Lionel Canaan was born in England where he received his medical education before travelling to the United States. He finally settled into practice in Massapequa Park where he was much respected as a family doctor and it was said of him that he "always kept his fees as low as possible". He wrote shor

John Fry was born in South London on 16 June 1922, the son of a general practitioner, and was educated at Whitgift School, Croydon, and Guy's Hospital Medical School, qualifying in 1944. He took his FRCS diploma in 1947, but very soon decided to take up general practice, and he remained a single-han

Alan Mathams was a general practitioner in East Sussex. He did his medical training at the Westminster Hospital, where he qualified in 1977. After junior posts, he chose a career in surgery and was registrar at St James Hospital, Balham, and Epsom District Hospital. He decided to become a GP, joinin

Richard Sutcliffe was born on 26 April 1904 in Boston, Lincolnshire, the second son of John Bell Sutcliffe, a shipowner and broker. He was educated at Kirton Grammar School in Lincolnshire and Panel Ash College, Yorkshire, before going to Sedbergh, from where he gained entry to St John's College, Ca

Graham Allwright was a general practitioner in Formby, Merseyside. He was born on 9 July 1953 in Shoreham, Sussex, where his father, Fred, was a civil servant. He attended a number of schools as his father was posted abroad, ending at Sutton High School. He studied medicine at the London Hospital, w

Sir Donald Irvine was an outstanding general practitioner who throughout his career was at the heart of changing the relationship between the public and their doctors. He was the first, and so far only, general practitioner to become president of the General Medical Council (GMC). He was responsible

Robert George Swain was born on 26 July 1936 in Surrey and spent his early years there. He studied medicine in the UK and passed the fellowship of the college in 1963. After marrying Ann, he moved with his family to Canada in 1965 to join a rural medical practice in Alberta as a general practitioner

Rushdi Sidra was a general practitioner in Bradford. He was born on 15 October 1943 in Wad Medani, Sudan. His father, Shafig Sidra, was a civil servant for the Sudan government whose last post before retirement was as controller of accounts in the Sudan Purchasing Office in London (from 1964 to 1968

David Chalmers studied medicine at Cambridge University qualifying MB, BChir in 1979. He moved to Oxford University as a demonstrator in anatomy and then became a casualty officer at the Birmingham Accident Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre. Following that he joined the staff of the Churchill and J

Dipankar ‘Dip’ Sengupta was a general practitioner in Scarborough. He was born in Bengal and studied medicine in Calcutta. He went to England to specialise in surgery and completed a number of junior posts in London, Glasgow and Scarborough, including a registrar post in neurosurgery, in which he ca

Martin Laird was a general practitioner in Richmond, South Australia. He qualified from Sheffield University in 1941 and then demonstrated anatomy for two years. In 1943 he became a resident medical officer at the Royal Hospital, Sheffield. He then served in the RAMC in Burma, returning after the

Born at Eythorne, Kent, where his father had a large practice up to 1804, when he removed to Wingham, in the same county. William was the eldest son, and was early sent to St Bartholomew's Hospital under Abernethy. He was appointed at the age of 21 on the medical staff of the Army serving in Sicily