John Howard Egbert Verdon qualified in 1941 from St Thomas's Hospital in London. He held house appointments at the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital and the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital. He was then appointed surgical registrar to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and eventually became senior

Bryce Blair was born on 31 March 1911. He received his medical education at St Thomas's Hospital, where he was senior obstetric house physician. Later he was a senior registrar at the Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith. He was subsequently appointed as a consultant gynaecologist at the Royal U

Peter Lance Brunnen was a consultant thoracic surgeon to the North East Regional Hospital Board, Scotland. He was born in Rosyth, Scotland, on 19 July 1917. His father, John Ewart Brunnen, was an electrical engineer; his mother, Elsie Victoria Augusta Brunnen née Lance was the daughter of an inspect

Pritam Singh was chief medical officer, director of health services and deputy secretary of health to the Punjab government in India. He was born in Patiala, India, on 9 January 1920. His father, Harcharan Singh Seraph, was an architect who had worked with Lutyens on the building of New Delhi. His m

Harold Bolton was an orthopaedic and hand surgeon in Manchester and Stockport. He was born in Blackpool on 15 August 1918. His father, Alexander Black Bolton, was the managing director of a confectionary company; his mother, Nina Bolton née Houldsworth, was also a director of the company. He attende

Cyril Thomas (Tom) Collins was a consultant surgeon at the Wellington Hospital. Born on 28 April 1915 in Auckland, he was the son of Cyril George Collins and Mary Theresa Collins née O’Connor, the daughter of a building contractor. Both his father and grandfather became the Auditor-General of New Ze

Kenneth Peter Somerville Caldwell was a consultant surgeon in Exeter. He was born in Mussoorie, India, on 1 October 1914, the son of Kenneth Somerville Caldwell, a professor of chemistry, and Gertrude Elizabeth Caldwell née Sailman. He was educated at Stoneygate School, Leicester, and then Charterho

Douglas Tooms was a consultant surgeon to the Mid Worcestershire Hospital Group. He received his medical education in Cardiff and was a house surgeon and house physician at Cardiff Royal Infirmary. He was a resident surgical officer at the Gordon Hospital, a registrar at Warneford Hospital, Leamingt

Kenneth Mackenzie MacLeod graduated BA Columbia University, New York, in 1926, and then studied at Cornell where he obtained the MD degree in 1929. He continued post-graduate study in Edinburgh, and at the Middlesex Hospital and passed the Conjoint Diploma examination in 1930. He was senior house-su

Christopher Parish was the first cardiothoracic surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was born in Withington, Manchester, the second of four children, and the only son, of Rachel and Reuben Parish. He attended Manchester Central High School and then the University of Manchester, where he gaine

Harman Gilbert Smith was a senior orthopaedic surgeon at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. He was born in Whangarei, New Zealand, on 10 October 1915 and studied medicine in Dunedin, qualifying in 1940. His first posts were as house surgeon and registrar at Auckland and Greenlane hospitals.

Paul Large was a general surgeon in Durban, South Africa, and then in Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Beira, Mozambique, on 12 August 1920, but was brought up in Durban. He was educated at Michaelhouse, a rural boarding school in Natal, and then, in 1938, went to the UK to study medicine at Guy