Edward Hitchcock ('Ted') was born in Wales at Rhymney, Monmouthshire, on 10 February 1929, the son of Edwin Robert Hitchcock and Martha Mary, née Roberts. The family soon moved to Staffordshire, where his father worked as a coal miner. Ted soon discovered Cannock Chase, which was to provide a steady

Kenneth Paine was born in London on 16 October 1921, the only son of William James Paine, an accountant, and his wife Edith, née Ellis. He won a LCC scholarship to the City of London School whence he gained a City of London scholarship to St Thomas's Hospital. There he won the Kitchiner scholarship

Ian Reay McCaul was born in 1916 and after his early education entered Glasgow University, qualifying in 1941. After early hospital appointments he passed the Fellowship of the Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow eight years after qualifying and undertook specialist training in neuro

John Allwood McHardy was a neurosurgeon and chief medical officer of health in Jamaica. Known as Johnny to his family and friends, he was born in Jamaica, in Montego Bay, St James on 24 August 1926, the only son of Nathan Ralph McHardy, an assistant commissioner of lands, and Melaine Estelle McHardy

John Hankinson, known as ‘Hank’, was a consultant neurosurgeon at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Newcastle. He was born in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, on 10 March 1919, the son of Daniel Hankinson, a company director, and Anne née Ka

John Gleave was a consultant neurosurgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and an accomplished oarsman. He was born in Walsall, Staffordshire (now West Midlands), on 6 April 1925, the son of John Wallace Gleave, a priest, and his wife, Dorothy (née Littlefair). He was educated at Uppingham Scho

Campbell Connolly was a consultant neurosurgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He was born on 15 July 1919, the elder son of George Connolly, a solicitor who had served in the First World War, and his wife, Margaret, née Edgell, of Brighton. His grandfather, Colonel Benjamin Bloomfield Connol

Tony Hockley was a neurosurgeon in Birmingham. He was born at Hampton Court on 4 October 1943, the son of Charles Hockley, a businessman, and Freda née Dubovie, a fashion designer. He was educated at Brighton College, where he was an exhibition scholar. He entered the medical college of the London H

Rashid Choudhury was a consultant neurosurgeon at the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia. He was born in a remote village in the district of Hailakandi, Assam, India, the son of Imran Ali Choudhury and Sumsun Choudhury. He came from a humble background and had to work hard to become a surgeo

Alec Daws, neurosurgeon at Royal Preston Hospital, was born on 26 July 1922 at Goadby Marwood, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, the son of Walter Arthur Daws, a severely disabled Canadian war pensioner, and his wife, Ruth Anne. His early school days were spent at the Victoria School, Montreal, but he

Laurence Levy was a pioneering neurosurgeon in Zimbabwe. He was born on 16 November 1921 in London, the son of Hyman Levy, professor of mathematics at Imperial College, and Marion Aitken née Levy, the daughter of a schoolmaster. He was educated at King's School, Wimbledon, and, when his family moved

Ayub Khan Ommaya was an internationally-known expert on brain injury and the inventor of the Ommaya reservoir, which is used to administer chemotherapy to the site of brain tumours. He was born in Mian Chanuu, in what was then British India, on 14 April 1930, the youngest son of Nadir Khan, of the B