Alan Boyd Holmes was a giant of surgical practice in Tasmania and a pioneer of urology in the state. He died on 13 December 2013, at the age of 87. Three weeks earlier he was snorkelling with his family in Queensland. Alan grew up in Sydney, where he was dux of Artarmon opportunity school, and

Howard Michael Parsons was an ENT surgeon in Lewisham and then Croydon. He was born in Paddington, London, on 14 April 1918, during a Zeppelin raid, the third child of John Parsons, a master builder, and his wife Maude Parsons née Percival. He was educated at St Andrews Prep School, Eastbourne and t

Richard Sears ('Dick') was an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Nottingham. He was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on 19 March 1924, the son of Herbert Sears, a corn merchant, and his wife Evelyn Ruth Sears née Tankard, a housewife. He was educated at Chesterfield Grammar School and at Epsom Colle

John Michael Brudenell, known as 'Mike', was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at King's College Hospital, London. He was born in Deal, Kent, on 13 April 1925, the son of Clement Shenstone Brudenell, a railway official, and Marjorie Elizabeth Brudenell née James, a housewife and the daught

Randolph Gilbert Beard, known as 'Randy', was the consultant surgeon in charge of the rectal department at Guy's Hospital, London. He was born on 13 August 1926 in Aldershot, Hampshire, the son of Randolph Beard, a major in the Grenadier Guards. Randy's demeanour reflected this background in no smal

Peter Porritt was chief of orthopaedics at Grace Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was born in Penzance, Cornwall on 23 May 1923, the son of Reginald Norman Porritt, a general practitioner, and Emily Porritt née Meade, the daughter of a farmer. His grandfather was a general practitioner and a

William Mackie 'Bill' Ross was head of radiotherapy at Newcastle General Hospital and a former president of the Royal College of Radiologists. He was born in Glasgow on 14 December 1922. His father, Harry Caithness Ross, was a professional golfer in Durham; his mother, Catherine Ross née Mackie, was

Hugh Hill Lawson (known as Buddy) was a professor of surgery and chief surgeon and head of the department of surgery at the Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born on 13 January 1926 and studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits). Subsequent training in

Roy Butterfield was a GP surgeon in Teignmouth. He was born in Bolton on 26 January 1929, the son of Howard Vincent Butterfield, a cotton yarn executive, and his wife, Edith née Entwistle. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He went on to the Westminster Hospital for his clinic

Durga Das Guha was a general surgeon who practised across four continents, living his last 49 years in the USA. He was born on 19 March 1918 in Mymensingh, Bengal to Jogesh Chandra, a civil engineer in the Public Service Department of Bengal in undivided India, and Shaibalini. He was the second of t

Lloyd Woodrow Cox was professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Adelaide University. Born on 4 July 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand, he was christened Lloyd after Lloyd George and Woodrow after Woodrow Wilson. His father, Edwin Thoms Cox, was a Methodist minister who eventually settled in a parish in

Patterson David Gordon Pugh was a surgeon rear-admiral in the Royal Navy. He was born in Carshalton, Surrey on 19 December 1920. His father, William Thomas Gordon Pugh, was medical superintendent of Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children, Carshalton; his mother, Elaine Victoria Augusta Pugh née Hobson,