George Harold Thomas was born on 2 January, 1889 in Hong Kong, of unknown parents. He was adopted as a child but left to fend for himself after a few years. His early life was lonely and hard due to poverty and privation. He was educated at the Diocesan Boys' School in Hong Kong and the College of M

William Bruce Norris Bomford, known as 'Bruce', was chief medical officer of British Petroleum. He was born in Salford Priors, near Evesham, Worcestershire on 7 February 1919. His father, Benjamin Norris Bomford, was a farmer and market gardener; his mother, Elsie Bomford née Fisher, was the daughte

Arthur Cecil Barker Biggs was born in North London on 9 March 1885. His father, John Maundy Biggs, was a general practitioner and a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Florence Elizabeth Biggs, née Hopkinson, his mother, was the daughter of the originator of the Hopkinson piano. He w

Douglas Compton Taylor was educated at University College, London, and qualified from University College Hospital in 1906 with the Conjoint Diploma and the London MB, BS. He was house surgeon and casualty officer at University College Hospital, and took the FRCS in 1913. During the first world wa

Keith Franklin Drysdale Sweetman was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 5 February 1914. His father was Joseph Franklin, a hardware merchant, who married Gladys Edith Drysdale. His great grandfather arrived in Western Australia as a civilian in 1834 from the United Kingdom but nothing is known of

Margery Scott-Young was a consultant surgeon at the Rachel Forster Hospital, Sydney. She was born on 25 May 1912 in North Sydney, the daughter of Reginald Charles Scott-Young, a sales manager, and Mary née Crotty. She was educated at the Monte Sant' Angelo College in Sydney and the University of Syd

Arthur Norman Jones was born on 14 January 1904 in Liverpool, the son of John Lewis Jones, an estate agent, and Catherine Elizabeth, the daughter of a banker. His early education was at the Blundellsands School and Liverpool College, and he went to medical school in Liverpool, graduating MB ChB in 1

Kenneth Sweetman qualified in Melbourne where he did junior posts. Later he worked as a surgical specialist in the Government Hospital in Tripoli, Libya and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Aden. His last position was Chief Medical Officer to the Shell Petroleum Company in Brunei. He retired to Hindhea

Derek Bown trained for the Conjoint Diploma at Guy's Hospital and became a Fellow of the College in 1930. He held posts at the Taunton and Somerset Hospital and the Royal South Hants and Southampton Hospital and was medical officer for Reckitt's Convalescent Home in Essex. He became honorary surg

Born on 8 February 1891 in the Military Cantonments at Bangalore, Dick Rishworth was the son of an officer in the British Army in India: his mother was the daughter of a major in the Indian Army Ordnance Corps and his great grandfather was an Assistant Surgeon of the East India Company. After educat

Born on 22 August 1923 at Milan in Italy, the second son of Asher Alhadef, a tobacco merchant, and his wife Jeannette Franses. He was educated at Bromsgrove School, Birmingham, and at Worcester College (1942-47) and the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, qualifying in 1947. He held resident posts at Notti

Born on 30 May 1879 at Hailsham, Sussex, the second eldest child of Joseph Burfield and his wife, née Birt. He belonged to a Quaker family with interests in farming and a rope business. He was educated at Beiston in Somerset and at London University and St Bartholomew's Hospital. He came to Norwi