Robert George Taylor (who was affectionately known as 'RGT') was born in Tinahely, County Wicklow on 13 May 1910, the son of Roland Taylor, a farmer and mill owner, and Sarah, née White, the daughter of a school teacher. His uncle, Edward Henry Taylor, was President of the Royal College of Surgeons

John Wanless Dickson was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon to the Ispwich and East Suffolk Hospital. Born on 31 July 1920, in Westgate-on-Sea, he was the fourth generation of his family to enter medicine. His great-grandfather was John Wanless MD of Dundee and Montreal. His father, Ivan Wanless, was

Michael Devas, a former consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Hastings, invented what he called 'geriatric orthopaedics'. He was born in Holcombe, Somerset, the son of G E Devas. He was educated at Downside and Cambridge, before going to the London Hospital in September 1940 during the Blitz, at a time

Thomas Denness was born in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, on 13 September 1912, the son of Thomas Denness, a mechanical and electrical engineer in the Civil Service, and Janet née Collins. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, Charterhouse Square, London, from which he gained the Merchant Taylo

John Fairbank was born on 26 June 1912 in London, the only son of Sir Thomas Fairbank, the first orthopaedic surgeon to the Charing Cross Hospital, and Florence Kathleen née Ogilvie. He was educated at Wellesley House, Broadstairs, and then at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge, as senior scholar,

Malcolm Menelaus was born in Melbourne, Australia, on 11 October 1930, where his father, Benbow Menelaus, was a banker. His mother was Gladys née Wills. He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, and Melbourne University, where he qualified in 1954. After two years at Prince Henry's Hospital, Mel

Thomas Fisher was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire on 8 July 1937, the first son of Dr Thomas Richmond Fisher, a general practitioner, and Margaret, née Owen. He came from a medical family, his grandfather, father, two uncles, an aunt and three cousins all being doctors. He was educated at Sherbo

Professor Mahalaingamoorthy Natarajan was professor of orthopaedics at Madras Medical College, India. He was born on 18 March 1920 in Kamuthi, in what was formerly Madras State, the son of Mahalingamoorthy and Pakkam Natarajan. After graduating BA, he studied medicine at Stanley Medical College in

Santosh Kumar Mitra was a surgeon in Kolkata, India. He was born in Calcutta on 16 December 1933, the son of Surendra Krishna Mitra, a businessman, and Sudhira Mitra née Sinha, the daughter of a businessman. He was educated at the Central School, Vidyasagar College and the National Medical College,

Alan Bell Tawse was born on 18 March 1915 in Nottingham, the only child of Herbert Bell Tawse FRCS, a consultant otolaryngologist, and Gertrude Mary, née Goodall, daughter of a hosiery manufacturer. He was educated at Neville Holt Preparatory School, Uppingham School and Trinity College Cambridge, a

John Fitton was born in Darlington on 6 August 1915. His father, John Hall Fitton, was a bank manager in the West Riding of Yorkshire and his mother Joanna, née Fowler, was of Scottish descent. He was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham, and studied medicine at the University of Leeds Medical

Ian Pike qualified in Sydney in 1974, where he did house appointments at the Royal North Shore Hospital before becoming resident medical officer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. In 1976 he went to England, where he was registrar at the Radcliffe Infirmary Oxford for two years, after which he passed t