Donal Brooks was an eminent orthopaedic surgeon in London who specialised in hand surgery. He was born in Dublin on 10 April 1917, the third son of Edward Clive Brooks, the chairman and managing director of Brooks Thomas and governor of the Royal Bank of Dublin, and Kathleen née Pollock, the daughte

Hubert Bond Stafford Kemp, known as ‘Hugh’, was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), Stanmore. Born on 25 March 1925, the son of John Stafford Kemp and Cecilia Isabel née Bond, he was educated at Cardiff High School, the University of South Wales and St

Frank Schiess was an orthopaedic surgeon in Macclesfield. He was born in Singapore on 24 July 1940. His parents were Swiss: his father, Edward, was a businessman, his mother was Elsa (née Pfister). The family escaped to Perth, Western Australia, just before the arrival of the Japanese. After the war

Francis Tasker (‘Frank’) Wheeldon was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Plymouth. Born in north London on 1 August 1917, his father was permanent private secretary to Sir Thomas Lipton, the tea magnet. He was educated at Weston-super-Mare Grammar School and Westminster Hospital, qualifying in 1941

Robin Bendall was an orthopaedic surgeon in London. He was born on 1 April 1933 in Notthingham, where his father, Oliver Francis Bendall, was a wholesale grocer. His mother was Winnie May née Barrett. He attended West Bridgford Grammar School, Nottingham, and then went on to Guy’s Hospital Medical S

K T Dholakia was the doyen of orthopaedic surgery in India. He was the senior orthopaedic surgeon at Breach Candy and P D Hinduja hospitals in Bombay, where he pioneered joint replacement and the fixation of fractures. In 2003 he won the 20th Rameshwardas Birla National Award for being the “outsta

Hugh Stevens was an orthopaedic surgeon in New Zealand. He was born in Invercargill, on the South Island, where his father was a schoolmaster. The family eventually moved to Oxford, in North Canterbury, where Stevens was educated. He also went to school at Sumner and attended Christchurch Boys’ High

Basil Helal was an orthopaedic surgeon at Enfield, as well as at the London and Royal National Orthopaedic hospitals. He was born in Cairo on 28 October 1927, the son of Ibrahim Helal, director general of the state railways, and Helena née Sommerville. He was educated at the English School in Cairo,

George Welch was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness. He was born in Edinburgh on 5 August 1935, the son of George Welch, an actuary, and Unie Macpherson. The family, including his brother David (who became a GP in Norwich), moved to Surrey early in George’s life. His ch

Alf Nachemson was one of the giants of his generation in the now recognised and developing specialty of orthopaedic spinal surgery. He spent a year or more in the USA, involved in editorial work and research, particularly at Boston, and remained a popular figure at American spinal conferences, where

Known affectionately as ‘Dru’, David Ronald Petersgarth Urquhart was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, from 1957 until 1981. Although in many ways a private person, he was undoubtedly one of the established St Thomas’ personalities in the post-war era. His skills were

Mervyn Bell was consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Wigan from 1977 to 2004. Born in Hove in 1937, he qualified from Guy's Hospital in London working in the fields of general surgery and neurosurgery. On developing an interest in orthopaedics he moved to the Royal Free Hospital and the Nuffield Orthop