William John Atkinson was born in London on 18 May 1918, the elder son of William Atkinson, a civil servant. He was educated at Ongar Grammar School and at Mercer's School in High Holborn before entering St Bartholomew's Hospital for his medical studies. He qualified in 1941 and immediately afterwar

Harry Hubert Grayson Eastcott, known as ‘Felix’, was the first man to perform carotid endarterectomy, thereby preventing strokes in countless patients. He was born in Montreal, Canada, on 17 October 1917, the son of Henry George Eastcott, a resident engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Gl

John Gibson Taylor, known as ‘Ian’, was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. He was born on 8 June 1918, three months before the end of the First World War, the only child of Scottish parents Kate and William Taylor. Ian’s father was an engineer employed at the Royal Aer

Joseph Peacock was born in Brentford, London, on 22 October 1918, the only child (two sisters having died) of Henry James Peacock, general manager of the Great Western Railway, and of Florence Peacock, née Milton. After education at Reading School and Bristol Grammar School he entered Birmingham Uni

Charles Edward Drew, eldest son of Edwin Frank Drew, an accountant, and of Eunice (née Lloyd-Davies) was born in Lambeth on 15 December 1916. He was educated at an elementary school in Stockwell and at Westminster City School and then secured an open scholarship in 1935 to King's College, London, an

John Henry Charles Phillips was born in Hampstead, London, on 24 April 1917, the son of Samuel Phillips, an import and export businessman, and his wife Elise. He was educated at Heathmount School, Hampstead, and Hillsbrow School, Redhill, before going to the Leys School, Cambridge. His medical studi

Michael Bates, the second son and youngest of three children of Tom Bates, a surgeon, was born in Worcester in July 1917. There were strong surgical roots in the family, his father being surgeon to the Worcester Royal Infirmary for 34 years, while his paternal grandfather - another Tom Bates - and a

Philip Golding-Wood was a consultant otorhinolaryngologist in Maidstone, Kent. He was born on 3 May 1914, the son of Benjamin and Bessie Wood in Speldhurst. His father was a general storekeeper. His mother's maiden name was Golding, and in 1953 he added his mother's name to his surname by deed poll.

Andrew Raffle, former chief medical officer of London Transport Executive, was an expert on medical standards for driving. He was born on 3 September 1918 in Newcastle upon Tyne, where his father, Andrew Banks Raffle, a barrister and a doctor, was medical officer for health for South Shields (he was

Raoul Sandon was a leading plastic surgeon in London. He was born in Spain, in Bilbao, on 2 May 1915, the son of an English managing director of an iron mining company, and a French mother. He was first educated in Spain, and then attended school in Arcachon and Pau, France. As a result he was fluen

Bob Zachary was a pioneer of paediatric surgery in the United Kingdom. He was born in Pudsey, near Leeds, on 1 March 1913, the son of Samuel John Zachary, a dentist, and Priscilla Mary née Owen. After a degree in pharmacy, he turned his attention to medicine, entering the medical school at Leeds and

Murray Pheils was professor of surgery at the University of Sydney. He was born in Birmingham on 2 December 1917, the younger of the two sons of Elmer Theodore Pheils, an osteopath, and Lilian Mary née Cole. His father Elmer was a colourful character: he was born in Toledo, Ohio, and trained as an o