John McArthur was born in Doncaster in 1911 and was one of three brothers who trained at Guy's Hospital. He graduated in 1934 and after several resident appointments at Guy's, including a house surgeon job with Sir Heneage Ogilvie, he decided on a career in surgery after demonstrating physiology. At

Noel Pizey was born on 19 December 1922. He trained in medicine at St Thomas's Hospital, where he qualified in 1946. After junior posts he specialised in radiotherapy, becoming senior registrar in the department of radiotherapy at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and senior radiotherapy and surgic

Edwin (Ted) Monypenny was born in Sheffield in 1917, educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield, and qualified from Sheffield University in 1942. He was trained as a radiotherapist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, where he worked as a registrar, and in the Northern Ireland radiotherapy unit in Belf

Evan Sherrah-Davies, who was to make his career in radiotherapy, was born on 8 October 1922 in Rossendale, Lancashire. He was the son of the local general practitioner, also called Evan, who proudly kept a meticulous record of Evan's achievements, and his wife Amelia, née Oakley. After a series of p

Pieter Van Miert was born in Ireland and educated in Dublin at the Catholic University School and at University College where he graduated MB with first class honours in 1943. He immediately joined the RAMC and served in England and India till the end of the second world war in 1945. During the next

Alexander Digges La Touche, the son of a general practitioner, was born at Ossett, Yorkshire, on 31 December 1899. On leaving Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, he entered the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth before serving as an Executive Officer in the Royal Navy during the fi

Robert Maclaren was born in Glasgow on 27 October 1923 and was educated at Glasgow Academy. His preclinical medical education was at King's College, London, before qualifying from the Westminster Hospital. After two years of resident appointments at the Westminster and Royal National Orthopaedic Hos

Born in Belfast on 27 December 1907, Gerald was the younger son of William Townsley and Anne, née Boyd. He was educated at Larne Grammar School and Queen's University where he obtained prizes in chemistry and anatomy and proceeded to a BSc degree with honours in anatomy, embryology and physiology in

James Paterson was born in Edinburgh on 21 May 1897. After education at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh, he served from 1915 to 1918 as an officer with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was awarded the Military Cross. Graduating with honours from Edinburgh University in 1923, he shortly we

Ralph Francis Phillips was born in London on 8 May 1903 the son of Lorraine Phillips, a printer, and Emma, née Kerrison. At the age of ten he went to Christ's Hospital, where he remained for nine years until he entered St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School. There he won the junior scholarship in

Born on 3 September 1908, Tony Green studied medicine at Otago University before coming to England in 1935 to specialise in radiotherapy. He held a number of junior posts and studied at the Radium Institute. A firm belief of his was that the effective treatment of malignancy should cause as little u

Denys Sambrook did his medical studies at St Thomas's Hospital where he qualified in 1938. After junior posts in orthopaedics he decided to train as a radiotherapist and for a time worked as a consultant in radiation oncology at St John Regional Hospital, New Brunswick, Canada. After being appointed