William Eric Joseph was born in 1898, the only son of a Congregational minister. He was educated at Taunton School and in 1916 won an open scholarship to Peterhouse College Cambridge. By then he had entered the Artillery Cadet Training School in Exeter, and the scholarship was kept open for him unti

John Andrew Kerr was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 17 July 1903, the first of the four children of John William Kerr, a mineral water manufacturer. His mother Gertrude Adie was the daughter of a goldsmith and silversmith. He attended the George Dixon School in Birmingham and the Birmingham Unive

Professor Richard (Dick) Clayton Bennett AM, FRACS had been a Fellow of this College since 1960 and a graduate of the University of Adelaide. As a surgeon in practice, he was based at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne from 1966 to 1990. Professor Bennett was admitted to the Court of Honour in 1987

Pesi Bharucha was chief of surgery at the Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur, Bihar, India. He studied medicine at Grant Medical College, Bombay and qualified in 1944. He initially trained as an obstetrician and gynaecologist, but then went to the UK shortly after Indian Independence to train in gen

Patrick Kiely was professor of surgery at University College Cork. He studied medicine at Cork, gaining a BSc in 1918 and qualifying MB BCH BAO in 1920. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1926. He was a house physician and radiologist at the South Infirmary, Cork, and then a v

Robert Wintersmith Robertson qualified in medicine in 1931 from Loyola University. He practised general surgery at Western Baptist Hospital, Kentucky and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1940. He was a member of the Southern Surgical Association, the Southwestern Surgical Congr

George Cuthbert Dewe Roberts was born in Plymouth on 20 August 1909. He was the son of George Augustus Roberts and his wife Florence Muriel, née Mills. His father was at that time honorary surgeon to the Royal Hospital, Devonport, before moving to Winchester where he was appointed to the Royal Hamps

William Mackenzie Robb was the only child of Robert Robb and Jeannie, née Mackenzie, born at Kiltearn in Rosshire. He attended Blairgowrie High School, Perthshire, before entering medical school at Edinburgh University. He qualified with first class honours in 1922. In his house appointments he was

Arthur Robb studied medicine at Edinburgh University qualifying in 1945. He returned to the Royal Infirmary and Western General Hospital after his army service to complete his training in urology and general surgery. He was first appointed consultant surgeon to the Southern General Hospital in Glasg

Abaya Lakdasa Dissanayaka was born in Colombo on 19 February 1946. He was the third child and only son of Samuel Arthur Dissanayaka, the Inspector General of Police to Sri Lanka, and Phyllis Trcherne, née Dickman. He was educated at the Royal College, Colombo, and studied medicine at the medical fac

Sudhendra Desai was the son of two Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh who were thought to be still practising in India at the time of his death. He qualified MB BS Osmania in 1966 and held a post at St Catharine's Hospital, Birkenhead when he became a Fellow of the College in 1

Dipak Khandubhai Desai, first son of Khandubhai Desai, a medical practitioner, and of Lilayatiben Desai, was born in Naysan, India, on 2 January 1932. He was educated at Naysan High School, Elphinstone College and then Grant Medical College, Bombay. After resident appointments there he held various