-breaking advances in the understanding of varicose veins and venous ulcers. He identified a new condition called the 'ankle blow out syndrome' and described the operation needed to cure it, which became universally known as 'the Cockett operatio

John Hogg was a vascular and general surgeon in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. He was born on 10 January 1943 in Sydney, the son of James Wilson Hogg, the headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, and Alyson Hogg. He was educated at Trinity, where he excelled academically and was al

Clive Stephenson was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 12 November 1933 and was educated at Scots College. He studied medicine at Wellington, where he qualified in 1957, held house posts and was a surgical registrar. After a year demonstrating anatomy in Otago, he went to London in 1962 to speci

David Pratt was a consultant general and vascular surgeon at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds. He studied medicine in Leeds, where he had a distinguished undergraduate career, gaining first class honours and graduating with distinctions in surgery and forensic medicine. After house appointments

Ron Todd was amongst only the second generation of surgeons appointed to the Wrexham hospitals. He was initially based at the War Memorial Hospital and also in the expanded Emergency Medical Services (EMS) hospital in the town, which was later further developed into the district general hospital for

Jenny Ackroyd was a consultant general and vascular surgeon at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow. She was born in Leeds on 23 May 1950, the fourth child of Peter Ackroyd and Evelyn née Nutt. Her father, an academic theologian, was subsequently a professor at King's College, London, and was known a