Harvey Jackson was born on 16 October 1900 and educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He studied medicine at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School and qualified with the Conjoint examination in 1923. One of his obituarists states that he had qualified in dental surgery and suppor

Scott Charlton qualified MB, BS Sydney in 1933 and became resident medical officer to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, in 1934. He served in the second world war as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the RAMC and eventually became honorary neurosurgeon to the Sydney Hospital and the Prince Henry Hospi

George Northcroft was born on 17 June 1911 in Harley Street, London, at the house of his father, a well-known orthodontist. His medical education was at St John's College, Cambridge, and the London Hospital, where he qualified in 1937. He began his career in neurosurgery with an appointment at th

Joseph Schorstein qualified MD in Vienna in 1931. He then continued his studies at University College Hospital, London. He was chief assistant to the neurosurgical department of the Royal Infirmary, Manchester and then became consultant neurosurgeon to the West Scotland Neurosurgical Unit. When he r

Leslie Claremont Oliver was born on 5 February 1909, the son of an engineer. He was educated at Latymer School and Guy's Hospital, London, qualifying in 1933 and proceeding immediately to FRCS in 1935, gaining general surgical experience as registrar, Bristol General Hospital, and as resident assist

Francis Patrick Morgan was born in Melbourne on 17 February 1906 to Patrick Morgan, a road building and civil engineering contractor, and his wife Catherine, née McGrath. He received a sound Catholic education under the Christian Brothers and went to St Vincent's, Melbourne, to qualify in 1929. H

Peter Gortvai, the only son of William, an obstetric surgeon and his wife Elizabeth, née Foldi, LDSRCS, was born on 1 December 1927. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed his Natural Sciences Tripos in 1951 and won the Tripos prize. He then went to the London Hospital from 1951

John Fraser Shaw was a neurosurgeon who trained under, and then assisted, Norman Dott with his pioneering work. He was, in his own words, 'fortunate' to arrive at this position - 'lucky' to serve under Dott at the neurosurgical department of the Edinburgh Western General. John was born in Calcutta i

Bennett was educated at Cambridge University and University College Hospital. After qualification and a house post at University College Hospital he was a medical officer (research) at the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine. Later he was surgical registrar at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseas

Joseph Block ('Joe') was born on 12 August 1921 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa. Both his parents had emigrated from Switzerland and were graduates of Zurich University; his father became a lawyer and his mother a professor of languages. He was educated at President Brand School, Gr

Anthony Joseph 'Tony' Bookallil was a neurosurgeon at Newcastle, New South Wales. He studied medicine at Sydney University, after completing a pharmacy degree, graduating with honours in 1967. He then completed two years residency at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, before heading to England, where

Geoffrey Rourke Welsford Latham was born in Sydney on 3 May 1927, the son of Dr Oliver Latham, who was a neuropathologist in the University of Sydney. He was educated at Knox Grammar School where he distinguished himself as an athlete and editor of the school journal, but at that early period develo