Herbert Fletcher Smith was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, on 26 December 1917, the son of James Fletcher Smith, a general practitioner. He was educated at Bolton School before entering Manchester University Medical School where he was awarded the Dickinson Scholarship in anatomy and in 1939 passed t

Born in South Africa, Morris David Gelfand was educated at Wynberg, Cape Town and began his medical career at the University of Cape Town, graduating MB ChB at the age of 21. He held house appointments at Congella Hospital, Durban, and from there joined the practice of Hymie Penn and Aaron Porter in

James Oldfield was born in Sunderland on 10 July 1923. His father was Thomas Oldfield, a shipwright, and his mother was Annie, née Cockerill-Lawrence. He attended Bede Collegiate School, Sunderland, and then went to Durham University to study medicine on a Miners' Association Scholarship. He attende

Charles Raymond Helsby was born on 13 February 1921 in St Helens, Lancs, the son of a local businessman, Frederick Johnson Helsby and his wife Emily, née Cawley. Following the local infant school he attended Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby and went on to the Liverpool Medical School. He qualified

John Wedgwood Graham, the son of John Machefer Graham, a farmer and grazier, and of Ivy Maud (née Wedgwood), a descendant of Charles Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood, was born on 1 June 1921 at Narrabri, New South Wales. His grandfather, John Bass Graham, was a medical graduate from Dublin who practised i

Neil Mackillop was born of Scottish parents in Karachi in 1920. He was educated at Glasgow High School and the University of Glasgow where he captained the university rugby team. After qualifying in 1943 and one year in resident appointments he joined the Royal Navy for three years and returned to t