Born 23 August 1881 at West Bromwich, Staffordshire, son of James Roberts, engineer and ironfounder, and Mary Jane Helme, his wife. His father was managing director of J and S Roberts, ironfounders of Swan Village. He was educated at King Edward VI School, Birmingham, and at St Bartholomew's Hospita

John Fairman Dark was a thoracic surgeon in Manchester. He was born in London on 18 April 1921, the son of Leonard Dark, a sales manager, and Dorothy Rose Dark née Fairman, a London Hospital nurse. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, where he won Harrison and Kitchener sc

Heath Thurlow Thompson was a thoracic surgeon to the North Canterbury Hospital Board, New Zealand. He was born in London on 3 May 1920 and studied at Christ’s College, Christchurch, New Zealand. He was a house surgeon at Grey River Hospital, Greymouth, New Zealand, from 1944 to 1945, and then joined

James Joseph MacHale was a consultant thoracic surgeon in Birmingham. He was born in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, on 25 August 1915, the son of Joseph Patrick MacHale, an insurance manager, and Grace MacHale née Moran, a housewife. He was educated at Blackrock College and then went on to Universi

Robert Christopher Barclay was a consultant thoracic surgeon. Born on 2 April 1916 in Chippenham, he trained at St George's Hospital and qualified from Cambridge University in 1942. Passing the fellowship in 1946 he was house surgeon at St George's and then resident medical officer at the Royal Canc

David Skinner was an eminent American thoracic surgeon and one of the most influential individuals affecting surgical and medical care in the United States in the last quarter of the twentieth century. He was born on 28 April 1935 in Joliet, Illinois, the first child of James and Bertha Skinner, and

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

Bill Cleland was a pioneering thoracic surgeon who helped develop open heart surgery in London in the 1950s. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 30 May 1912, the son of Sir John Burton Cleland, professor of pathology at the University of Adelaide, and Dora Isabel Robson. He was proud to be th

James Daniel Hardy was an organ transplant pioneer and the first chairman of the department of surgery and surgeon in chief at the University Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi. Board certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the Board of Thoracic Surgery and a fellow of the American Col

Ronnie Belsey was a consultant thoracic surgeon, known worldwide for his innovative techniques in oesophageal surgery. He was born on 2 April 1910 in London, the son of Herbert Robert Belsey, a dental surgeon, and Marie Martha Annie née Moller. He was educated at Woodbridge School, Suffolk. There he

John Rashleigh Belcher was a thoracic surgeon at the Middlesex Hospital, London. Born in Liverpool on 11 January 1917, he was the ninth in a long line of doctors who originally hailed from Bandon in Cork. He was educated at Epsom and St Thomas’ Hospital, where he graduated at the age of 21, having a

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