Francis Arthur d'Abreu, always known as Frank, was born in Handsworth, Staffordshire, on 1 October 1904, the second son of Dr John d'Abreu, a medical practitioner, and Teresa Noonan. He came from a large family of twelve children; his younger brother, Professor A d'Abreu FRCS, was also a surgeon.

Israel Preiskel was born on 7 July 1907 in Lithuania but early in his infancy the family moved to Paris and came to England when he was seven. He was educated at the Grocers' Company School in Hackney, from which he won a scholarship to St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School. A brilliant student,

Kenneth Leslie James was born on 15 July 1906 in Burton-on-Trent, the son of Joseph Henry James, MA, LIB, BD, who had given up the law to become a Methodist Minister, and his wife Minnie, née Longley. His early education was at the Burnley Grammar School but due to the peripatetic nature of his f

John Charles Nicholson was born at Chilworth, Surrey, on 10 January 1904, the son of Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, the church architect, from whom he inherited the baronetcy in 1949, and the grandson of Sir Charles Nicholson, DCL, LLD, MD, one of the founders of Sydney University and its first Ch

Arthur Williams was born on 31 December 1905 in Swansea, the son of David Edward Williams, a schoolmaster, and Katherine Hannah, née Humphries. He attended Swansea Grammar School and Swansea University College as a scholar, before going on to the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff. He chos

Hermon Taylor was born in Workington on the Cumbrian coast on 11 May 1905. His father, Enoch Oliver Taylor, was a schoolmaster and his mother, Louise née Harrison, a schoolmistress. His father came to London to become Director of Education for Edmonton and Hermon was educated at Latymer School, from

Oswald Vaughan Lloyd-Davies was born at Chariton, Kent on 13 January 1905, the son of Rev Samuel Lloyd-Davies BA, a congregational minister, and Anna Marguerita, née Evans. He was educated at Caterham School where he secured the Honoratus Prize before entering the Middlesex Hospital Medical School f

George Hollis was born on 11 June 1904 in Durban, the son of John George Hollis, a building contractor, and Ethel, née Shirley a printer's daughter. He was educated at Durban High School and Natal University, then came to Guy's Hospital Medical School to study dentistry, qualifying LDSRCS in 1927, a

Arthur Latchmore qualified in 1929 and after junior posts in Leeds specialised in surgery. He was resident surgical officer at the General Infirmary Leeds, and surgical tutor in the University of Leeds. During the war he served in the RAMC as Lieutenant-Colonel. He returned to Leeds as consultant su

David Clowes Williams was born in Tarbach, Port Talbot, the son of John Ffoulkes Williams and his wife Elizabeth, née Thomas. He attended the University of Wales in Cardiff and the Welsh National School of Medicine, where he was influenced by the teaching of Professor Grey Turner. He qualified MB BC

Tom Wilson was consultant surgeon to the Eastbourne group of hospitals. He was born on 28 November 1904 at Antony in Cornwall, the son of Thomas Wilson, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland who had served as an Army surgeon during the Boer war, and Edith Mary Crichton (née Boxer), th

Born on 25 June 1902, son of John Forrester Wood FRCS of Southport, he wished to make the army his career but the loss of sight in one eye at the age of 12 prevented this. Educated at Cheltenham College he was apprenticed at 16 to a firm of engineers, but owing to the world depression his father adv