William Harold Alfred Dodd, the eldest of three sons and second of five children of Alfred Leward Dodd and Annie Elizabeth (née Marshall), was born at Crewe, Cheshire, on 13 March 1899. He was educated at St Michael's Church School, Coppenhall, Crewe, and at Crewe Grammar School. From September 1917

Reginald Watson-Jones was born on 4 March 1902 and received his medical education at Liverpool University, where after taking the BSc with first class honours in 1922 he qualified in medicine in 1924. He was a brilliant student and an excellent speaker, and he won most of the prizes in medicine at h

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

Clifford Naunton Morgan was born at Penygraig, Glamorgan, on 20 December 1901, and was educated at the Royal Masonic School, Bushey, before entering University College Cardiff and St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College. After qualifying in 1923 and graduating the following year he held resident a

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

Born 5 April 1897, the second son of Edward Walker, MBE, MD (Edin) who was consulting physician to the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Arnold Learoyd Walker was always proud of his Yorkshire origins. He went to Oundle School before going up to Cambridge. The first world war intervened and he served in