Bob Ratcliffe was a consultant in plastic, hand and reconstructive surgery at Canniesburn Hospital, Glasgow. He was born on 15 June 1957 at St Helens, Lancashire, the son of Robert Ernest Ratcliffe, an electrician, and Jean Elizabeth née Worrall. As a child he was interested in mechanical objects, w

Norman Desmond Ashe specialised in orthopaedics and plastic surgery. He qualified from Oxford University in 1945 and passed the fellowship in 1953. He became a house surgeon at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. Moving to London he took a post at the Hammersmith Hospital and then worked in the depar

Stewart Harrison was a leading consultant plastic surgeon and a former president of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand. He was born in Highgate, London, on 15 July 1912, the second son of Archibald Harrison, a manufacturer, and Marion Harrison née Taylor. Both his parents died when he was a

John Barron was born in Napier, New Zealand on 23 December 191 1. He was educated at Wangunui and Otago where he was a rowing blue and a champion skier, and also attained a civil pilot's licence. He qualified in 1937, was house surgeon at Christchurch Hospital, and then went to Britain for surgical

Isidore Kaplan was born in Balfour, Transvaal, on 25 February 1927, and was educated at Jeppe High School, Johannesburg, and at the University of Cape Town, where he graduated MB ChB in 1951. At UCT he captained the Cricket First XI for three successive years and received the Jameson Award for servi

Robert (Robin) Welsh was born on 23 April 1928 in Witbank, Transvaal, South Africa, the eldest son of Dr Robert William Hepburn Welsh, a general practitioner in Pretoria for thirty years, and Evelyn Jessie Watson. He was educated at St John's College, Johannesburg, and the University of Witwatersran

Michael Hackett, or Mike, as he was always known, was born on 6 August 1931 in Morecambe, Lancashire. He was the son of Jack Hackett, editor of *The Morecombe Visitor* and the nephew of Desmond Hackett, the well-known *Daily Express* sports writer. He was educated at Preston Catholic College and pro

Noel Thompson was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 8 September 1914. His father was John G Thompson, a school teacher, and he was educated at King's College, Newcastle, before qualifying as a licentiate in dental surgery in 1936. He remained in hospital practice and passed his BDS degree in 1940. Duri

John Vernon Morris qualified in medicine from King's College Hospital. His first appointment was as research assistant in surgery at the West London Hospital and then he became senior surgical registrar at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital. He moved to the Plastic and Oral

Ruth Ansley Watson was born on 16 September 1926, the daughter of a distinguished engineer in the motor industry who had, during the war, worked secretly with Sir Frank Whittle on the development of the jet engine. Ruth studied medicine at Birmingham University and graduated in 1949. She decided to

Maxwell O'Mara was born 28 September 1923 the only son of William Timothy (Tim) O'Mara a grazier and Mary Rose (May) Long. He was educated at the Christian Brothers College, Waverley, NSW, St Ignatius' College, Riverview, NSW and Sydney University (St John's College and St Vincent's Hospital). Du

Born on 19 October 1913, "Gerry" as he was known to everyone, was a medical student at St Bartholomew's Hospital, qualifying in 1936 and by 1939 he had obtained his Edinburgh Fellowship. After joining the RAF he showed an early interest in burns and especially those involving the hands. In 1944 he w