Geoffrey Langdon Keynes was born at Harvey Rd, Cambridge, on 25 March 1887, the third child and second son of Dr John Neville Keynes, ScD, the registrar of Cambridge University, and of Florence Ada Keynes, a daughter of Dr John Brown, pastor of the Bunyan (Congregational) Meeting in Bedford. Geoffre

Leslie Norman Reece was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 1 February, 1880. He was the fourth son of William Reece, a pioneer and importer. He attended Nelson College in New Zealand and then came to England to study medicine at St Thomas's. There he became house surgeon and resident assistant su

Charles Harold Crawshaw was born at Ashton-under-Lyne on 25 May, 1887. His father was a medical practitioner. He was educated at Oundle and Christ's College, Cambridge, and did his clinical training at Manchester and St Bartholomew's Hospital. He graduated BA Cambridge 1909; MRCS LRCP 1912; MB ChB M

Francis Younghusband (1938) summarised this life as follows: 'Somervell is no mean mountaineer: he is one of five who have reached the 28,000 feet level. He is no mean painter: his picture of Everest adorns the walls of the Royal Geographical Society's House. He is no mean musician: he has transcrib

Norbert Leo Maxwell Reader was born at Marshfield, Gloucestershire, on 13 October 1885. His father, Jeremiah Reader, was a doctor of medicine. He was educated at Wakefield Grammar School, Stonyhurst and at Leeds University, where he won the anatomy prize. He went from there to Guy's Hospital where h

Rodney Maingot often used to speak of his parrot which resided in his consulting rooms. He claimed it had been trained to say 'You've got gallstones - send for Rodney' to those who entered. Showman? Perhaps, according to some. Master class abdominal surgeon? Certainly, according to the innumerable s

Muriel Landau was born on 21 January 1895 and educated at Dame Alice Owens School, Islington where she gained an entrance scholarship to the London School of Medicine for Women. She qualified in 1918 and after house appointments at the Royal Free and at Queen Charlotte's Hospitals was appointed regi

Kenneth Holl Macmillan was born on February 3 1891 in Lee, S.E. London, the eldest son of John W McMillan, a banker, and his wife, Florence. His younger brother became a chest physician. Always an individualist he, alone of his family, decided to change the spelling of his name from that on his dipl

John Whittingdale, the son of Dr John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale, MB Cambridge, MRCS, and of Marie Whittingdale (née Jennings), was born on 14 June 1894 in Sherborne, Dorset. He was to spend most of his long life in that place. After education at Sherborne Preparatory School and Sherborne School,