Murray Pheils was professor of surgery at the University of Sydney. He was born in Birmingham on 2 December 1917, the younger of the two sons of Elmer Theodore Pheils, an osteopath, and Lilian Mary née Cole. His father Elmer was a colourful character: he was born in Toledo, Ohio, and trained as an o

Douglas Robertson was a consultant general surgeon at the Royal Hospital, Sheffield. He was born in London in 1919 of Scottish parents. His father, Falconer Robertson, was a banker, and his mother, Jane Mary Duff, was a teacher. Douglas was educated at the Stationers’ Company School. He entered St B

Robert Leighton Cooke was a consultant surgeon at the Manitoba Clinic, Winnipeg, Canada. He was born on 19 September 1914 in Wolseley, Saskatchewan, the fourth child of Robert Cooke, a general practitioner, and Ellen Cooke née Sunter, a teacher. He remembered making house calls with his father durin

Sudhansu Mohan Ghosh was professor of surgery at the Calcutta National Medical College, India. He was born on 7 March 1907 and was educated in East Bengal, where he gained a distinction in mathematics. He joined the Calcutta Medical College in 1925 and in 1931 successfully passed the primary fellows

John Charles Alexander Innes qualified with the Conjoint Diploma from the London Hospital in 1939 and graduated MB BS in 1940, obtaining the Fellowship in 1947. After some house appointments he emigrated to Southern Rhodesia, where he practised at Bulawayo, Umtali and Salisbury, holding posts as hon

Benjamin Weston Wells was born in Wimbledon, London, on 17 February 1918, the son of Sir William Henry Wells and his wife Dorothy, née Horne. Sir Thomas Spencer Wells (qv *Lives of the Fellows* Vol 2) was an ancestor of his. He was educated at Bromsgrove School and St Thomas's Hospital Medical Schoo

Henry Montague Lewis was a general surgeon at Potchefstroom General Hospital, South Africa. This is a draft obituary. If you have any information about this surgeon or are interested in writing this obituary, please email lives@rcseng.ac.uk

John Reginald St George Stead was born in Grahamstown, South Africa, on 20 June 1908. His father was William Yewdall Stead, a missionary priest, and his mother, Miriam Peterson, was the daughter of an architect. He was the sixth child in the family and the third boy. He was educated at St Andrew's P

Donald Buchanan Brown was surgeon in charge of the wards at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow. He was born on 24 June 1910 at Connel, near Oban, Scotland. His family were farmers and ministers, and he was brought up in a Gaelic-speaking household. He attended primary school at Kilmore, south of Oban, w

John Shipman was a consultant surgeon at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage. He was born in London on 20 September 1917. His father, Henry, was in business, his mother was Rachel née Harwich. He studied medicine at University College Hospital, where he qualified in 1941 and after junior posts joined t

John Reginald Thompson was born on 13 March 1917 in Paignton, Devon, the son of John Thompson FRCS, GP surgeon of Torquay and Paignton and Elsie, née Royle. His mother was one of the first women to qualify as a doctor when she passed the MD in Manchester in 1909. He was educated at Sherborne School

George Herbert Ashby 'Bertie' Simmons was a surgeon in Guernsey. He was born on 31 August 1911 in Hackney, where his father, George Wickham Simmons, was a bank clerk and a Congregational lay preacher. His mother was Margaret née Offer. The family moved to Mill Hill and he went to Mill Hill School, w