Don Bennett was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Sydney Adventist Hospital. He was born on 14 April 1939 in Brisbane, the eldest son of Sir Arnold Lucas Bennett, a barrister, and his first wife Marjory (née Williams), who died when Don and his three siblings were very young. He was then raised

William Keith Douglas was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. He was born in Manchester on 30 March 1917, the son of William Robert Douglas, a general surgeon who gained the FRCS in 1910, and Margaret Douglas née Kirkbride, a singer. He was educated at Leas School, Hoylake

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

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

William Williams was a consultant surgeon in Coventry. He was born in Newport, Gwent, on 11 May 1928. His father, William George, was an engine driver. His mother was Lillian Hyacinth Maud née Jones, a farmer's daughter. He was educated at Newport High School and Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge, go

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.

Ary Blesovsky, commonly known as ‘Bles’, devoted his life to cardiothoracic surgery and was instrumental in bringing this surgery to numerous hospitals around the world. He was born in Pasvalys, Lithuania, the son of Jochiel and Pesi Blesovsky, but the family moved, in 1933, to South Africa. His fat

Robert Alexander Murdoch Lawson (known as 'Bob') was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. He was born on 11 February 1938, in a farmhouse in Ardross, a tiny village in Ross-shire in the Highlands of Scotland. His parents, Margaret Perrins Lawson née Murdoch and Robert MacKen

John Weaver was a cardiothoracic surgeon at the London Hospital. He was born on 7 November 1921 in Wolverhampton and educated at Clifton College, where he boxed for the school. He went on to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and then St Thomas’s Hospital. After house jobs, he was a casualty o

Rowan Nicks was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Sydney, who in later life became one of the most well-known and admired surgeons in Australia, noted especially for his work in promoting the training of surgeons in developing countries. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 24 February 1913 to George

Harold Frank McGhie Bassett was born in Klang, Federated Malay States, on 4 June 1923, the son of John Harold Bassett a barrister-at-law and County Court Judge and Leila, nee McGhie. He was educated at Harrow School where he obtained an entrance exhibition before entering St Thomas's Hospital Medica

Alexander Falconer Grant was born on 1 February 1926 in Sydney, Australia. His father, Chesborough Grant, was a public servant and his mother, Henrietta, née Leary, a nursing sister. Both his brothers became surgeons and both were awarded the OBE. He attended North Sydney Boys' High School and Sydne