Noel Thompson was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 8 September 1914. His father was John G Thompson, a school teacher, and he was educated at King's College, Newcastle, before qualifying as a licentiate in dental surgery in 1936. He remained in hospital practice and passed his BDS degree in 1940. Duri

Geoffrey Howe was dean of three dental schools – at the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery (RDH), in Hong Kong and latterly in Jordan. He was born on 24 April 1924 in the London borough of Haringey, the eldest of three brothers. His father, Leo Leslie John Howe, died when Geoff

Sir Paul Bramley was a professor of dental surgery at the University of Sheffield. He was born in Leicester on 24 May 1923 to Charles Bramley and Constance Bramley née Jordan, the younger of their two sons. His father was a gifted engineering draughtsman; neither of his parents had a medical backgro

Norman Lester Rowe was born on 15 December 1915 in Paganhill, Stroud, Gloucestershire. His father was Arthur William Rowe OBE and was a civil servant. His mother was Lucy Adams. He attended preparatory school at Neville House, Eastbourne, Sussex, and public school at Malvern College, Worcestershire.

Terence Ward was born in Dartmouth on 16 January 1906, the son of a school teacher. Shortly afterwards the family moved to Edinburgh, where he was educated at the Royal High School. Wishing to pursue a career in dentistry, but with only limited means, he became apprenticed as a dental mechanic, and