Alex Brown was a consultant surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. He was born on 26 January 1919. His father, A Brown, was head of the department of applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town. His mother, Mary Graham, had been the first female graduate at Rhodes Univers

Paul Cassell was a consultant general surgeon at Wexham Park Hospital, Slough. He was appointed in 1972 and retired in 1998; his time there can be seen in retrospect as coinciding with the heyday of the district general hospital and certainly of Wexham Park Hospital. Paul was born in south London

Abraham Solomon ('Sol') Levitt was a colorectal surgeon in Perth, Western Australia. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 17 April 1927, the second child of Pinchas and Hadassah Levitt, who had emigrated from British mandate Palestine. Pinchas had been born in Bendery, then in Bessarabia, an

Richard Dale was a surgeon in the Royal Navy. He was born in Worcester on 18 March 1945, the son of Reginald William Dale, a county planning officer, and Margaret Dale née Norman. He grew up in Somerset, where he was to return in retirement, along with his wife Hilary. He attended Taunton School and

Thomas George Parks was a consultant general surgeon in Belfast and a former president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He was born on 14 June 1935 in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. The youngest of seven children, his early life was spent on the family farm and attending the local rural schoo

Roy Lawrence Willis Fink was born in Ballarat on 27 April 1938. His father was a state school headmaster and the family moved between various country towns, including Learmonth, Yea and Benalla, before moving to Ferntree Gully and subsequently Bentleigh. His early years were influenced by World War

Daher Cutait was nominated the 'Father of Latin-American Colo-Proctology' by the Latin-American Colo-Proctology Association. He was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1913, and was educated at the University of São Paulo. After graduating in 1939, he won a scholarship provided by the Institute of Interna

Kenneth Christopher Howard (Ken) Fearon was professor of surgical oncology at the University of Edinburgh. He was born in Glasgow on 3 August 1960. He attended St Aloysius' College in Glasgow and studied medicine at the University of Glasgow. He was an exceptional student and graduated with honours

John Pendower was a consultant surgeon at Charing Cross Hospital, London and Mayday Hospital, Croydon. He was born on 6 August 1927, less than ten years after the end of the First World War; his father had been a teenage infantryman on the Somme. He grew up through turbulent and exciting times, and

Bernard Hand was born on 21 November 1919. His father, Ernest Francis Hand, was an architect and his mother, Mary, née Searle, was the daughter of an engineer. He was descended from Sir William Hillary, founder of the lifeboat service; as a consequence he gave constant support to the RNLI throughout

Jeremy Wilson was a consultant general surgeon at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup. He was born on 27 January 1932, the youngest child of Charles Paul Wilson and Margaret Fraser Wilson née Cameron. His early education was at Moffats School and Bryanston, before going up to Downing College, Cambridge in

Clive Butler was born in Flaxton, near York, on 8 April 1904, the only son of William Barber Butler and Edith Eastmond, a nursing sister. They had both trained at the London Hospital and had helped to care for the Elephant Man after he had been rescued by Sir Frederick Treves. His father subsequentl