Joe Fathi was born in Cairo on 3 March 1903, the second child of Dr Bernard Fathi and Mrs Fathi (née Rowntree). He came to England at an early age to be educated; He was at the Friends' School, Wigton, Cumberland, from 1910 to 1917 and then at the Friends' School, Saffron Waldon, Essex, from 1917

James Cosbie Ross was born in Liverpool on 17 May 1904. He was the son and grandson of doctors, his father being James Ross, a general practitioner in Walton, Liverpool. His mother was Delia Cosbie and James, as the eldest child, took the name of Cosbie. James used this name and linked Ross as 'Cobb

James Bagot Oldham was born in Belfast on 7 November 1899, the first child of Samuel Charles Oldham, a ship repair director and of his wife Kathleen, née O'Flaherty. Most of his father's family were in the medical profession. He was cousin to Sir Hugh Rigby FRCS, Sergeant-Surgeon to HM George V.

George Douglas Robb was born in Auckland on 29 April 1899 and educated at Auckland Grammar School, and Auckland University College and Otago University, graduating BSc and MB ChB in 1922. The following year he went to England and worked for his Fellowship in the company of three other pioneer thorac

Robert Debenham, or 'Deb' as he was universally known, was born in Presteigne, Radnorshire, on 3 January 1902, the son of Horace Alan Debenham, a general practitioner, and his wife Maud Constance, who was the daughter of a GP. After preliminary schooling at Brockhurst he was educated at Malvern Coll

Eric William Riches, the second child and eldest son of William Riches, a schoolmaster, and of Kate Riches (née Rowbotham), was born on 29 July 1897, at Alford, Lincolnshire. He was educated at St Dunstan's, Alford, and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Alford, before securing an entrance scholarship