Willinsky was born in Toronto on 29 November, 1900, a younger son of Myer Lionel Willensky and his wife, née Vise, immigrants from Poland. An uncle had emigrated to Rhodesia, and was the father of Sir Roy Welensky. He graduated in dentistry at the University of Toronto in 1922 and then completed his

Arthur Elliot-Smith was born in Cairo on 3 June 1901. He was the son of Sir Grafton Elliot-Smith the distinguished anatomist and anthropologist; his mother's maiden name was Kathleen Macready. He graduated from Clare College, Cambridge, before coming to University College Hospital and on from which

John Holmes Tasker was born in London on 20 January 1917, the son of Dr Ludwig Tasker, a general practitioner, and May, née Gadsden, a registered nurse. He was educated at Epsom College before entering Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 1935 with the Haviland exhibition. After completing pre-clin

Ivan Jose was born on 13 February 1893 in China where his father was an Anglican missionary. When he was ten years old the family moved to Adelaide, South Australia, where his father became first the Rector of Christ Church, North Adelaide, and later Dean of the Adelaide diocese. Ivan had two younge

Cyril Charles Wiggishoff was chief of staff at St Joseph's Hospital, Chicago. He was born in Paris, France, on 17 March 1923, the son of Charles Cecil Wiggishoff, company director of his family's perfumery factory, and Marguerite Wiggishoff née Rouy. His paternal great grandfather, Jacques Charles W

Carl Frederick Leberne received his professional education at the University of Sydney, whence he qualified MB, BS in 1955. After his training years at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, he specialised in surgery, beginning as a demonstrator in anatomy at Sydney University in 1958. On coming to Britain

David Ronald Davies, always 'DR' to his friends, was born on 11 May 1910 in Clydach, Swansea, and remained readily identifiable as a Welshman throughout a long surgical career in London, followed by retirement to Exmoor. After schooling at the Ystalyfera County School, which inevitably gave him an e

John Stephen Ramage, the son of William Ramage, a coal master's traveller, and of Isobel Leitch Ramage (née Forster), was born at Greenock, Scotland, on 22 September 1900. He was educated at Greenock High School and Glasgow University, and also spent one year at Edinburgh University, graduating in 1

Samuel Joseph Cohen, known as 'Joe', was a paediatric surgeon in Manchester. He was born on 22 July 1923 in Germiston, a gold mining town near Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the youngest of three children of Berel Nathan Cohen and Feiga Cohen, a nurse, who emigrated to South Africa from Lithuani

John Alexander Currie was a consultant urologist in Cape Town, South Africa. He was the son of James Oswald Currie, a medical practitioner, and was educated at Diocesan College ('Bishops') in Cape Town. During the First World War he was commissioned in the Royal Field Artillery. He then went on to s

David Osborne was a consultant surgeon who established the first urological department in Basildon. He was born in Weston-super-Mare on 12 December 1943, the son of Alan John Osborne, a leading aircraftman, and his wife, Tilly Fleming née Straiton. He was educated at Hazelcroft Primary School and th

Patrick Desmond O'Donoghue was a surgeon in Kenya. He was born in Kaiapoi, New Zealand, on 12 May 1922, the second son of Michael and Eva O'Donoghue. His father was a teacher and later schools inspector. Pat attended Christchurch Boys' High School, where he excelled in classics, sciences, literature