Kalyanakit Kitiyakara was born in Bangkok on 20 September 1929, the son of His Serene Highness Prince Nakhatra of Chandaburi who was later to become Thai Ambassador to the Court of St James. His great grandfather was King Rama V, Chulalongkorn, his younger sister is Queen Sirikit and his brother-in-

John Borrie was born and bred in Otago. In his formative years he excelled academically as well as on the sports field representing his college at cross-country running. He elected to follow in his father's footsteps and went on to Otago University to study medicine, graduating in 1938. During his t

Arthur Siddons was a consultant thoracic surgeon at St George's Hospital in London. He was born on 17 January 1911 in Harrow, Middlesex, and was sent to Harrow School. He went on to Jesus College, Cambridge, and then to St George's Hospital, where he qualified in 1935. In 1941, he was appointed as a

Amarendra Sengupta was born in Calcutta, India, on 10 January 1933 and qualified MB, BS at the University of Calcutta in 1956. After holding junior appointments at the Christian Medical College in Vellore he came to England in 1958 to obtain further general surgical training in Swindon and Northampt

Hamilton D'Arcy Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1913. His father, Alan, was killed in 1917 as a result of a flying accident while serving as a pilot officer in the Royal Flying Corps - predecessor to the Royal Air Force. D'Arcy's only sibling, Lance, joined the RAAF and died in a very similar acc

Ian Middleton was born in Troon, Ayrshire, on 20 October 1922. His father, John, was a medical practitioner and his mother was Emily, née Middleton. He went to school at Hymer's College, Hull, and then went on to the University of Aberdeen, having obtained first place in the medical bursary competit

Erik Husfeldt was the first Danish cardiothoracic surgeon. He became Professor of Surgery at the University of Copenhagen and was the inspiration behind the founding of the first intensive care unit in the world in Copenhagen in 1953. During the second world war he had been active in the Danish unde

Nigel Richard Saunders was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon in Leeds. He was born in Brighton on 22 January 1946, the son of Donald Allan Garner Saunders, a bank manager, and Joan Cathleen Mary Snelling. He was educated at Reigate Grammar School and Hurstpierpoint College, from which he won a Smy

Alun Rees was a cardiothoracic surgeon based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. He was born on 14 June 1940 and gained his FRCS in 1970. He died on 12 April 2016 aged 75.

David Stuart Gibson was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Hobart, Tasmania. Born in Hobart on 23 May 1925, he was the second child and only son of Stuart Galloway Gibson, a medical practitioner, and his wife, Leonora née Whitham who was a pianist and music teacher. His paternal grandfather, George Harry G

Born at Recife in Brazil, Da Silva, the son of distinguished general surgeon Arsenio Tavares da Silva, qualified at the University of São Paulo Medical School in 1940 and in 1945 carried out experimental work leading to renewed interest in the surgical treatment of schistosomiasis and the surgery of

Ralph Neville Sapsford qualified in medicine in Cape Town in 1962 and eventually travelled to the UK, where he passed the fellowship of the college and of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1967. After working as a senior registrar in cardiothoracic surgery at the Hammersmith Hospital, he