Colin Skelton was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 31 March 1935 and educated at Christchurch West High School and Otago Medical School. After house appointments at Christchurch Hospital and Grey Hospital, Greymouth, he became surgical registrar at Christchurch Hospital and then came to England

David Robert Bird was born on 10 August 1947, in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. His father, Bernard John Bird, known as 'Jack', was a clerk in local government and a keen amateur musician. He had one younger sister who died at the age of 37 from ovarian cancer. His mother Mary, née Bull, develope

Frank Cockett was internationally known for his ground-breaking advances in the understanding of varicose veins and venous ulcers. He identified a new condition called the 'ankle blow out syndrome' and described the operation needed to cure it, which became universally known as 'the Cockett operatio

John Chamberlain was a consultant in general and vascular surgery to the Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals for 26 years. He was born in Leicester on 27 January 1938 to Jack and May Chamberlain. He was an only child. As a young boy John was fascinated by steam engines and was very proud of his grandfathe

Alan Small was one of the many New Zealanders to arrive in England before the second world war to remain and add his talents to the surgical scene. Born in Hastings, New Zealand, he studied medicine at Otago University, Dunedin. He came to England soon after to work successively as house officer, su

John Wedgwood Graham, the son of John Machefer Graham, a farmer and grazier, and of Ivy Maud (née Wedgwood), a descendant of Charles Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood, was born on 1 June 1921 at Narrabri, New South Wales. His grandfather, John Bass Graham, was a medical graduate from Dublin who practised i

Edward John Immelman was a consultant vascular surgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. He was educated at Rondebosch Boys' High School and went on to study medicine at the University of Cape Town, where his academic ability was recognised with the award of the McCullogh and Aaron

Charles Clyne was born in Huddersfield on 3 February 1946, the son of a Czechoslovakian immigrant who had come to Britain in 1939. His early education was at St Bee's School in Cumbria, just five miles from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield. He trained at Liverpool University Medical School

Doug Tracy was foundation professor of surgery at the University of New South Wales at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney from 1969 to 1986. He was born in Sydney on 14 May 1926, the eldest of three sons of Haydn Douglas Tracy and Florence Tracy née McCarthy. His mother died in childbirth when he was jus

Charles Raymond Helsby was born on 13 February 1921 in St Helens, Lancs, the son of a local businessman, Frederick Johnson Helsby and his wife Emily, née Cawley. Following the local infant school he attended Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby and went on to the Liverpool Medical School. He qualified

Michael Baddeley, universally known to a wide circle of friends as 'Mick', was a consultant surgeon to the United Birmingham Hospitals. He was born at Wolstanton in Staffordshire on 20 September 1932, the elder son of a mining engineer. He was educated at Chesterfield School, Derbyshire, and the Uni

Robert Shannon was born on 10 May 1928 in Brisbane, Australia, the son of Reuben Samuel Shannon, a company manager, and Muriel Adeline, née Bone. He was educated at Brisbane Grammar School and Queensland University where he graduated MB BS in 1950, proceeded to the MS in 1955 and gained the Fellowsh